The NFL regular season is still a few weeks away with the highly anticipated NFC championship rematch between the Minnesota Vikings taking on the New Orleans Saints on September 9^th, but until then there will be four preseason games for each of the 32 NFL franchises before the upcoming season gets underway.

Even though NFL preseason games are pretty pointless and have no bearing on the upcoming regular season, they can still paint a picture of things to come as these team’s superstars show they haven’t missed a step and new additions try to prove they are worth enough to make the team.

The most intriguing matchup on Thursday will be the defending Super Bowl champion New Orleans Saints going up against the Bill Belichick’s New England Patriots.

Despite only seeing Tom Brady and Drew Brees for one or two series in the first quarter of this preseason game, the defense will be what people will be most interested in seeing as both teams might struggle on the defensive side of the football next season.

Along with arguably two of the best teams going head to head on Thursday, there are two other preseason games that will be played with Jimmy Clausen leading the Carolina Panthers against the Joe Flacco and the Baltimore Ravens and the revamped Oakland Raiders facing off against the Dallas Cowboys in Arlington, Texas.

Even though the Patriots going head to head against the defending champions is arguably the most anticipated preseason matchup on Thursday, I believe the Raiders taking America’s Team could ultimately being the game to watch as Oakland will showcase a new starting quarterback in Jason Campbell and a new era of Raiders football might be born. If your ready for some NFL sports betting, get ready to hit the best online sportsbooks.

With Campbell under center and a new found confidence for the silver and black, the Raiders could be a force to be reckoned with in the AFC Conference next season.

New Orleans Saints @ New England Patriots 7:30pm EST

Oakland Raiders @ Dallas Cowboys 9pm EST

Carolina Panthers @ Baltimore Ravens 8pm EST

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