The Cardinals’ long preseason ends at Lambeau Field with a family argument. Friday night’s finale puts Mike LaFleur’s Arizona sideline across from his brother Matt’s Green Bay operation – the 24th preseason meeting between the franchises, the first in 13 years, and the first time they’ve closed a preseason against each other since 1983.
Arizona is the only team on the field playing a fourth exhibition game, a scheduling quirk of its Hall of Fame Game appearance – the extra data point comes in handy with roster cuts due Sunday evening. Green Bay, which dropped its opener to Pittsburgh and wants a cleaner night before opening the season at Minnesota, has designated the game its Packers Give Back Game in support of NAMI Wisconsin.
For a Friday game with no national broadcast, the viewing map matters more than usual – especially for Cardinals fans, who get a comfortable 5 p.m. Arizona kickoff. The chart below covers every angle.
What Time Does Cardinals vs. Packers Start?
Kickoff is 7 p.m. Central on Friday, Aug. 28 at Lambeau Field – which lands at 5 p.m. in Arizona, where clocks match Pacific time in August. Eastern viewers are looking at 8 p.m., Mountain at 6 p.m.
What Channel Is the Game On?
It depends on your market. In Arizona, the Cardinals’ preseason home is Arizona’s Family – the 3TV/CBS 5 duopoly in Phoenix. In Wisconsin and the surrounding Packers footprint, the game airs on the Packers TV Network, flagshipped by TODAY’S TMJ4 (WTMJ-TV) in Milwaukee alongside NBC 26 (WGBA-TV) in Green Bay, with a Spanish-language broadcast on Telemundo Wisconsin. There is no national TV window.
How to Watch Outside Both Markets
NFL+ streams the game live as an out-of-market preseason broadcast on supported devices – the legitimate route for fans anywhere beyond the Arizona and Packers TV Network coverage areas. Live national channels won’t have it; NFL Network’s six live Week 3 games don’t include this one.
Will the Starters Play?
Neither staff had committed publicly as of publication, and preseason participation is always subject to change. League-wide, finales lean heavily on backups – and with Green Bay opening in Minneapolis on Sept. 13 and Arizona already holding a fourth game of evaluation tape, both coaching brothers have reasons to be conservative with front-line players.
Roster Battles to Watch
Sunday’s 6 p.m. ET cutdown gives the night its stakes. Green Bay’s depth questions at receiver and in the secondary get their final live audit, while Arizona’s extra August game means its bubble players have had more chances than most – and one last one here. Arizona’s summer path to this point, game by game, is laid out in the full Cardinals preseason schedule.
Quick Answers
Is the game on NFL Network or national TV?
No. It’s a local broadcast in the two teams’ markets, with NFL+ carrying it out of market. NFL Network’s live Week 3 slate covers six other games.
Have the LaFleur brothers coached against each other before?
They’ve crossed paths across the league for years, but this preseason finale puts them head-to-head as opposing head coaches – the game’s defining storyline.
What else is on Friday night?
Ten games – the busiest night of the entire preseason – all mapped with kickoff times and channels in our NFL Preseason Week 3 schedule and TV guide.
The Bottom Line
Cardinals vs. Packers kicks off Friday, Aug. 28 at 7 p.m. Central at Lambeau Field – 5 p.m. in Arizona – on Arizona’s Family in the Cardinals’ market, the Packers TV Network across Wisconsin and NFL+ everywhere else. It’s LaFleur vs. LaFleur, Arizona’s fourth and final tune-up, and the last audition before both rosters cut to 53 on Sunday.