It's time for NFL football 2018, and one of the games on tap for NFL Preseason Week 1 is the New Orleans Saints vs. Jacksonville Jaguars. These preseason NFL games can be tricky to find on TV, but we've got you covered for finding what TV channel the Saints are on against the Jaguars. First, the nitty gritty: New Orleans vs. Jacksonville date/location: Thursday, August 9, at Jacksonville, Florida. Game time: 7 p.m. central. Now, here's the TV channel info Saints vs. Jaguars preseason game 1 2018 (As with many NFL preseason games, it's the local TV stations that have the rights. That's the case with the Saints-Jaguars game Thursday): Saints-Jaguars TV channels local markets: Fox 8 in New Orleans CBS47 or FOX30 in Jacksonville For live streaming, the Jaguars are providing it free here to certain locations (the Jacksonville market, and the Orlando, Daytona, Savannah and Gainesville markets, including Mexico and the UK). Preview Notes: *The Jaguars made the AFC Championship game last year as a surprise and enter 2018 season with high expectations—among the highest in franchise history. The site VegasInsider.com has the Jaguars as a 20-1 to win the Super Bowl this year. *Jaguars coach Doug Marrone was an assistant under Saints coach Sean Payton 12 years ago in Payton's first season leading New Orleans. Marrone was the offensive coordinator. *The Saints will likely give playing time to quarterbacks Tom Savage (veteran) and Tayson Hill. *On both teams, rookie wide receiver have been making big impressions: The Jaguars' DJ Chark Jr., out of Louisiana State University, and the Saints' Tre'Quan Smith out of University of Central Florida have had impressive training camps. *Both teams are set at quarterback, the Saints with Drew Brees and Jaguars with Blake Bortles. But Bortles had wrist surgery in January. *On March 15, the Saints' owner Tom Benson died from flu at the age of 90. He was succeeded by his wife Gayle. *The Jaguars, who had the No. 2–ranked defense in the league last year, selected University of Florida defensive tackle Taven Bryan with their first pick in the 1028 draft. Update: This article has been updated to include additional preview notes.<doc-sep>The 2018 NFL season is upon us and the Jacksonville Jaguars will host the New Orleans Saints to kick off the preseason on Thursday, August 9th with kickoff at 7:00pm EST. Blake Bortles will be looking at continuing his solid training camp and it will be fun to watch how Andrew Norwell gels with the rest of the offensive line. Leonard Fournette will get a few reps, but his backups T.J. Yeldon and Corey Grant will get plenty of looks in the opener. On the defensive side of the ball, I hope first round pick Taven Bryan can go but that looks unlikely what with his abdominal injury. The battle for the nickel cornerback position between D.J. Hayden and Tyler Patmon will definitely be something to keep an eye on, as well as rookie safety Ronnie Harrison. Everything you need to know Game time: Thursday, August 9th at 7:00pm EST Location: TIAA Bank Field, Jacksonville, FL TV channel: CBS47 or FOX30 Radio: 1010XL AM or 92.5 FM Online streaming: The Jaguars will live stream their preseason games at www.jaguars.com/live. (Available in Jacksonville, Orlando, Daytona, Savannah and Gainesville markets in the United States as well as throughout the UK and Mexico.) Odds: Jaguars are 2.5-point favorites. Over/Under: 34.5 points. Prediction: Jaguars win 26-12 Enemy blog: Canal Street Chronicles — Website | Twitter | Facebook Our Twitter: @BigCatCountry Our Facebook: Please like us! Our Podcast: @DownByTheBank<doc-sep>The New Orleans Saints finally take the field in the first week of the 2018 NFL Preseason tonight! The Saints travel to Jacksonville to face the Jacksonville Jaguars for the first of four preseason games over the next month. Although the star players will likely see a relatively small amount of playing time on the field, the rest of the roster should prove to be an interesting watch tonight. There will be plenty of new faces in black and gold to follow in tonight’s game, and there will be some anticipation to see how they fare against the competition. Lets see who the next big thing for the Saints could be. It’s time to commence the annual shaking of fists and gnashing of teeth that is Saints preseason football! Here are your links to follow all of tonight’s preseason action: Game time: Thursday, August 9th - 4:00pm PST / 6:00pm CST / 7:00pm EST Location: TIAA Bank Field - Jacksonville, Florida Weather Forecast: 88º, Partly Cloudy TV Broadcasts: NFL Network (National Re-broadcast) Sunday, August 12th - 5:30am CST WVUE FOX 8 New Orleans (Live) Featuring: Joel Meyers, Sean Kelley, and Jon Stinchcomb Raycom Media - Television affiliates found here DIRECTV NFL Sunday Ticket: Preseason games not included in the package Radio: WWL 870AM/105.3FM New Orleans -Featuring: Zach Streif, Deuce McAllister, and Kristian Garic New Orleans Saints radio network affiliates can be found here Jacksonville Jaguars radio network affiliates can be found here Online Streaming: NFL GAMEPASS (Subscription Required) iOS/Android Streaming: NFL App Odds: Saints +2.5; Over/Under 34.5 Opponent Blog: Big Cat Country<doc-sep>The Jacksonville Jaguars kick off their 2018 campaign tonight at 7pm EST against the New Orleans Saints (see Ryan O’Bleness’ crossover piece with Canal Street Chronicles). Although the starters may not see more than a series in all likelihood, that shouldn’t mitigate the enthusiasm of seeing the Jaguars suit up in an organized competition for the first time since January. Toss in the debut of our new threads — teal tops and white pants, by the way — and tonight’s affair becomes must-see-TV. Opponent One of the strongest rosters in the NFL, the Saints will likely sideline their marquee veterans, including Drew Brees. This means a heavy dose of Tom Savage, who is still probably experiencing PTSD from the Jaguars ten sack