Patriots announce new kickoff time for preseason finale against the Giants

The New England Patriots have announced a new kickoff time for their preseason finale versus the New York Giants. The game, which is scheduled to take place on August 29 at East Rutherford’s MetLife Stadium, will now begin at 6 pm ET. The original schedule had the game as a 7:30 pm ET kickoff.

With the NFL switching to a 17-game regular season schedule this year, the Patriots will play only three preseason contests: they will host the Washington Football Team on August 12, and compete against the Philadelphia Eagles (August 19) on the road. The third and final game will see them travel to face the Giants.

Adding the change in kickoff time for that contest, the Patriots’ full preseason schedule now looks as follows:

• Week 1: vs. Washington Football Team — 7:30 p.m. ET Thursday, Aug. 12
• Week 2: at Philadelphia Eagles — 7:30 p.m. ET Thursday, Aug. 19
• Week 3: at New York Giants — 6 p.m. ET Sunday, Aug. 29

As was previously reported, the two games in Philadelphia and New Jersey could be preceded by joint training camp practices — the latter round, while not official, might even take place at the Patriots’ facility in Foxborough.

Seeing New England hold joint practices ahead of those two games would not be a surprise given that the club has good relationships with both organizations.

The Patriots already held joint practices with the Eagles in 2013 and 2014. While the club’s coaching staff has changed twice since then, general manager Howie Roseman is still running the football operations for the organization. As for the Giants, they have some deep Patriots connections as well: head coach Joe Judge spent eight seasons in New England as an assistant coach responsible for special teams and, in 2019, wide receivers.