2026 NFL Preseason Week 1 Scores: Thursday Opens with Six Exhibition Games

The NFL preseason kicks off Week 1 on Thursday, August 13, 2026, with six exhibition games across the league — tracking preseason Week 1 scores as the 2026 NFL preseason begins after the annual Hall of Fame Game. Matchups include the Detroit Lions at Cincinnati Bengals, Green Bay Packers at Pittsburgh Steelers, Indianapolis Colts at New England Patriots, Los Angeles Chargers at Houston Texans, Arizona Cardinals at Las Vegas Raiders, and Tennessee Titans at San Francisco 49ers.

The league’s complete 16-game preseason slate runs through Saturday, August 15, giving all 32 teams at least one tune-up before the regular season kicks off in September.

Editor’s note: This article draws on the NFL’s official 2026 preseason schedule release and reporting from AP News, including team previews for the Raiders–Cardinals, Steelers–Packers, and Lions–Bengals matchups, August 2026.

Thursday’s six-game opener

The NFL staggered kickoffs from the Eastern to Pacific time zones on opening night:

Game	Kickoff (ET)	Venue
Lions at Bengals	7:00 p.m.	Paycor Stadium, Cincinnati
Packers at Steelers	7:00 p.m.	Acrisure Stadium, Pittsburgh
Colts at Patriots	7:30 p.m.	Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, Mass.
Chargers at Texans	8:00 p.m.	NRG Stadium, Houston
Cardinals at Raiders	8:00 p.m.	Allegiant Stadium, Las Vegas
Titans at 49ers	9:00 p.m.	Levi’s Stadium, Santa Clara, Calif.

NFL Network carries the Packers–Steelers and Titans–49ers games nationally, according to AP’s sports-on-TV listings. The remaining Thursday matchups are available through local team broadcast affiliates.

Storylines heading into Week 1

Preseason openers are as much about roster evaluation as scoreboard results. Several clubs entered Thursday with clear personnel questions:

Steelers–Packers: Rodgers on the sideline?

Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers, who has said 2026 will be his final NFL season, indicated he does not expect to take live snaps against Green Bay — his former team — in the exhibition opener. AP reported that Rodgers, entering his 22nd training camp, views August as valuable for younger players more than for a four-time MVP who has not needed preseason reps in years.

Raiders–Cardinals: Two quarterbacks, one night

At Allegiant Stadium, Raiders coach Klint Kubiak said both Kirk Cousins and rookie Fernando Mendoza will play against Arizona. Cousins has run the first-team offense in camp and is expected to start Week 1 against Miami, but Mendoza gets a stage in Las Vegas’ preseason opener. Kubiak also said pass rusher Maxx Crosby was TBD for Thursday.

For the Cardinals, rookie quarterback Carson Beck was ruled out with a rib injury, shifting attention to the backup options behind the starting rotation.

Lions–Bengals: Starters mostly resting

Detroit Lions coach Dan Campbell said not many starters are expected to see the field in Cincinnati, a common approach for teams that reached deep into the previous postseason. The Bengals, meanwhile, use the opener to test depth across both sides of the ball.

Rest of Week 1: Friday and Saturday

After Thursday’s six-pack, the 2026 NFL preseason schedule continues with 10 more games:

Friday, August 14

Game	Kickoff (ET)
Broncos at Falcons	7:00 p.m.
Buccaneers at Jets	7:00 p.m.
Dolphins at Commanders	7:00 p.m.

Saturday, August 15

Game	Kickoff (ET)
Panthers at Eagles	1:00 p.m.
Browns at Bears	1:00 p.m.
Rams at Chiefs	1:00 p.m.
Cowboys at Seahawks	7:00 p.m.
Giants at Vikings	7:00 p.m.

Saturday’s slate includes notable debuts — Odell Beckham Jr. is set to play for the New York Giants against Minnesota in his first game in a Giants uniform in nearly six years, coach John Harbaugh told AP on Wednesday.

What preseason Week 1 means for the regular season

The NFL preseason has shrunk in recent years — three games per team instead of four — but Week 1 still serves several league-wide purposes:

Priority	Why it matters in August
Roster cuts	Teams must trim to a 53-man roster before the regular season
Position battles	Backup QB, offensive line, and special teams roles are often decided here
Rookie evaluation	Draft picks and undrafted free agents earn roster spots — or practice-squad slots
Coaching installs	New schemes get a low-stakes test run before September

Regular-season openers begin in September 2026. Until then, exhibition results do not count toward standings — but playing time decisions on nights like Thursday often shape who is on the field when the games finally matter.

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Discussion

Thursday marks the first time all 32 NFL teams are in action on the same preseason weekend — and the lineups will look very different from September.

1. Aaron Rodgers says he does not need preseason snaps at this stage of his career. Should veterans with locked-in jobs sit every exhibition game, or is there still value in a series or two against live pass rush?

2. The Raiders plan to play both Kirk Cousins and Fernando Mendoza on Thursday. How much should fans read into a single preseason night when evaluating a rookie quarterback behind an established starter?

3. With only three preseason games per team, does Week 1 still give coaches enough information to make roster cuts — or does it push more evaluation into joint practices and training-camp scrimmages?

Which Thursday matchup are you most curious about — and which roster bubble player are you watching closest before final cuts?

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