Colts 2017 preseason schedule announced

The Colts’ 2017 preseason schedule has been announced!

Though the preseason is still a few months away, we know the opponents and schedule for those exhibition games for the Colts:

Week 1: Detroit Lions - August 10-14

Week 2: at Dallas Cowboys - August 17-21

Week 3: at Pittsburgh Steelers - August 24-27

Week 4: Cincinnati Bengals - August 31 - September 1

The exact dates and times for these games will be determined at a later date, but it should be noted that the Colts currently aren’t scheduled to have any nationally televised preseason games on the major networks.

It’s a very interesting preseason slate for the Colts, as they’ll face three playoff teams from a year ago in their first three preseason games. The Lions and Jim Caldwell will visit Indianapolis to kick off the preseason, and then the Colts will hit the road to face two of the best teams in the NFL in the Cowboys and Steelers. The second and third games are when the starters usually play the most in the preseason, so those two could both wind up being very interesting matchups and good early tests for this Colts team.

This will be the 15th year in a row in which the Colts and Bengals will meet for the preseason finale, which makes a ton of sense given the proximity between Indianapolis and Cincinnati. This year’s game will take place in Indy and will carry on the ‘rivalry’ of that fourth preseason game - which, with the first and fourth games coming at home, means that Colts fans aren’t going to get to see a great product at Lucas Oil Stadium in August.

It’s also worth pointing out that the Colts will face three playoff teams from 2016 in four games, which is as many 2016 playoff opponents as they’ll face in the regular season - out of 13 opponents! The Colts will face the Steelers in both the preseason and the regular season this year.

The preseason isn’t the most exciting thing and therefore the preseason schedule getting released probably isn’t the most exciting thing, but it’s at least some concrete information to go off of as we get closer to the season. The first preseason game is always interesting because it’s the first chance we’ll have to see this year’s Colts team in action in a game scenario. Then in the second game the starters will play a bit more, leading up to the third game when they’ll get the whole first half, give or take a drive or two. The fourth preseason game, however, is one where the starters won’t play and instead the backups and depth guys will be fighting for the final spots on the 53-man roster.