NFL 2018 Schedule: When Does The Preseason, Regular Season Start?

During the dog days of summer, there often is a deep longing for Fall to arrive and with it the start of the NFL season. Fortunately, there are at least some preseason games to start following beginning on Thursday night.

The Chicago Bears and Baltimore Ravens start things off in the Hall of Fame Game at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton, Ohio. ESPN will televise the game.

As usual, there are four weeks of preseason games. This year the preseason begins on Aug. 2 and ends on Aug. 31, with eight games televised live nationally.

Starters are usually rested for most of the preseason, giving way to rookies who were drafted in late rounds or not drafted at all. Teams will be looking to make cuts from the roughly 90 players that are currently on their roster.

Teams must reduce their rosters to a maximum of 53 players on the active/inactive list by 4:00 p.m. ET on Sept. 1.

The regular season begins on Sept. 6, when the Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles host the Atlanta Falcons. The 17-week season ends on Dec. 30.

NFL PRESEASON SCHEDULE (All Times E.T.)

Hall of Fame Game (Aug. 2)

Chicago Bears vs. Baltimore Ravens (8 p.m. - ESPN)

Week 1 (Aug. 9-13)

Los Angeles Chargers vs. Arizona Cardinals

Los Angeles Rams vs. Baltimore Ravens

Carolina Panthers vs. Buffalo Bills

Chicago Bears vs. Cincinnati Bengals

Minnesota Vikings vs. Denver Broncos

Tennessee Titans vs. Green Bay Packers

New Orleans Saints vs. Jacksonville Jaguars

Houston Texans vs. Kansas City Chiefs

Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. Miami Dolphins

Washington Redskins vs. New England Patriots

Cleveland Browns vs. New York Giants

Atlanta Falcons vs. New York Jets

Detroit Lions vs. Oakland Raiders

Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Philadelphia Eagles

Dallas Cowboys vs. San Francisco 49ers

Indianapolis Colts vs. Seattle Seahawks

Week 2 (Aug. 16-20)

New York Jets vs. Washington Redskins (Aug. 16, 8 p.m. - ESPN)

Baltimore Ravens vs. Indianapolis Colts (Aug. 20, 8 p.m. - ESPN)

Kansas City Chiefs vs. Atlanta Falcons

Miami Dolphins vs. Carolina Panthers

Buffalo Bills vs. Cleveland Browns

Cincinnati Bengals vs. Dallas Cowboys

Chicago Bears vs. Denver Broncos

New York Giants vs.Detroit Lions

Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Green Bay Packers

San Francisco 49ers vs. Houston Texans

Seattle Seahawks vs. Los Angeles Chargers

Oakland Raiders vs. Los Angeles Rams

Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Minnesota Vikings

Philadelphia Eagles vs. New England Patriots

Arizona Cardinals vs. New Orleans Saints

Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. Tennessee Titans

Week 3 (Aug. 23-26)

Philadelphia Eagles vs. Cleveland Browns (Aug. 23, 8 p.m. - FOX)

Detroit Lions vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (Aug. 24, 8 p.m. - CBS)

New Orleans Saints vs. Los Angeles Chargers (Aug. 25, 8 p.m. - CBS)

Cincinnati Bengals vs. Buffalo Bills (Aug. 26, 4 p.m. - FOX)

Arizona Cardinals vs. Dallas Cowboys (Aug. 26, 8 p.m. - NBC)

New England Patriots vs. Carolina Panthers

Kansas City Chiefs vs. Chicago Bears

San Francisco 49ers vs. Indianapolis Colts

Atlanta Falcons vs. Jacksonville Jaguars

Houston Texans vs. Los Angeles Rams

Baltimore Ravens vs. Miami Dolphins

Seattle Seahawks vs. Minnesota Vikings

New York Giants vs. New York Jets

Green Bay Packers vs. Oakland Raiders

Tennessee Titans vs. Pittsburgh Steelers

Denver Broncos vs. Washington Redskins

Week 4 (Aug. 30-31)

Denver Broncos vs. Arizona Cardinals

Miami Dolphins vs. Atlanta Falcons

Washington Redskins vs. Baltimore Ravens

Buffalo Bills vs. Chicago Bears

Indianapolis Colts vs. Cincinnati Bengals

Cleveland Browns vs. Detroit Lions

Dallas Cowboys vs. Houston Texans

Green Bay Packers vs. Kansas City Chiefs

Los Angeles Rams vs. New Orleans Saints

New England Patriots vs. New York Giants

New York Jets vs. Philadelphia Eagles

Carolina Panthers vs. Pittsburgh Steelers

Los Angeles Chargers vs. San Francisco 49ers

Oakland Raiders vs. Seattle Seahawks

Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Minnesota Vikings vs. Tennessee Titans