Week 3 of the NFL preseason got started Thursday Night with a doubleheader. Are there any more NFL games today?
The league sees three more matchups kicking off on Friday night as the final week of the 2024 preseason continues. Here’s how to watch the NFL games today, including start times, TV channels, livestream options, and more.
Are There Any NFL Games Tonight? Friday Night Football Schedule
Week 3 of the NFL preseason sees matchups spread across four days to round out the exhibition games.
Friday features three matchups, with the Jacksonville Jaguars and Atlanta Falcons starting at 7 p.m. ET. Then, the Miami Dolphins and Tampa Bay Buccaneers keep the action going with a 7:30 p.m. ET kickoff.
Finally, the night is rounded out by the Las Vegas Raiders hosting the San Francisco 49ers at 10 p.m. ET.
Here’s how to watch the NFL games today.
Jacksonville Jaguars at Atlanta Falcons
- Start time: Friday, Aug. 23, 2024, 7 p.m. ET
- Channel: NFL Network
- Live stream options: NFL App, NFL+, Hulu + Live TV, YouTube TV
- Radio stations: 1010 XL 92.5 JAX Sports Radio, 92.9 The Game
- Starting QBs: TBD
- Betting lines:
- Spread: JAX -7
- Total: 35.5
- Moneyline: JAX -310, ATL +250
The first matchup on Friday night sees Jacksonville heading to Mercedes-Benz Stadium to take on the Falcons. After a rather uninspiring Jaguars debut, QB Mac Jones got close to securing Jacksonville’s backup slot behind starting QB Trevor Lawrence last week.
The former Patriots 2021 first-round pick drove the Jaguars down the field on a pair of touchdown drives, showing impressive poise and decision-making that he lacked a season ago. One of those touchdowns came on a third-and-17 when Jones connected with special teams and preseason standout Parker Washington for 25 yards to give the Jaguars a 7-0 lead.
While C.J. Beathard started the second half, Jones would find himself back in the game after Beathard got knocked out by a rough sack. Jones threw a 31-yard touchdown to Brevin Easton.
If this is the Jones the Jaguars can count on, Jacksonville will have one of the better backup options in the NFL. However, the QB situation wasn’t the only position battle seeing good signs.
In Week 1, Travis Etienne got some snaps, scoring a touchdown on his only reception. He was looking good and ready to be a spark for the Jaguars offense.
After two weeks, 2023 third-round RB Tank Bigsby has shown he’s ready to bust through the line right behind Etienne with some solid runs and contributions to the rushing attack. Jacksonville’s one-two punch of Etienne and Bigsby should prove fruitful throughout the season.
However, the Falcons didn’t have the same luck. After a 20-13 loss in Week 1 to the Dolphins, they dropped their second preseason matchup to the Baltimore Ravens 13-12 after failing to convert a two-point conversion after scoring a touchdown at the end of the game.
However, the Falcons could’ve won with better kicking. Younghoe Koo missed three field goals from 40, 45, and 49 yards.
However, the story in Atlanta surrounds the decisions under center. Kirk Cousins will start for the Falcons in Week 1 of the regular season. However, the quarterback has been rehabbing a torn Achilles and has been held out of preseason action. In a strange twist, after just one half of preseason action, the Falcons have also decided to sit rookie quarterback Michael Penix Jr.
While Penix looked alright in his lone start against Miami, completing nine of his 16 passes for 104 yards, short fields allowed for almost instant scoring opportunities, and there is still plenty of room for improvement as the rookie failed to score himself.
While preserving Penix’s health is understandable, given Cousins’ position as QB1, there’s no telling when we will see Penix again in action.
2024 Preseason Stats Leaders
- QB:
- Jaguars: Mac Jones, 25 cmp/34 att, 308 yards, two TDs
- Falcons: Taylor Heinicke, twelve cmp/27 att, 125 yards
- RB:
- Jaguars: Tank Bigsby, 13 carries, 65 yards
- Falcons: Jase McClellan, 20 carries, 85 yards, one TD
- WR:
- Jaguars: Austin Trammell, six rec/eight targets, 108 yards
- Falcons: Chris Blair, six rec/eight targets, 136 yards
Miami Dolphins at Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Start time: Friday, Aug. 23, 2024, 7:30 p.m. ET
- Channel: Local
- Live stream options: NFL+
- Radio stations: Dolphins Radio Network, 98ROCK Tampa
- Starting QBs: TBD
- Betting lines:
- Spread: TB -1.5
- Total: 38
- Moneyline: TB -135, MIA +114
The next NFL game today sees the Dolphins heading to Raymond James Stadium to take on the Buccaneers.
Miami fans got the first glimpse of their $212 million quarterback last week as Tua Tagovailoa started and completed all five attempts while connecting with WR River Cracraft for a 13-yard touchdown to start the Dolphins’ night.
Tua thrived; however, the rest of the signal-callers struggled as Miami’s backup QBs lost two fumbles and were sacked four times by the Commanders.
The first fumble came in the red zone as Mike White was sacked and lost the ball. The second came late in the fourth quarter after Mark Perry had intercepted Trace McSorley.
