The pigskin gets dusted off and put into play tonight as the 2013 NFL preseason kicks off at Fawcett Stadium in Canton, Ohio with the Dallas Cowboys play host to the Miami Dolphins in the NFL Hall of Fame Game i.e the return of Sunday Night Football on NBC. It’s a battle of teams that narrowly missed the playoffs last season but feel they’ve made the necessary improvements and adjustments to break out from the pack and play beyond week 17 this season, rather than hit the links early and watch the playoffs from home.
The game follows the induction of seven new members to the NFL Pro Football Hall of Fame. They include Chris Carter, Larry Allen, Jonathan Ogden, Dave Robinson, Bill Parcels, Curley Culp and Warren Sapp. This marks the 50th year of induction ceremonies into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
It’s a great honor to play in the Hall of Fame Game so don’t expect the Dolphins or Cowboys to give the game away, especially because it is the first preseason game and nationally televised. Miami comes into tonight’s game having a -10 turnover ratio from last season hanging over their head. That abysmal ratio definitely contributed to the team’s 7-9 record, and coach Joe Philbin will not be tolerating turnovers tonight, especially careless ones.
The game should start with quarterback Ryan Tannehill taking some looks at his new receiving corps that features newcomers Brandon Gibson, Mike Wallace and tight end Dustin Keller. Tannehill will need time to find those guys downfield, and a key injury to starting right guard John Jerry could open the door for opposing defenses to get to Tannehill early and often.
The Cowboys head into the new season on a mission to not underperform yet again. Coach Jason Garrett is tasked with turning a talented team into a playoff team that can find ways to win games instead of ways to lose them. Garrett wants to take some of the pressure off of Romo to forces passes that yield interceptions so look for running back DeMarco Murray to get in a lot of work in the first quarter.
Tonight’s NFL Sunday Night Football Hall of Fame Game that formally kicks off the 2013/2014 NFL preseason between the Dallas Cowboys and Miami Dolphins gets underway at 9/8c in high definition (HD) only on the NBC network. A free live online streaming version of tonight’s big first football game of this is available to watch via a mobile phone, iPad, laptop or other Internet device here at the NBC Sports official website if your television provider supports it. It’s difficult to pick the winner of a preseason game with starters playing a single quarter, but considering this one is nationally televised and the Cowboys are the home team, I predict a Dallas win by a tight 19-13 score.
