Getty
The Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles begin their title defense–sort of–Thursday night when they take on the Pittsburgh Steelers in a preseason matchup at Lincoln Financial Field.
Kickoff is scheduled for 7 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 Pittsburgh, where the game is on CBS, Amazon Prime is your best option. For fans in Philadelphia, where the game is on NBC, 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: 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.
Preview
The Eagles and Steelers both have Super Bowl aspirations in 2018, but even if they ultimately get there, that doesn’t necessarily make this a Super Bowl preview.
With it merely being the first week of preseason, both teams will be without several key pieces.
Carson Wentz, who suffered a torn ACL and LCL last December, may not play at all during the preseason, though the Eagles are stressing that he’s still on track in his recovery.
“What you see out here is considered backwards. What we see in the building, and what he does with our strength and conditioning staff is still progressive,” head coach Doug Pederson said. “It doesn’t have to be every snap, every football situation for him to go forward. What you see out here is only one small tidbit of what he’s doing collectively inside this building too.”
Nick Foles, who led Philly to their first Super Bowl victory in Wentz’s stead last year, has had some planned rest days and isn’t likely to play much–if at all–Thursday, which means most of the quarterbacking duties will go to Nate Sudfeld and Joe Callahan.
For the Steelers, Landry Jones is expected to get the start under center, as there’s no real need for 36-year-old Ben Roethlisberger to be in there the first week of preseason.
“It just helps whenever you go into a real game and play and play well,” Jones said about playing in the preseason. “So I’ve had some success around here, so they know that [when] I have to go into a game I’m gonna play well and do my job.”
Josh Dobbs and Oklahoma State rookie Mason Rudolph, who are looking to wrestle the No. 2 job away from Jones, will play a back-up role on Thursday.
Of course, Le’Veon Bell’s holdout will keep him out, while Antonio Brown certainly won’t be risked in a meaningless game as he deals with a minor quad injury. But the lack of Killer B’s means more opportunities for rookies like RB Jarvion Franklin and WR James Washington. The latter has been turning heads during training camp, and it’ll be fun to see what he can do in his NFL debut.
The Eagles are three-point favorites.