The New England Patriots offense isn’t great, but it doesn’t seem to matter. Last week, their 12th ranked offense beat the top-ranked Cowboys attack thanks to another great outing by their defense. This week, a Houston Texans offense that has struggled to translate points into wins against elite teams will try to stop the Pats.
It’s been a different kind of year for the Patriots that has yielded the same results we’ve come to expect from the dynastic franchise. The defense has been the strongest aspect of this team as quarterback Tom Brady has been forced to play safe football surrounded by subpar weapons. But, despite the change of strategy, the Pats are once again the top team in the AFC East and a Super Bowl contender.
Though Deshaun Watson has had a productive season at quarterback for the Texans, the results have been mixed. The team sits at the top of the AFC South, but not comfortably. The loss of Jadeveon Clowney to the Seahawks and J.J. Watt to injury has hurt this defense, now ranked 24th in Defensive DVOA. An unimpressive running game and offensive line haven’t helped either.
At first glance, this looks like a Patriots W. But, Watson is capable of great things if the team around him stays out of his way. Here’s everything you need to know to live stream Patriots vs. Texans, including what to watch for on the field.
| HOW TO WATCH PATRIOTS VS. TEXANS WITHOUT CABLE | |
| FUBOTV | TRY NOW |
| HULU WITH LIVE TV | TRY NOW |
| SLING TV | TRY NOW |
New England Patriots vs. Houston Texans
- When: 8:20pm ET, Sunday, Dec. 1 (coverage begins at 7pm ET)
- Where: NRG Stadium in Houston
- Streaming: Sunday Night Football airs exclusively on NBC and is available on any platform that carries the network. Fans have a number of options for streaming the week’s marquee game.
How to stream Sunday Night Football online
1) FuboTV
- Cost: $54.99 per month
- FuboTV devices: Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire, Android TV, iOS and Android devices
- FuboTV local channels: Fox, NBC, CBS (check local availability here)
If you’re a big-time sports fan, FuboTV is your best streaming service option. If you love international soccer and you’re a Spanish speaker, FuboTV also offers various add-on packages, including Fubo Latino and Fubo Português. FuboTV’s basic plan showcases nearly 100 channels and includes NFL Network. At $54.99 per month, you’ll also get FS1, FS2, NBCSN, NBA TV, Big Ten Network, Pac 12 Network, BeIn Sports, and CBS Sports Network, along with premium channels like FX/FXX/FXM. The only notable omission for sports fans is ESPN. You can add Fubo’s Sports Plus package for an additional $8.99 per month, which allows you to stream NFL RedZone. (Here’s the complete FuboTV channels list.)
2) Hulu with Live TV
- Cost: $44.99 per month
- Hulu devices: Roku, Apple TV, Google Chromecast, Amazon Fire Stick and Fire TV, Xbox One, Xbox 360, Nintendo Switch, and iOS and Android devices
- Hulu local channels: ABC, CBS, Fox, NBC, the CW (check your local availability here)
Hulu with Live TV includes sports programming among its offerings, including ESPN and FS1, and as a subscriber to the service, you’ll get access to Hulu’s sizable on-demand library. (Check out the full list of Hulu Live TV channels.)
3) Sling TV
- Cost: $25-$40 per month (40% off first month)
- Sling TV devices: Amazon Fire TVs, Android Fire Stick, Apple TV, Android TV, Roku, Xbox One, Google Chromecast, Oculus Go, and iOS and Android devices
- Sling TV local channels: NBC, Fox (check your local availability here)
Both Sling Blue ($25 per month) or Sling Orange + Blue ($40 per month) include NFL Network and a number of sports channels—like three ESPN channels, FS1, Fs2, and NBCSN—and it’s still a nice perk that Sling subscribers can order a la carte packages. Sling TV also offers a special Latino package for bilingual viewers. Sling TV is currently offering a deal where you can subscribe for 40% off the regular price for the first month of your subscription. That means Sling Blue would cost $15, and Sling Orange + Blue would cost $25. (Here’s a complete guide to Sling TV channels and our Sling TV review.)
For $10 extra per month, you can get NFL RedZone via the Sling Blue Sports Extra package.
How to use AirTV with Sling
AirTV solves one of Sling’s biggest problems: The inability to receive all of your local channels. By purchasing a basic AirTV for $79.99 or the AirTV Player for $119.99, you can merge those local channels into your Sling TV, (or on your mobile device if you have the basic AirTV). As the Daily Dot wrote in its AirTV review, “It’s practically magic.”
The basic AirTV is a dual-tuner streaming device, while the AirTV Player is basically an upgraded Chromecast that has Netflix preinstalled. You’ll still need to own an HD antenna because even though AirTV gets you access to your local channels, it doesn’t actually physically show them to you.
But AirTV—which has no monthly fee—serves to strengthen one of Sling’s biggest weaknesses compared to other live streaming services like Hulu with Live TV, YouTube TV, and PlayStation Vue. All those services have plenty of local channels.
4) YouTube TV
- Cost: $50 per month
- YouTube TV devices: Google Chromecast, Roku, Apple TV, Android TV, Xbox One, iOS and Android devices
- YouTube TV local channels: NBC, CBS, Fox, ABC, the CW (enter your ZIP code here to check your availability)
YouTube TV is a great option for college football fans, including ESPN and FS1. (Take a look at the full list of YouTube TV channels here.)
5) NBC Sports app
Devices: Roku, Amazon Fire Stick and Fire TV, Xbox, iOS and Android devices
If you have cable or one of the aforementioned live TV streaming services, you can download the NBC Sports app and watch Sunday Night Football there in HD. If you’re using a web browser, you may need to install the latest version of Adobe Flash and your browser will need to be current enough to support HTML5 Media Source Extensions. You’ll also need an internet connection of at least 10 Mbps. (Here are some tips for faster Wi-Fi.)
New England Patriots vs. Houston Texans stream: What to watch for
You can win a lot of games with a great quarterback throwing to a strong receiving corps. Most teams in the league would gladly trade whatever they are putting on the field for Deshaun Watson, DeAndre Hopkins, and Will Fuller.
The problem is that against elite teams, you need more than just a great passing game. The Texans have had trouble against elite teams. They lost to the Saints and got stomped by the Ravens, by far their toughest competition of the year. The Texans just aren’t a well-rounded team. Great teams with great coaches take away what you do best, and that is a problem for this one-dimensional Houston squad.
The backfield is limited. And a defense that only comes up with one sack and no interceptions, as the Texans D did last week, isn’t going to do so well when they face a quarterback better than Jacoby Brissett.
New England has shown how to make up for offensive weaknesses this year. With a backfield full of replacement-level running backs and a receiving corps comprised of Julian Edelman and a few guys, the Pats are still winning games.
How do the Pats winning? There are a lot of answers to that question. The easy answer is Bill Belichick’s coaching. But there’s Stephon Gilmore’s shut-down cornerback play, Matthew Slater’s special teams stardom, the amazing tackling of the linebackers, Edelman’s wily route-running, and other impressive aspects of this team that have led to a squad that can win with death by a thousand cuts.
Watson could play a special game and lift his team to victory, but it is more likely that this Patriots team finds a way to win yet again.
READ MORE:
- How to watch NFL RedZone without cable
- How to watch NFL Sunday Ticket without a DirecTV satellite
- How to watch NFL Network online (without cable)
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