With the NFL preseason now underway, attention turns to the rarely seen Friday Night Football. Let’s take a look at which games are on Friday Night Football and what else we can look forward to on Friday nights during the preseason.
Now that Friday’s slate of games has come to an end, here is the NFL schedule for games being played on Saturday, August 14. If you missed a minute of last night’s matchups, make sure to check out our recaps of the Cowboys vs. Cardinals and the Bills vs. Lions games played last night.
Is there preseason Friday Night Football tonight?
Friday Night Football is upon us for the first time in the 2021 season with its three-game slate. Two of those are nationally televised, while the third is available in local markets. Let’s check out the three games offered tonight.
Buffalo Bills at Detroit Lions | 7 PM ET | NFL Network
This is an intriguing game, mostly in terms of the Lions. This will be the first time we see the Dan Campbell and Jared Goff-led Lions. There is interest in both the offense and the defense.
Offensively, the wide receivers will garner a lot of attention. Can they step up in what is being viewed as one of the worst units, if not the worst, in the league? Anything we see from Goff will also be under a major spotlight. How will he look without Sean McVay? Can he stamp his authority on this relatively inexperienced group?
Defensively they have questions right through the unit. The defensive line has not proven it can be effective. Meanwhile, on the back end, they have youth in their secondary, including the 2020 NFL Draft’s No. 3 pick Jeff Okudah.
Tennessee Titans at Atlanta Falcons | 7 PM ET | Local
This is an intriguing Friday Night Football matchup as it sees Arthur Smith and Julio Jones facing their former teams. From the Titans’ point of view, little needs to be figured out as they return a similar-looking team to last year.
The Falcons, on the other hand, have much to figure out under Smith, both offensively and defensively. We could see a lot of Atlanta’s starters on defense, while on offense, the focus should be on the offensive line and the running game.
Dallas Cowboys at Arizona Cardinals | 10 PM ET | NFL Network
This game could lack first-team action, at least from the offense. Dak Prescott and the Cowboys’ other offensive starters will likely be absent or seen minimally. The Cardinals have said that Kyler Murray and the first-team offense will play, but how long is always a question.
What we could see is a lot more of the first-team defenses in this one. Both groups have question marks with rookies at linebacker and competitions for jobs all over the field. This game has a feel of a defense-dominated low-scoring affair.
Preseason Friday night NFL games
Let’s take a look at the Friday Night Football schedule for the upcoming 2021 NFL preseason. For a full list of nationally televised games, check out the NFL preseason TV schedule.
All times Eastern.
Week 1
- Bills at Lions | 7 PM | Aug. 13 | NFLN
- Titans at Falcons | 7 PM | Aug. 13 | Local
- Cowboys at Cardinals | 10 PM | Aug. 13 | NFLN
Week 2
- Bengals at Washington | 8 PM | Aug. 20 | ESPN
- Chiefs at Cardinals | 8 PM | Aug. 20 | NFLN
Week 3
- Colts at Lions | 7 PM | Aug. 27 | Local
- Eagles at Jets | 7:30 PM | Aug. 27 | Local
- Steelers at Panthers | 7:30 PM | Aug. 27 | Local
- Vikings at Chiefs | 8 PM | Aug. 27 | NFLN
Preseason Week 1 results
Ahead of Friday Night Football, here are the results from the first two preseason games.
Washington Football Team 13-22 New England Patriots
Pittsburgh Steelers 24-16 Philadelphia Eagles
Ben Rolfe is a Senior Managing Editor at Pro Football Network and is also a member of the Fantasy Sports Writers Association (FSWA). You can find him on Twitter @BenRolfePFN.
