The New Orleans Saints and Baltimore Ravens are set to open the preseason on Thursday night for Week 1 and the game is from M&T Bank Stadium in Maryland and has Drew Brees and Joe Flacco looking to get things going and kickoff will be at 7:30 pm ET as the exhibition slate gets underway.
The Saints are opening the preseason with the Ravens and then the team will play against the Patriots at home. The team then has the Texans before finishing off with the Green Bay Packers. Drew Brees had another solid season, but by his standards he had a down year last year and now he is looking to bounce back. The Saints will have to do it without Jimmy Graham, who was traded to the Seahawks in the offseason and now Brees will have to find a new favorite weapon.
The Saints had a tough year, but they added CJ Spiller in the offseason and he could help revitalize the rushing game with Mark Ingram. Spiller can be a weapon out of the backfield and the Saints expect him to pick up where Darren Sproles left off when he was traded. The team has high expectations for Brandin Cooks and he showed some flashes last season before dealing with an injury.
The Saints have a division that is winnable and the team opens the season on the road against the Arizona Cardinals. The team then plays against the Buccaneers for their first NFC South game and first taste of Jameis Winston. The team continues the division run with the Panthers on the road and then they will play against the Cowboys in primetime and that will be in New Orleans. After the Cowboys the team faces the Eagles and then the Falcons.
The Saints have matchups with the Colts and Giants coming up after that and then the team has two of three on the road, with the Titans at home and then games away against the Redskins and Texans back to back. The Saints have the back stretch of the season filled with division games, as the team will play against the Panthers and Buccaneers before matchups with the Lions, Jaguars and Falcons to finish off the season.
The Ravens come into the season with Justin Forsett coming back after a breakout year and he is expected to be the main running back for the team. Forsett stepped up after the Ray Rice situation last year and had his first 1000 yard season. The team has the Saints, Eagles, Redskins and Falcons on the schedule and after that they open the regular season with the Broncos and Raiders on the road. Brees comes in after passing for nearly 5000 yards past season with 33 touchdowns, while Flacco had 3986 yards and 27 TDs for the Ravens last year.
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