JACKSONVILLE – The 'Bank will do prime-time in the preseason.
Not only will the Jaguars' lone nationally-televised 2016 preseason appearance be at home, it will be on the most important week of the preseason. And the opponent will be a 2015 playoff team.
The NFL on Thursday announced its 2016 preseason schedule, and while all specific dates and times aren't yet determined, the Jaguars will play at the New York Jets, at home against Tampa Bay, at home against Cincinnati and at Atlanta – in that order.
The game against Cincinnati – a Preseason Week 3 game – will be played at EverBank Field on Sunday, August 28 at 8 p.m. ET and will be nationally televised on NBC. Preseason Week 3 games are typically considered the most important because teams usually play starters deep into the second half.
That's typically the most-extensive playing time for starters during the preseason.
The Bengals, a playoff team the past five seasons, have won the AFC North two of the past three seasons. They won the North last season with a 12-4 record that tied for the best in franchise history.
The Jaguars did not play the Bengals last season, but they played all three of their other 2016 preseason opponents. They lost 28-23 to the Jets, 38-31 to the Buccaneers and 23-17 to the Falcons.
The rest of the Jaguars' preseason schedule is as follows:
*At New York Jets (August 11-14).
*Home against Tampa Bay (August 18-21).
*At Atlanta on Thursday, September 1.
Dates for the first two games and times for the Jets, Buccaneers and Falcons games will be finalized soon.
The also NFL is expected to release its 2016 regular-season schedule soon, with the league historically making that announcement shortly before the NFL Draft in late April. The Jaguars will play Denver, Oakland, Minnesota, Green Bay, Baltimore, Tennessee and Houston at EverBank Field with road games against Kansas City, San Diego, Chicago, Detroit, Buffalo, Tennessee, Indianapolis and Houston.
The Jaguars will play the Indianapolis Colts in a Jaguars home game at Wembley Stadium in London on Sunday, October 2.