While the defense was able to force some turnovers and sack the quarterback four times, the Commanders could move up and down the field, outgaining the Dolphins 340 to 288.
While holding Washington to just six points is a positive, two trips to the red zone will not always come up empty. Miami head coach Mike McDaniel and the coaching staff will hope for an improved showing from both units.
However, the Buccaneers’ second preseason matchup was not as fruitful. Tampa Bay lost to the Jaguars 20-7, and the offense struggled to get much going.
Quarterback Kyle Trask started under center as QB1 Baker Mayfield continues to get rest. Trask would score the only Tampa touchdown of the day, connecting with Cody Thompson on a 6-yard strike.
Following the touchdown drive, the Buccaneers had five three-and-outs. The only other drives ended in a missed field goal and the end of the game. At the very least, the Bucs will hope for more consistent offensive production after five failed drives.
Regarding the defense, the Jaguars may have scored 20 points, but that wasn’t quite an indictment of Tampa’s defensive unit.
Simple mistakes allowed the Jaguars to string together drives; however, the Buccaneers were able to force a fumble and get to the quarterback for five sacks, including three from 2023 sixth-round LB Jose Ramirez. This was a nice change after failing to get any pressure against the Bengals in Week 1.
2024 Preseason Stats Leaders
- QB:
- Dolphins: Skylar Thompson, 16 cmp/34 att, 156 yards, one TD, one INT
- Buccaneers: Kyle Trask, 24 cmp/39 att, 252 yards, one TD, one INT
- RB:
- Dolphins: Chris Brooks, 17 carries, 103 yards
- Buccaneers: Sean Tucker, 14 carries, 100 yards
- WR:
- Dolphins: Tanner Conner, three rec/four targets, 70 yards
- Buccaneers: Cody Thompson, eight rec/ten targets, 92 yards, one TD
San Francisco 49ers at Las Vegas Raiders
- Start time: Friday, Aug. 23, 2024, 10 p.m. ET
- Channel: NFL Network
- Live stream options: NFL App, NFL+, Hulu + Live TV, YouTube TV,
- Radio stations: KNBR 680 AM/ 1050 AM, Raider Nation Radio 920AM
- Starting QBs: TBD
- Betting lines:
- Spread: SF -5.5
- Total: 35
- Moneyline: SF -230, LV +190
The night’s final matchup sees the 49ers heading to Allegiant Stadium to take on the Raiders.
A Week 2 win over the Saints was nothing for the 49ers to celebrate. While the 16-10 victory saw some improvements from their Week 1 loss to the Titans, there is still plenty for the 49ers to clean up ahead of the regular season.
In a game that lacked much offense, Joshua Dobbs was the best option under center, outperforming all the 49ers’ signal-callers, including Brock Purdy, who saw his first preseason snaps. The performance was a bounce back for Dobbs after his rough start to his 49ers tenure. He punched in the only San Francisco touchdown from 1 yard out on fourth- and-goal just before the end of the first half.
New Orleans’ rushing attack found plenty of room and gained 134 yards. However, the 49ers shut down the passing attack, ruining some extended playing time for Saints starting quarterback Derek Carr. He completed seven of his nine attempts for 47 yards.
After allowing Will Levis and the Titans to shine in Week 1, shutting down the Saints’ passing attack was a noticeable improvement.
On the other side, Las Vegas head coach Antonio Pierce appears to have made a decision at quarterback. After a hard-fought battle through training camp and two preseason showdowns, Gardner Minshew has won the starting job over second-year quarterback Aidan O’Connell.
Both quarterbacks have had extended playing time this preseason. While Minshew is completing less than 50% of his passes, he’s protected the ball and kept himself upright.
After Minshew had a mediocre start to the matchup against the Cowboys in Week 2, O’Connell worked the Raiders back into the game, throwing a touchdown to start the second half and cut the score to 13-12. However, a poorly timed pick-six from the second-year QB likely cost him the opportunity to start in Week 1 of the regular season.
While O’Connell will likely get to play next week barring a poor performance or injury, it appears his path to QB1 has been closed off for now.
Expect the Raiders to continue to sort out their RB room as all of Zamir White, Alexander Mattison, and Ameer Abdullah show how valuable they can be in the rushing and passing attacks.
Also, don’t forget WR Tre Tucker, who is vying for the WR3 spot behind Davante Adams and Jakobi Meyers. The 2023 third-round pick has shown up consistently throughout the preseason ready to improve upon his 331-yard rookie campaign.
2024 Preseason Stats Leaders
- QB:
- 49ers: Joshua Dobbs, 26 cmp/41 att, 279 yards, one INT
- Raiders: Gardner Minshew, 16 cmp/33 att, 212 yards, one TD
- RB:
- 49ers: Jordan Mason, six carries, 34 yards, one TD
- Raiders: Zamir White, ten carries, 46 yards, one TD
- WR:
- 49ers: Tay Martin, seven rec/ten targets, 75 yards
- Raiders: Tre Tucker, five rec/ten targets, 139 yards