Category: Preseason

Lions entire preseason schedule is against the AFC East

The Detroit Lions entire 2020 preseason schedule is against the four teams from the AFC East

The NFL continues to push forward with the business-as-normal approach, and that includes the preseason. Dates and times for all four Detroit Lions preseason games were finalized this week.

Detroit will play all four AFC East teams during the 2020 exhibition season. The preseason kicks off in Massachusetts against the New England Patriots on August 13th. The 7:30 p.m. local kickoff might be played in front of no fans due to the coronavirus pandemic and the local response, however.

That’s true for the home date with the New York Jets the following week. ESPN will broadcast the 8 p.m. kickoff nationally.

A trip to Miami and a home date with the Buffalo Bills round out the schedule. There could be joint practice sessions with the Dolphins in the days leading up to the Aug. 27th game, though that has yet to be determined.

Preseason schedule

August 13, 7:30 p.m. – at New England Patriots

August 20, 8 p.m. – New York Jets

August 27, 7:30 p.m. – at Miami Dolphins

September 3, 7 p.m. – Buffalo Bills

All games will be broadcast via the Lions preseason radio and television network affiliates.

Matt Nagy commits to playing starters in preseason

After a disappointing 2019, Bears head coach Matt Nagy is reportedly set to player his starters in preseason.

After an unexpected 2018 season that ended prematurely, the Chicago Bears entered the following year with a lackadaisical approach. In what was expected to be a Super Bowl season, quarterback Mitchell Trubisky took exactly three snaps — with zero passes — in one preseason game before the 2019 regular season.

And his lack of reps showed instantly in the opener against Green Bay, which appeared to be a foreshadowing for his entire year. Trubisky opened a lot of eyes last year in a negative way. The Bears’ franchise quarterback, who general manager Ryan Pace mortgaged his house in the Hamptons and his first newborn for, laid an egg last year.

It’s not shocking why the Bears declined Trubisky’s fifth-year option, but he’ll have an opportunity to replicate his 2018 season, as head coach Matt Nagy is reportedly going to play his guys in the preseason.

Obviously, this year carries more weight because of the impending quarterback battle between Trubisky and Nick Foles. However, preseason – much like spring training in baseball – provides a risk-free opportunity to work on things.

The other end of that is exposing your starters to injuries, but the importance of physically carrying out reps and things you work on in practice cannot be quantified. It was mind-boggling last year why Trubisky and several other starters saw no snaps in the exhibition games.

Rather, they were thrown into the fire in a rivalry game. Assuming the 2020 season goes on as planned, the Bears should be in a much better position for the regular season with Nagy’s revised approach.

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Chicago Bears’ 2020 preseason schedule is set

The Bears finalized their 2020 preseason schedule on Friday, which includes games against the Browns, Broncos, 49ers and Titans.

The Chicago Bears finalized their 2020 preseason schedule with dates and times on Friday, which includes home games against the Cleveland Browns and San Francisco 49ers, as well as road games against the Denver Broncos and Tennessee Titans.

The Bears will open their preseason slate against the Browns on August 15 before heading to Denver to face the Broncos, who they’ll hold joint practices with, on August 22. Chicago will host San Francisco in the third preseason game — the dress rehearsal game — before closing things out against Tennessee on Sept. 3.

In the past, preseason has meant little to head coach Matt Nagy, in terms of his starters. He’s typically rested his starters while most teams give their starters some preseason reps to get in the swing of things. Well, preseason is going to look different for the Bears following a disappointing 2019 season.

Preseason will mean a little something more this year, as there are several roster battles that are expected to last well into preseason. Most notably, the quarterback competition between Mitchell Trubisky and Nick Foles, which will dominate offseason talk.

But there will also be competitions to watch at cornerback, safety, right guard, receiver and even kicker. So, unlike over the last two seasons, Bears fans are going to be more interested in how the preseason shakes out.

