Cowboys vs. Cardinals 2017: Time, TV channel for NFL Hall of Fame Game

After a long, dark, football-free summer, we’re ... still about a month away from meaningful football. But the NFL Hall of Fame Game is here and it’s just nice to see something resembling football. This year’s game has the Dallas Cowboys taking on the Arizona Cardinals, though you shouldn’t expect to see their starters much, if at all.

The game starts at 8 p.m. ET and will be seen on NBC, with online streaming available at NBC Sports.

The game traditionally takes place on the Sunday after the HOF ceremony, but after last year’s debacle with the field conditions, it got moved up to Thursday. So things should go a lot smoother with the field in better shape this year.

The Hall of Fame Game kicks off a weekend of festivities in Canton, headlined by the annual Pro Football Hall of Fame enshrinement ceremony, which takes place on Saturday. This year’s inductees are Morten Andersen, Terrell Davis, Kenny Easley, Jerry Jones, Jason Taylor, LaDainian Tomlinson, and Kurt Warner.

Although this is technically the first game on the calendar, the teams involved generally don’t like being here because it means they have five preseason games to deal with, and have to play a full game a week before anyone else. Larry Fitzgerald certainly didn’t hide his feelings about getting this year’s game.

Thus, coaches typically send out the starters on the first series or two as nothing more than a gesture, before they hit the bench to let the second, third, and fourth units battle it out for the rest of the day.

If this were the regular season we’d be excited about seeing Carson Palmer vs. Dak Prescott, but that’s obviously not happening. Cardinals coach Bruce Arians has already confirmed that he won’t be playing any of starters, including Palmer. So get ready to see lots of Blaine Gabbert and Trevor Knight on Thursday night! Given Palmer’s well-documented injury history, the backup QB battle is an underrated story in Cardinals camp.

Other veterans like David Johnson, Fitzgerald, Patrick Peterson, and Tyrann Mathieu will be sitting out, so don’t expect much star power here. On the bright side, we should be getting our first look at rookies Haason Reddick and Budda Baker, who figure to play heavy roles as the defense adjusts to key offseason departures.

Much like the Cardinals, the Cowboys probably won’t give many reps to their big stars, like Prescott, Ezekiel Elliott, Dez Bryant, and most of the offensive line. But they could end up giving snaps to first-round pick Taco Charlton, who will need to make an immediate impact with so many defensive players on suspension. If Charlton lives up to his hype, he’ll be a major boost to a Cowboys defense that was average at best last year.

So yeah, even though nobody takes the Hall of Fame Game seriously, there are still a few things worth watching for. Besides, let’s not forget the bigger picture — football is back. Sort of. We’ll take what we can get right now.

Time: Thursday, Aug. 3, 8 p.m. ET

Place: Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium, Canton, Ohio

TV: NBC

Announcers: Al Michaels, Cris Collinsworth, Michele Tafoya

Online: NBC Sports