NFL Preseason Week 1: Ranking 5 best games to watch

2. Chargers at Cardinals – Thursday, Aug. 8, 10:00 p.m. ET

It remains to be seen at this point whether or not the Arizona Cardinals will debut No. 1 overall pick Kyler Murray in the first week of the NFL preseason. After all, he’s the unquestioned starter for the Redbirds entering the 2019 season. As such, it’s hard to say how the team will choose to balance getting the Oklahoma product reps in the preseason while also trying to keep him healthy.

Regardless of whether or not Murray plays, though, the Cardinals’ first game of the preseason is going to be well worth watching. The big reason for that is the other new face in Arizona, head coach Kliff Kingsbury. It’s clear that Kingsbury is going to try and bring the air-raid offense to the NFL and this will be our first taste of how effective that will be at the pro level, which is quite intriguing.

On top of that, we’ll also get a look at some of the weapons that Murray will have in this offense. Rookies such as Hakeem Butler and Andy Isabella will likely make their NFL debuts in this matchup with the Los Angeles Chargers, which could be quite exciting. And on defense, we could see Byron Murphy at corner, who figures to play a big role early on.

And let’s not forget about the Chargers, either. This team is a potential Super Bowl contender and, while you shouldn’t expect much Philip Rivers on the field for this one, seeing how the ancillary pieces that could be key for depth perform could tell us a lot about how viable LA’s title chances are.