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For the first time in about 586 days–but who’s counting–Andrew Luck will play in a real football game when the Indianapolis Colts take on the Seattle Seahawks Thursday night in a preseason contest at CenturyLink Field.
The game is scheduled to start at 10 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, depending on whether the game is 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 one, some, or all of those channels, depending on the service.
For example, for fans in Seattle and Indianapolis, where the game is on local Fox channels, Hulu with Live TV or FuboTV are your best options.
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: 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: 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: 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.
Preview
Preseason games are often about rookies, other young players and position battles, but for this one, much of the focus centers on a player who, when healthy, is one of the best quarterbacks in the league.
Luck, who underwent surgery on his throwing shoulder following the 2016 season and ended up missing the entire 2017 campaign, is expected to play about a little more than normal starters on Thursday night, which will mark his first real playing time in about 19 months.
“The plan is to play him a little bit more than he would normally would if he’d had a normal year last year,” new head coach Frank Reich said. “But I don’t want to overreact. He’ll get enough snaps in, we’ll recreate enough out here in practice by the way we practice and the speed at which we practice, and all the situational stuff we practice. We’ll build a confidence lever there. And sure, he needs to get his snaps, and maybe a little bit more. But I’m not gonna be dramatic with it.”
Preseason contests are hardly accurate indicators of what’s to come during the regular season, AKA they aren’t necessarily all that important for guaranteed starters. But this is an exception, as it will be important for Luck to get back into the flow of a real game. Getting through a practice with that red no-contact jersey is a little different than getting through a game with Frank Clark and Bobby Wagner chasing you around.
As for the Seahawks, they have one of the offseason’s more intriguing position battles to watch.
The ‘Hawks took San Diego State running back Rashaad Penny in the first round of April’s draft, and usually spending that kind of draft capital on an RB means a team intends to make that player their workhorse. However, Chris Carson is making things difficult. A seventh-round draft pick in 2017 who impressed in limited action before suffering a season-ending injury, Carson has been receiving glowing reports during camp and is even considered the “favorite” to start.
No matter who’s “ahead” right now, this looks like a battle that’s going to be decided during the preseason, so that’s certainly something to watch on Thursday night.
If you’re the bet-on-the-preseason type, the Seahawks are 2.5 point favorites.