thrashing against the Texans in week one of last season. Undrafted rookie quarterback JT Barrett of Ohio State should see the majority of snaps in the second half. Similar to the Jaguars, the Saints are pretty set across the board with their starters and there won’t be many position battles to key in on. One player I look forward to watching is rookie running back Boston Scott of Louisiana Tech. Scott was a prospect I was very high on as a potential draft gem and Corey Grant replacement, and he should get plenty of play as the Saints seek clarity at the bottom of their running back depth chart with Mark Ingram suspended for the first four games of 2018. Storylines The Jaguars’ offseason has been relatively uneventful to this point owing to the dearth of position battles on this roster, but this is what I like to refer to as “champagne problems.” While I do expect the offensive and defensive starting units to begin the game and sweat a little bit, I don’t expect them to stay in very long. This means a heavy dose of Cody Kessler and rookie Tanner Lee, who is vying to earn a spot on the practice squad. Kessler will need to show fluency in the offense in a live situation and demonstrate that he can limit turnovers in the event he ever has to play this season. The battle for the final wide receiver spot should also start to come into focus. My understanding is that Shane Wynn and Jaydon Mickens (with an exception) are eligible for the practice squad this season, and rookie free agent Allen Lazard has come on strong lately. When I interviewed Lazard at the Senior Bowl, he shared that the Saints were his favorite team growing up and that they “grilled him” on the whiteboard in his first meeting in Mobile. With such promise at the position and early nicks to Marqise Lee and Donte Moncrief in camp, it wouldn’t be the most outrageous thing if the Jaguars end up keeping just three running backs and seven wide receivers on the final 53 man roster. On the defense, the amount of reps that rookie strong side linebacker Leon Jacobs sees in his debut will be something worth noting. Jacobs has impressed his coaches and teammates in camp, and Thursday’s exhibition will be a huge test for how well he can actually apply the information in game speed. Expect Jacobs to see a lot of snaps, especially with backup Brooks Ellis sidelined for most of the past week. Key matchups Marcus Davenport and Trey Hendrickson vs. Will Richardson 2018 Saints first round pick Marcus Davenport is the guy I would love to see test rookie right tackle Will Richardson, but Davenport has spent more time working with trainers thus far than he has on the field and likely will be shelved for the game. This sets up a big opportunity for Florida Atlantic product Trey Hendrickson to square off against Richardson, and we will have a better idea by the end of the match up if Richardson is cut from NFL cloth. Tre’Quan Smith vs. Tre Herndon A familiar name for most Jaguars fans, UCF rookie receiver Tre’Quan Smith has lit up camp for the Saints. Smith will likely see snaps on both the outside and in the slot, where he will be competing with Ted Ginn Jr. and Tommylee Lewis for regular season snaps. If rookie free agent cornerback Tre Herndon can continue the positive momentum he’s generated so far, he can continue to build his case for making the team. Deon Yelder vs. Leon Jacobs If Jacobs sees snaps into the second half, he will have his hands full against rookie free agent tight end Deon Yelder. Jacobs has flashed his coverage skills and Yelder will be a nice challenge to see if Jacobs can play backwards from the line. Natrell Jamerson vs. Tanner Lee Tanner Lee was a turnover machine at Nebraska, and his performance so far in camp suggests this may be a theme that carries over into his pro career. Similar to Kessler, Nathaniel Hackett and Scott Milanovich will be evaluating Lee on his ability to take care of the football, which is priority number one for this offense. Final prediction I think the Jaguars take a lead into halftime, but a couple Tanner Lee picks allow the Saints to take home the win in the fourth quarter. That’s fine. Whether or not the Jaguars win on the scoreboard, they will be real winners if they can enter next week with an empty injury report.<doc-sep>
The New Orleans Saints begin the 2018 Preseason on the road against the Jacksonville Jaguars tonight. Although wins and losses “don’t mean anything” in the preseason, it would be great to see the Saints come out strong against the AFC semifinalists from a season ago. The Jags are no longer the downtrodden franchise they had been for so long, as they had proven by coming within 15 minutes of the Super Bowl. Those of you in the local New Orleans market will be able to watch the game live on FOX 8 (WVUE) while the rest of us will need to listen on WWL.com and live vicariously though this thread until the NFL Network replay airs over the weekend. Here’s to a great showing from the Saints, and leaving Jacksonville as healthy as they arrived! Game time: Thursday, August 9th - 4:00pm PST / 6:00pm CST / 7:00pm EST Location: TIAA Bank Field - Jacksonville, Florida Weather Forecast: 88º, Partly Cloudy TV Broadcasts: NFL Network (National Re-broadcast) Sunday, August 12th - 5:30am CST WVUE FOX 8 New Orleans (Live) Featuring: Joel Meyers, Sean Kelley, and Jon Stinchcomb Raycom Media - Television affiliates found here DIRECTV NFL Sunday Ticket: Preseason games not included in the package Radio: WWL 870AM/105.3FM New Orleans -Featuring: Zach Streif, Deuce McAllister, and Kristian Garic New Orleans Saints radio network affiliates can be found here Jacksonville Jaguars radio network affiliates can be found here Online Streaming: NFL GAMEPASS (Subscription Required) iOS/Android Streaming: NFL App Odds: Saints +2.5; Over/Under 34.5 Opponent Blog: Big Cat Country It’s not great NFL Football, but it’s NFL Football nonetheless. At least it’s Saints football, finally!