When Does The 2021 NFL Preseason Start? Cowboys, Steelers Begin Football Schedule

The NFL will soon return with two of the league’s most-storied franchises set to take the field. The Dallas Cowboys and Pittsburgh Steelers are scheduled to face off in the Pro Football Hall of Game, kicking off the 2021 schedule.

Dallas and Pittsburgh will meet Thursday, Aug. 5 at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton, Ohio. It’ll be the first NFL game in six months.

The matchup between the Cowboys and Steelers was supposed to take place in August 2020. Last year’s entire NFL preseason was canceled because of the pandemic.

Week 1 of the 2021 preseason starts Thursday, Aug. 12. The Steelers will visit the Philadelphia Eagles that night. The New England Patriots and Washington Football Team are also on the schedule. The rest of the league will make their season debuts over the next three days.

Because of the new 17-game regular season, most NFL teams will be limited to three exhibition games. Only Dallas and Pittsburgh will play four times before the start of meaningful games.

Starters usually don’t take the field in the annual Hall of Fame Game. The Cowboys last played in the contest four years ago, defeating the Arizona Cardinals 20-18. No starters played as the likes of Dak Prescott and Ezekiel Elliot watched from the sidelines.

Prescott hasn’t played since an ankle injury ended his 2020 campaign in Week 5. Forced to start three different backup quarterbacks, Dallas went 4-7 without Prescott and missed the playoffs for the second straight season.

The Steelers are coming off an AFC North championship, but the team experienced a disappointing end to the 2020 season. Pittsburgh went 1-4 in the final five weeks of the regular season before losing at home to the Cleveland Browns on Wild-Card Weekend.

The 2021 NFL regular season starts Thursday, Sept. 9 when the Cowboys visit the Super Bowl champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Most teams will play their Week 1 games Sunday, Sept. 12. Pittsburgh is scheduled to visit the Buffalo Bills in the first regular-season game.

The preseason concludes Sunday, Aug. 29.