Aaron Rodgers Packers
Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers will play their third preseason game after the Hall of Fame game was cancelled, Getty

The 2016 regular season is still more than two weeks away, but the upcoming slate of contests is the closest thing to meaningful NFL games that football fans will get until Week 1. Week 3 of the preseason starts on Thursday as starters will see significant playing time for the first time this year.

The action gets underway with two games on Thursday night, both of which will be broadcast nationally. The Dallas Cowboys visit the Seattle Seahawks, and America’s Team has probably the player that’s been most impressive this preseason.

Rookie quarterback Dak Prescott has been nearly perfect in his first two NFL games, and he appears to have earned the right to become Tony Romo’s backup. After playing terrific in his debut against the Los Angeles Rams, he was even better in Week 2, completing 12 of 15 passes for 199 yards. He threw for two touchdowns, ran for two more scores and had a perfect passer rating of 158.3.

Friday features five games, including a matchup between the New England Patriots and Carolina Panthers. New England is 2-0 this preseason, and Tom Brady likely won’t see much time before he begins his four-game suspension to start the regular season.

The biggest day of Week 3 is Saturday with six games on the schedule. Three more games are set for Sunday, all of which will air on national TV.

Thursday, Aug. 25

Atlanta Falcons at Miami Dolphins, 8 p.m. ET, NBC

Dallas Cowboys at Seattle Seahawks, 10 p.m. ET, NFL Network

Friday, Aug. 26

New England Patriots at Carolina Panthers, 7:30 p.m. ET, WBZ (New England) and PTVN (Carolina)

Buffalo Bills at Washington Redskins, 7:30 p.m. ET, WKBD (Buffalo) and NBC/CSN (Washington)

Cleveland Browns at Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 8 p.m. ET, CBS

Pittsburgh Steelers at New Orleans Saints, 8 p.m. ET, CBS 2 (Pittsburgh) and FOX 8 (New Orleans)

Green Bay Packers at San Francisco 49ers, 10 p.m. ET, PTVN (Green Bay) and KPIX 5 (San Francisco)

Saturday, Aug. 27

Kansas City Chiefs at Chicago Bears, 1 p.m. ET, NFL Network

Detroit Lions at Baltimore Ravens, 7 p.m. ET, FOX 2 (Detroit) and WBAL (Baltimore)

Philadelphia Eagles at Indianapolis Colts, 7 p.m. ET, NBC 10 (Philadelphia) and CBS 4 (Indianapolis)

New York Giants at New York Jets, 7:30 p.m. ET, CBS 2 (New York)

Tennessee Titans at Oakland Raiders, 8 p.m. ET, CBS

Los Angeles Rams at Denver Broncos. 9 p.m. ET KCBS/KFTR (Los Angeles) and KTVD (Denver)

Sunday, Aug. 28

San Diego Chargers at Minnesota Vikings, 1 p.m. ET, FOX

Arizona Cardinals at Houston Texans, 4 p.m. ET, FOX

Cincinnati Bengals at Jacksonville Jaguars, 8 p.m. ET, NBC

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