New York, NY – The Hall of Fame Game between the New Orleans Saints and Arizona Cardinals on Aug. 5 in Canton, Ohio, will begin the NFL's schedule of 12 nationally-televised preseason games.
The Saints, in the midst of one of the most noteworthy offseasons in recent history due to the pending season-long suspension of head coach Sean Payton for his role in the bounty scandal, will also play the Houston Texans in a nationally-televised game Aug. 25.
Among the other games, the Super Bowl champion New York Giants will host the Chicago Bears on Aug. 24 while the New England Patriots, who lost to the Giants in a rematch of Super Bowl XLII, will host the Philadelphia Eagles on Aug. 20.
The 12-game slate of national TV games includes all of the playoff teams from last year.
The first week will feature reigning league MVP Aaron Rodgers leading the Green Bay Packers into San Diego on Aug. 9.
Week 2 will see Indianapolis, without the services of Peyton Manning for the first time in over a decade, visit Pittsburgh and Baltimore hosting Detroit.
The final week of national TV games features San Francisco visiting Manning's new team, the Denver Broncos, while the man he replaced in Denver, Tim Tebow, will be in New York with the Jets as they host the Carolina Panthers.
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