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The New England Patriots and New York Giants conclude their preseason on Thursday night with a matchup at MetLife Stadium.
The game is scheduled to start at 8 p.m. ET. If you don’t have cable or can’t get to a TV, here’s a rundown of all your live stream options, which vary depending on if the game is televised in your market or not:
If The Game is Televised in Your Market
First, check to see what local channel the game is on in your area–it will be either ABC, CBS, CW, Fox or NBC. Then, if you sign up for one of the following cable-free, live-TV streaming services, you’ll be able to watch a live stream of your desired channel.
For example, for fans in Boston, where the game is broadcast on CBS, Amazon Prime is the best way to watch the game online. If you’re in New York or Albany, where the game is on Fox, either Hulu with Live TV or FuboTV will work for your live streaming needs.
Here’s a rundown of all the streaming services, what they include, and how to sign up and watch (note that local channels are available live in select markets):
Local channels included: CBS
If you have Amazon Prime or want to start a free 30-day trial of Amazon Prime, you can watch all CBS content (both live and on-demand) via the CBS Amazon Channel, which also comes with a 7-day free trial.
Once you’re signed up for both Amazon Prime and the CBS channel, you can then watch a live stream of your local CBS channel on your computer via the Amazon website, or you can watch on your phone, tablet or streaming device via the Amazon Video app.
Local channels included: ABC, CBS, CW, Fox, NBC
In addition to its massive Netflix-like library of on-demand movies and TV shows, Hulu also offers a bundle of 50-plus live TV channels, which includes ABC, CBS, CW, Fox and NBC. You can sign up for “Hulu with Live TV” right here, and you can then watch a live stream of any of those channels on your computer via the Hulu website, or on your phone, tablet or streaming device via the Hulu app.
If you can’t watch the game live, “Hulu with Live TV” also comes with 50 hours of Cloud DVR storage (with the ability to upgrade to “Enhanced Cloud DVR,” which gives you 200 hours of DVR space and the ability to fast forward through commercials).
Local channels included: CBS, CW, Fox, NBC
A streaming service that is largely tailored towards sports fans, FuboTV includes CBS, CW, Fox and NBC. You can sign up for a free 7-day trial right here, and you can then watch a live stream of those channels on your computer via the FuboTV website, or on your phone, tablet or streaming device via the FuboTV app.
If you can’t watch the game live, FuboTV also comes with 30 hours of Cloud DVR (with the ability to upgrade to 500 hours), as well as a “72-Hour Lookback” feature, which allows you to watch games and shows up to three days after they air even if you forgot to record them. The main FuboTV channel package also comes with NFL Network, which will air a replay of every preseason game.
Local channels included: Fox, NBC
Fox and NBC are both included in the “Sling Blue” channel package. You can sign up for a free 7-day trial, and you can then watch a live stream of either channel on your computer via the Sling website, or on your phone, tablet or streaming device via the Sling TV app.
If you can’t watch live, you can get 50 hours of cloud DVR storage as an additional add-on. “Sling Blue” also comes with the NFL Network, which will air a replay of every preseason game, so you can also watch that way if you miss it live.
If The Game is Not Televised in Your Market
You can watch every out-of-market preseason NFL game online via NFL Game Pass, which costs $99.99 for the season (or four installments of $29.99). Once signed up, you can watch games on your computer via the Game Pass website, or on your phone, tablet or streaming device via the NFL app.
Game Preview
The Patriots and the Giants will face off for the 14th consecutive preseason. The Patriots have actually faced the Giants more than any other team in the preseason with 27 total matchups, though the latter has proven more successful with 18 wins, including the last four contests. Both teams enter with a 2-1 record, and both are likely to bench their starters in favor of playing time for their backups.
Few are expecting Tom Brady to get on the field, which means that quarterback will go to either Brian Hoyer or Danny Etling. The latter has only thrown six passes this preseason, so it would be a big opportunity for him to prove himself.
Meanwhile, Giants head coach Pat Shurmur has been tight-lipped about revealing who will play and for how long they will play against New England. It’s almost guaranteed that most of the starters are benched, however, while roster players and rookies get pushed to the front of the line. “Yeah, we’ll see as we get ready to play the game,” Shurmur explained. “I think anybody that goes in there, we want to see them play good football. I think that’s the most important thing. On the short horizon here, we want the players to go in and play good winning football against New England and that’s what we’re looking for from all the players.”
Shurmur continued, saying that he’s simply unsure of who will end up on the field come game time. “I don’t mean to be cryptic about this, but we’ll see. Really when you come down to it, I want to let our list of injuries kind of settle here and then we’re going to go in as a staff,” he said. “We haven’t finalized who’s playing in the game and before we do that as a staff, I certainly don’t want to tell you something that’s inaccurate.”