Here’s a look at the Bears’ 2020 preseason schedule:

Week Date Opponent Time (CT)
1 Sat. 8/15 vs. Cleveland Browns Noon
2 Sat. 8/22 at Denver Broncos 8:05 p.m.
3 Sat. 8/29 vs. San Francisco 49ers Noon
4 Thurs. 9/3 at Tennessee Titans 7:00 p.m.

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Will the Lions host joint practices in training camp in 2020?

The Lions have hosted the Patriots and Giants in the last two training camps, but the popular practice might not happen in 2020

Will there be joint practices at the Detroit Lions training camp in Allen Park this summer? It’s a question nobody can definitively answer just yet.

The Lions have hosted opposing teams in advance of their scheduled preseason games at Ford Field for joint practice sessions in the last couple of training camps. Last year it was the New England Patriots, following the New York Giants in the summer of 2018.

This year’s joint practice candidate for Detroit would be the New York Jets, the team’s first home preseason opponent. New York’s coach is Adam Gase, a former Lions coach and Michigan native. Nothing has been officially scheduled, and based on the current coronavirus pandemic restrictions and accommodations, it might not happen in 2020.

From a recent ESPN piece from analyst Seth Wickersham on the idea of joint practices this summer,

The NFL has not provided teams with guidance at this point regarding events such as joint practices. The league is working with outside experts and the NFL Players Association to develop protocols for players returning to team facilities. The NFL then will work on procedures for training camp.

The Lions make ideal candidates to share a joint week with the Miami Dolphins leading into their third preseason game in Miami, the week after the Jets come to Detroit. Dolphins coach Brian Flores and much of the Miami staff has ties with Lions coach Matt Patricia from their days together with the New England Patriots. That potential joint situation has also has yet to be scheduled.

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Jags, Bucs planning to have joint practices in the preseason

The Jags plan on traveling to their in-state rivals of the NFC to get in a couple joint practices in.

In NFL training camps, practicing against your teammates can get repetitive real fast, which is exactly why the Jacksonville Jaguars elect to have joint practices in the preseason. This year, they have plans to do so with a familiar team in the Tampa Bay Bucs before their Week 2 preseason game, who will host the Jags at AdventHealth Training Facility.

While it’s unclear as to when camps will start or what the process will be like, the Jags and Bucs appear to have a plan in place for when the league announces that players can return to their respective facilities.

The Jags and Bucs have been down this road together before as they had joint practices in Jacksonville before the 2017 season. The Jags also had joint practices with the New England Patriots that year, who then had current Bucs quarterback Tom Brady and tight end Rob Gronkowski. Later that season the Jags met the Patriots in the AFC Championship.

Needless to say, if there is NFL football, things should be interesting in the preseason as the Jags’ young secondary (and team in general) will get some quality looks as the Bucs are projected to be a postseason team.

2020 Chicago Bears preseason schedule

The Bears announced their preseason slate, which includes games against the Browns, 49ers, Broncos and Titans.

The Chicago Bears’ 2020 regular-season schedule has been released, where we learned exactly how their season will shake out.

The Bears also announced their preseason slate, which includes home games against the Cleveland Browns and San Francisco 49ers, as well as away games against the Denver Broncos and Tennessee Titans.

  • Aug. 13-17 vs. Cleveland Browns, Time TBD
  • Aug. 20-24 at Denver Broncos, Time TBD
  • Aug. 27-30 vs. San Francisco 49ers, Time TBD
  • Sept. 3 at Tennessee Titans, Time TBD

Interestingly enough, the Bears will play the Titans twice this year — once in the preseason and again in Week 9. Both of those games will be road games at Tennessee.

In Matt Nagy’s two-year coaching tenure in Chicago, preseason typically has been reserved for young guys competing for roster spots. Nagy has received criticism for resting his starters, including during the dress rehearsal games, where teams are known to play into the third quarter.

But this season will be different. That, following a disappointing 2019 campaign, which included one of the NFL’s worst offenses. Leading the preseason charge will be the Mitchell Trubisky vs. Nick Foles quarterback competition, which Nagy stressed will play into the preseason.

