Tonight at 8 p.m. ET, the NFL preseason officially kicks off when the New York Giants and Buffalo Bills clash at Fawcett Stadium in Canton, Ohio in the NFL's annual Hall of Fame Game. The game can be live streamed for free here. New York fans can hear all of the action on 101.9 The Fan while Buffalo fans can do the same on WGR 550.
Both teams have had two franchise-greats inducted into the Hall of Fame as Michael Strahan, who set the NFL's single-season record for sacks in 2001 with 22.5, went in for the Giants while seven-time Pro Bowler and wide receiver Andre Reed was inducted for the Bills.
The 51st Hall of Fame Game features the Bills in their fourth appearance and first since 2009 while the Giants play in the game for the fifth time and first since 2002.
New York will be missing a few players tonight, including running back David Nelson, who is suffering a career-threatening neck injury and 2014 NFL Draft pick wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr., who is dealing with a hamstring issue.
The Giants are looking for a bounce back season after a 7-9 finish in 2013 that saw the team lose six straight games to kick it off. Part of the reason for the team's struggles was Eli Manning having perhaps his worst season since he was a rookie.
Manning went 317-for-551 (57.5) for 3,818 yards with 18 touchdowns and a career-high and league-worst 27 interceptions.
Manning is primed for the revamped offense under new coordinator Ben McAdoo.
"I'm excited," Manning told NJ.com Friday. "I'm excited to get out there and see all of the mechanics of how this offense is going to go. Just hearing the plays from coach McAdoo, just the flow of how he's going to call things, what his thought process is going to be going into the game."
Buffalo is hoping to build off of a 6-10 and fourth place finish in the AFC East in 2013 as EJ Manuel returns under center for his second season.
The Bills will finally get a look at what wide receiver Sammy Watkins can do and running back C.J. Spiller will look to be a weapon for the team's offense.
Manuel is coming off of a season where he went 180-for-306 (58.8%) as a rookie for 1,972 yards with 11 scores and nine picks.
Manuel and the Bills see this game as a chance for the team to make a statement.
"Obviously we want to go out there and put out a great product," Manuel said via The Sporting News. "It's national TV. It's the kickoff of the NFL season so obviously we want to start off with a bang.
The start of the NFL season gets closer and closer when the Giants and Bills take the field in Canton for the annual NFL Hall of Fame Game tonight in Ohio.
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