NFL Preseason TV Schedule 2013: Viewing Guide for Remaining Week 1 Games

Week 1 of the 2013 NFL preseason is in full swing, with plenty of games already decided and just a handful of nationally televised contests left to be played.

Teams like the New England Patriots, Philadelphia Eagles and Oakland Raiders are all getting ready to participate in their first “meaningful” action of the season, which football junkies won’t want to miss a minute of.

Keep reading to find out when and where to watch the preseason games, what to keep an eye out for and more over the last few days of Week 1.

What to Watch For

Tom Brady’s Rapport with New Receiving Corps

The Pats are going to look a whole lot different in 2013 after the team lost a number of key players in the passing game.

Of course, quarterback Tom Brady will be back for another season of Super Bowl dreams—but his targets have vastly changed.

Wes Welker defected to the Denver Broncos, Brandon Lloyd is still looking for a new contract, Rob Gronkowski is fighting his way back from injury and Aaron Hernandez landed in jail on a murder charge.

To say the least, it’s been a strange offseason for New England.

While the organization added a solid receiver in Danny Amendola and should hopefully have Gronk back in the lineup towards the beginning of the 2013 campaign, the rest of the talent at receiver and tight end is relatively unknown.

Kenbrell Thompkins, Aaron Dobson, Josh Boyce and Julian Edelman will be battling out for the No. 2 wideout spot, while Jake Ballard, Michael Hoomanawanui and Daniel Fells look to prove their worth at tight end.

For most quarterbacks, this mediocre lot would lead to lowered expectations, but not Brady. The three-time champion and two-time NFL MVP will be counted on to get the most out of this group and maximize the effectiveness of these receivers in the offense.

We’ll get our first glimpse of that on Friday night when the Pats clash with the Eagles.

 

Matt Flynn Under Center for Oakland

After years of toiling on the Green Bay Packers and Seattle Seahawks' respective benches, Matt Flynn may finally get his chance to start with the Oakland Raiders.

He’s competing with Terrelle Pryor and Tyler Wilson for the QB1 job, but has the most—albeit still limited—experience under his belt between the trio.

Star running back Darren McFadden even told Erik Kuselias of ProFootballTalk that Flynn is “pretty much” considered the starter at this juncture, which should end the quarterback controversy in Oakland.

After years of mediocre play under Carson Palmer, Jason Campbell, JaMarcus Russell and countless other signal-callers, the Raiders are ready to forge ahead with the 28-year-old out of LSU.

Flynn is best known for his late-season performances after playoff seeding has been decided—as evidenced by his New Year's Day evisceration of the Lions during the 2011 campaign, in which he connected on 31-44 passes for 480 yards and six touchdowns.

He also dominated the Patriots in 2010, completing 24 of 37 passes for 251 yards and three touchdowns.

If he can channel the talent that allowed him to dominate in those two games on a consistent basis, the Raiders have definitely found their quarterback for the foreseeable future.

Flynn should see a few snaps on Friday night against the Dallas Cowboys.