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Don’t expect Bears to sit out preseason games this year

Matt Nagy hasn’t been a fan of preseason. But sounds like we’ll see a new approach, with players jockeying for starting jobs, in preseason.

Matt Nagy has made his feelings about preseason football perfectly clear. He’s not a fan. While it’s beneficial in getting some reserve players experience, it’s not exactly ideal for starters considering the injury risk.

Nagy first made a statement when he decided to rest most of his starters during the third preseason game in 2018, which is the “dress rehearsal” game where starters typically play into the third quarter.

But last offseason, Nagy didn’t even let his starters see action from the get-go. While Mitchell Trubisky appeared for one series in the first preseason game, he didn’t attempt a single pass. Other players never even dressed for the preseason.

Well, that approach wasn’t exactly beneficial for the Bears last season, who finished 8-8 with an offense that was among the worst in the NFL. Now, Nagy is going with a new approach, one that will likely see more starters — and players jockeying for starting jobs — playing in preseason.

That’s most likely due to the open quarterback competition between Trubisky and Nick Foles. Nagy explained that both Trubisky and Foles will get equal reps in the preseason. But that’s also not limited to the quarterback position.

But that doesn’t mean you’ll necessarily see guys like Khalil Mack, Akiem Hicks, Eddie Jackson or Kyle Fuller playing in preseason either.

Nagy insists that, when the quarterback competition opens, that Trubisky will be the first one in the huddle. While there’s no clear-cut starter at this point, Trubisky and Foles’ battle will dominate training camp and preseason headlines.

The NFL plans to start the 2020 season on time, preseason included, although that’s subject to change. So, once the preseason does get under way, expect for those games to mean a tad more than they have in the past couple of years.

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Report: Broncos looking into hosting Jags for joint practices

The Jacksonville Jaguars have had four consecutive seasons where they’ve held joint preseason practices and 2020 might not be any different. According to former Jags beat writer and current Denver Post writer, Ryan O’Halloran, the Denver Broncos are …

The Jacksonville Jaguars have had four consecutive seasons where they’ve held joint preseason practices and 2020 might not be any different. According to former Jags beat writer and current Denver Post writer, Ryan O’Halloran, the Denver Broncos are exploring the possibility of hosting the Jags for joint practices in August.

The Jags’ last joint practice came against the Baltimore Ravens last year as the team headed up north to Owings Mills, MD. The year before that, they headed up north to have joint practices against the Minnesota Vikings. Of course, in 2017 they were hosted by the New England Patriots, who they eventually faced in the AFC Championship. They also hosted the Tampa Bay Bucs that year, too. 

A lot of teams like to have joint practices for the sake of better evaluations, as it gives the players reps against unfamiliar opponents in a controlled environment. It especially will help the coaches to make an evaluation on the bubble players who are fighting for the last few roster spots. 

Both teams could possibly be waiting for a new Collective Bargaining Agreement before making a decision as the fact sheet that leaked recently stated teams will only be allowed to have four joint practices. If that’s the case, the Jags may elect to use two on the Broncos and two on another team (similar to 2017 against the Bucs and Patriots) but ultimately we won’t know until we get closer to August. 

Report: Bears, Broncos request to hold joint practices in Denver this August

While it’s far too early to begin speculating about how the preseason will go down, the Bears appear to be making some plans in advance.

While it’s far too early to begin speculating about how the preseason will go down, the Bears appear to be making some plans in advance.

The Bears and Broncos have requested to hold joint practices during the preseason in August, according to Broncos writer Mike Klis of 9News.

Now, obviously this is contingent upon the finalization of the NFL’s preseason schedule. If this were to happen, the Bears and Broncos would need to play a Week 2 or 3 preseason game. While nothing is guaranteed, the Bears and Broncos have made it known that they’d like to practice together in August.

Given former Bears defensive coordinator Vic Fangio now coaches the Broncos and his relationship with Bears coach Matt Nagy, this would be a logical choice for joint practices in Denver.

If this indeed pans out the way both teams would like, this would mark the second time in three years that the Bears and Broncos would hold joint practices in Denver.

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