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For the first time ever, the Philadelphia Eagles enter the regular season as the defending Super Bowl champions. The Eagles’ championship ceremony will be special, as they welcome the Atlanta Falcons to the City of Brotherly Love for their regular-season opener on Thursday night.
The game is scheduled to start at 8:20 p.m. ET and will be broadcast nationally on NBC. If you don’t have cable or can’t get to a TV, you can still watch a live stream of the game (or DVR it) on your computer, phone or streaming device by signing up for one of the following cable-free, live-TV streaming services:
NBC (live in 31 NFL markets) is included in FuboTV’s main package, which includes 85 total channels and is largely tailored towards sports fans. You can sign up for a free 7-day trial right here, and you can then watch a live stream of the game on your computer via the FuboTV website, or on your tablet or streaming device via the FuboTV app.
If you can’t watch live, FuboTV comes with 30 hours of Cloud DVR (with the ability to upgrade to 500 hours), as well as a handy “72-Hour Lookback” feature, which will allow you to watch the game on-demand up to three days after it airs even if you forgot to record it.
In addition to their extensive Netflix-like streaming library, Hulu now also offers a bundle of 50-plus live TV channels, including NBC (live in 31 NFL markets). You can sign up for “Hulu with Live TV” right here, and you can then watch a live stream of the game on your computer via the Hulu website, or on your tablet or streaming device via the Hulu app.
If you can’t watch 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).
NBC (live in 12 NFL markets) is 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 the game on your computer via the Sling TV website, or on your 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.
NBC Sports Live
Additionally, you can watch a live stream of the game on your computer via the NBC Sports Live website, or on your tablet or streaming device via the NBC Sports app. You’ll need to log in to a cable provider to watch this way, but if you don’t have that, you can still sign up for one of the above options and then use your FuboTV, Hulu or Sling TV credentials to sign in and watch on the NBC Sports digital platforms.
Watch on Your Phone: NFL Mobile
Streaming of in-market and prime-time games can be watched on phones via the NFL Mobile app.
Watch On-Demand: NFL Game Pass
If you’re fine watching games on-demand, another option is NFL Game Pass Domestic, which allows you to watch replays of every NFL game for a fee of $99.99 for the season. No live games are available under this service, but you’ll be able to watch them following the conclusion of games for the day.
Once signed up, you can watch games on-demand on your computer via the NFL Game Pass website, or on your phone, tablet or streaming device via the NFL Mobile app, which can be downloaded for free on a handful of different devices.
If You’re Outside the United States & Mexico
If you’re not in the United States, surrounding territories, or Mexico, you can watch NFL games live via NFL Game Pass International. The cost of the package depends on which country you’re in.
Once signed up, you can watch games on your computer via the NFL Game Pass website, or on your phone, tablet or streaming device via the NFL Mobile app, which can be downloaded for free on a handful of different devices.
Preview
The Eagles defense solved quarterback Matt Ryan and defeated the Falcons in a matchup of birds during the Divisional Round of the playoffs.
Philadelphia begins its title defense with several key players out.
Head coach Doug Pederson says starting quarterback Carson Wentz is close to returning, so Super Bowl 51 Most Valuable Player Nick Foles will likely get one more start under center in front of the Philadelphia crowd until Wentz is fully cleared. Wentz’s knee injury cost him the end of last season and the entire postseason, and the original timetable was set at the start of 2018, so he’s likely right on schedule.
Peterson also says wide receiver Alshon Jeffrey is “week to week” with a shoulder injury. A previous report from ESPN’s Adam Schefter says Jeffrey is likely to miss the first few weeks of the season, which is better than the uncertainty from August.
Starting running back Jay Ajayi (foot) did not show up on the final injury report, and will play against the Falcons on Thursday. Ajayi will likely factor heavily into the gameplan, like tight end Zach Ertz, as the Eagles figure to use plenty of run-pass option and short and intermediate throws to eat up clock and move the chains against Atlanta.
The most important thing going for the Falcons this season is continuity.
General manager Thomas Dimitroff and head coach Dan Quinn signed three-year contract extensions through 2022 in July. Key players, left tackle Jake Matthews and safety Ricardo Allen, each signed five-year and three-year contract extensions respectively.
Atlanta’s offense dipped in 2017 after losing offensive Kyle Shanahan the previous season to the San Francisco 49ers. But the ingredients are there for a big rebound.
Julio Jones, who Dimitroff helped re-negotiate a revised contract for in July as well, will looked to build off a three-touchdown performance last season. With 2018 first-round draft pick Calvin Ridley in the fold, it is likely the Falcons’ offense regains the extra flight that made them so destructive in the previous seasons.
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