CANTON, OH – AUGUST 06: The line of scrimmage during the second quarter of the National Football League preseason game between the Carolina Panthers and Arizona Cardinals on August 6, 2026, at the Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton, OH. (Photo by Frank Jansky/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
We all got a taste of NFL preseason last night with the — what’s the word for shocking — shockingly exciting Hall of Fame game that came down to the last play.
These days everyone says pre-season doesn’t matter, but then they watch every game they can, analyze their favorite team (things are looking up!) and then forget everything about it as soon as it’s over.
To me, the NFL pre-season is a rare case….maybe the only case…where the NFL is leaving money, that’s right, money on the table.
Preseason used to really mean something. I was watching some 1973 football highlights the other day (don’t judge) and the New York Giants are in the midst of a slump, they’re like 2-4-1 or whatever and Pat Summerall the announcer is like, “it’s such a shock for the Giants to have this record after they were 6-0 in the pre-season.”
Can you imagine any announcer these days referencing a teams record in the pre-season midway through the season. Like, “gee, the Cowboys are 7-0 now, but when they went 0-3 in pre-season, who would have thunk it?” No one would ever.
And I’m amazed at the fact that in the NFL, and in the sprawling NFL media/blog space, no one has dedicated a website to the history NFL pre-season. It’s not like the records don’t exist. Who is the NFL leading rusher all-time in preseason games? (My guess is Jim Brown). What’s the all-time pre-season series between the Lions and Jets? What played has played in the most pre-season games in history? How do we not know that? In an NFL that is written about 365, 24-7, there’s a void.
But fear not, I’ve got suggestions on how the NFL can make pre-season, um, great again. MPGA!
PITTSBURGH, PA – NOVEMBER 15: Paul Tagliabue, former commissioner of the National Football League, looks on from the sideline before a game between the Cleveland Browns and Pittsburgh Steelers at Heinz Field on November 15, 2015 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The Steelers defeated the Browns 30-9. (Photo by George Gojkovich/Getty Images)
Getty Images
The Tagliabue Trophy
What are we playing for? When I was young and in my NFL fan infancy I used to track (don’t judge) pre-season standings to see if my team was in first place in the division. I wondered (don’t judge) if my team would get a banner for winning the pre-season division title.
Uh, no.
But why aren’t we playing for something? They are keeping score right? Haven’t side quests become the way of life in er, life, and sports? The NBA has that In-Season Tournament thing. The WNBA has the Commissioners Cup. NHL teams play these games in Europe. The entire MLB regular season is a side quest until the playoffs start.
The NFL team with the best winning percentage and point differential in pre-season wins the Tagliabue Trophy, named for the former NFL Commissioner. There.
(Original Caption) Ray Nitachke (66) defensive captain of the Green Bay Packers, gets together with Coach Vince Lombardi on the sidelines during the Western conference playoff game against the Los Angeles Rams
Bettmann Archive
Alternate Sites
Back where there were six pre-season games and the NFL was still nascent, teams would play games in non-NFL markets. The Jets, when they had Joe Namath, played a game in Birmingham in 1968, but they weren’t the only ones. This was the NFL’s way of growing the game in various markets.
The NFL doesn’t need to grow the game in many more domestic markets, but with three pre-season games now, isn’t it perfect for every team to get one home game, one away game and one at a neutral site?
The NFL can revisit places it used to go. Sure, the Giants-Jets pre-season game is cool, but why not play it in the Yale Bowl? Or if you really want to get crazy, play it at CitiField (not like the Mets need it). Green Bay should play a game in Milwaukee for old times sake.
You don’t think a Cowboys game would draw in San Antonio? Or Shreveport? Could Seattle play a game in Portland? The Chargers play a game in San Diego (oh wait, that might be too soon). The Titans couldn’t play a game in Memphis? The Broncos in Utah, the Chiefs in Oklahoma City, the Bills in Toronto? (Look it up, that used to happen). The Dolphins in Orlando? Or someone in St. Louis?
If I’m the NFL, this turns into another chip in the whole relocation, expansion game. That means money.
General view of the Pro Football Hall of Fame building during an induction ceremony, Canton, Ohio, August 11th 1981. A choir is shown at left. (Photo by UPI/Bettmann Archive/Getty Images)
Getty Images
Alternate Uniforms
The NFL has finally embraced the alternate uniform universe – no one does it better than the NHL though – with rivalries jersey and alternate helmets. How has no one ever thought to have teams wear alternate jerseys in pre-season?
I mean, honestly, the pre-season would be the perfect place for teams to wear throwback jerseys. Imagine the Patriots in red playing a game in Boston, or the Cowboys in their old-school blue in the Cotton Bowl, or Minnesota in purple pants playing outdoors with both teams on the same sidelines (look it up, that used to happen).
Or there could just be teams with a set of home-and-away pre-season jerseys. Almost like if you want to wear our real jersey, well, son, you have to make the team.
And don’t say there are too many jerseys already for teams. There aren’t. This is a market that hasn’t run dry.
Alternate Rules
Instead of using the UFL to try out some rules and then stealing what works without giving them any credit, why not try one pre-season week to change up some things. How about defensive pass interference is just a 15-yard penalty? How about 4-point field goals from beyond 50 yards? How about making it legal for eligible wide receivers to be moving forward at the snap (CFL rule)?
If pre-season games are just practice anyway, isn’t this the right time to try this out?
The NFL pre-season does a great job building anticipation and excitement without really even trying. With a few subtle tweaks, it could be even greater.
Leave a comment