Football returned in earnest as all 32 teams took the field over four days for Week 1 of the 2025 preseason, a tune-up stretch that matters more to coaches and young players than the final scores ever will. The curtain-raiser came a week earlier in Canton, where the Los Angeles Chargers handled the Detroit Lions 34–7 in the Hall of Fame Game.
Week 1 at a glance
Week 1 ran from Thursday, Aug. 7, through Sunday, Aug. 10, spanning 16 games and a steady flow of roster auditions. Select matchups aired nationally across NBC, FOX, ESPN, Prime Video, and CBS, with the rest carried on local affiliates and team networks.
- Thursday, Aug. 7 (ET)
- • Indianapolis Colts at Baltimore Ravens — 6:00 p.m.
- • Cincinnati Bengals at Philadelphia Eagles — 6:30 p.m.
- • Las Vegas Raiders at Seattle Seahawks — 9:00 p.m.
- Friday, Aug. 8 (ET)
- • Detroit Lions at Atlanta Falcons — 6:00 p.m.
- • Cleveland Browns at Carolina Panthers — 6:00 p.m.
- • Washington Commanders at New England Patriots — 6:30 p.m.
- Saturday, Aug. 9 (ET)
- • New York Giants at Buffalo Bills — 12:00 p.m.
- • Houston Texans at Minnesota Vikings — 3:00 p.m.
- • Pittsburgh Steelers at Jacksonville Jaguars — evening
- • Dallas Cowboys at Los Angeles Rams — evening
- • Tennessee Titans at Tampa Bay Buccaneers — evening
- • Kansas City Chiefs at Arizona Cardinals — evening
- • New York Jets at Green Bay Packers — evening
- • Denver Broncos at San Francisco 49ers — evening
- Sunday, Aug. 10 (ET)
- • Miami Dolphins at Chicago Bears — 12:00 p.m.
- • New Orleans Saints at Los Angeles Chargers — 3:05 p.m.
The slotting created a busy Saturday window—eight games stacked from lunch through late night—mirroring how teams typically balance travel, joint practices, and snap management for the deepest part of their rosters.
What mattered and what’s next
Preseason football is a different sport on purpose. Coaches script short stints for veterans, then push younger players, bubble roster hopefuls, and special teamers into heavy snaps. That’s by design: clubs want clean tape on depth players, situational packages, and communication under stress—things they can’t fully replicate in practice.
The Hall of Fame Game offered the first live data point, with the Chargers jumping out early and controlling tempo in a 34–7 win over Detroit. Coaches on both sidelines used the night to test pass protections, check timing on quick-game concepts, and see which reserve defenders handled no-huddle looks without busts.
Across Week 1, you saw familiar preseason rhythms. First units, when they played at all, stuck to condensed calls: simple fronts on defense, basic run-game tags, and play-action looks meant to evaluate footwork and timing rather than out-scheme an opponent. The real spotlight fell on second- and third-team quarterbacks, young corners in man coverage, and interior offensive linemen asked to block NFL speed after months of walkthroughs.
Special teams had the microscope, too. Coaches leaned into return and coverage reps early, continuing to adjust to the league’s newer kickoff alignment adopted last season. The goal is twofold: safer collisions and more live returns, which in August double as job interviews for back-end roster spots.
Usage patterns told their own story. Some teams limited established starters to a cameo or kept them in street clothes, preferring controlled work in joint practices where the script is tighter and injuries are less random. Others gave young quarterbacks and rebuilt offensive lines two or three series to test cadence, hot reads, and basic protection checks against live bullets.
Injuries shape August as much as playbooks. Most clubs measure every rep, especially on players returning from offseason surgeries. Expect plenty of “did not participate” tags to be precautionary, with teams prioritizing Week 1 of the regular season over any preseason momentum.
Broadcast-wise, the league spread out its national showcase windows to keep fresh eyes on August football. NBC, FOX, ESPN, Prime Video, and CBS each picked up select games across three weekends, while local partners handled the rest. For fans, that meant nightly football with familiar voices and production—even as teams kept the play calls vanilla.
Zooming out, the NFL preseason still runs three weeks. Week 2 hits Aug. 14–18 and Week 3 wraps Aug. 21–24. After that, teams move quickly into roster decisions. The league maintains a single final cutdown to 53 players following the last preseason weekend, followed by practice squad signings and a wave of waiver claims as front offices hunt for depth at corner, offensive line, and special teams.
What should you watch next week? A few reliable tells: coaches often give projected starters a longer runway in Week 2—sometimes a quarter, occasionally more—before throttling back in Week 3. Young tackles and centers will keep getting long looks, coordinators will sprinkle in a few third-down pressures to test communication, and returners with secure hands and decisive vision will start separating themselves.
Week 1 is the baseline. The film from these games fuels two weeks of corrections, personnel tweaks, and role experiments. By the time Week 3 ends, staffs want clarity on backup quarterback, swing tackle, nickel corner, and core special-teamers. The next two weekends, and the tape they produce, decide who sticks when the cutdown clock hits zero.
