The NFL is an offensive league and the New Orleans Saints and Houston Texans should be two of the best teams in the NFL when it comes to moving the ball.
Expect offensive fireworks on Monday night when the Saints and the Texans meet up for what should be a shootout.
Drew Brees has some new offensive weapons, but he has also lost some key pieces from last year. Tight end Jared Cook has joined the New Orleans squad, which should offer Brees another reliable pass catching option alongside the impressive wide receiver Michael Thomas. However, back up running back Mark Ingram signed with Baltimore in the offseason, and Latavius Murray will likely be a step down for the Saints backfield behind Alvin Kamara.
Backup quarterback Taysom Hill has been an exciting prospect for Saints fans, but this season should prove whether or not Hill can amount to more than an offensive gimmick.
The Texans passing game should remain stellar with DeAndre Hopkins, Will Fuller, and newly added Kenny Stills catching Deshaun Watson’s throws. For Houston, the questions are also in the running game. Lamar Miller suffered a torn ACL, ending his season, leaving Duke Johnson Jr. carrying the bulk of the load in the backfield.
Though the loss of Jadeveon Clowney to Seattle certainly doesn’t help the Texans defense, the addition of Laremy Tunsil at left tackle could further strengthen the offense by adding an impressive blocker to the squad.
HOW TO WATCH SAINTS VS. TEXANS | |
SLING TV | TRY NOW |
HULU WITH LIVE TV | TRY NOW |
PLAYSTATION VUE | TRY NOW |
New Orleans Saints vs. Houston Texans
- When: Monday, Sept. 9 at 7:10pm ET
- Where: Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana
- Streaming: Monday Night Football airs exclusively on ESPN. You can stream ESPN on a number of streaming platforms.
Saints vs. Texans live stream: How to watch MNF online
1) 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, NBCSN, and FS1—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 the 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.
2) PlayStation Vue
- Cost: $44.99-$79.99 per month (after a 5-day free trial)
- PlayStation Vue devices: PlayStation 3 and 4, Roku, Amazon Fire, Google Chromecast, Kodi, iOS and Android devices
- PlayStation Vue local channels: NBC, Fox, ABC, CBS (enter your ZIP code here to check your availability)
If you’d like to watch live NFL games directly from your PS4, PlayStation Vue is your best bet. PlayStation also works with streaming devices like Roku and Amazon Fire products, but what separates PlayStation from the rest of the streaming services is that it’s also compatible with Kodi. No matter how you stream, you’ll get to choose from four tiers of channels—all but the cheapest include NFL Network. From there, you can also add NFL RedZone as part of the $10-per-month Sports Pack, which also unlocks ESPN Bases Loaded, ESPN Classic, Longhorn Network, Outside TV, and NBCUniversal regional sports networks. You can see the full list of PlayStation Vue channels here. Two other great perks: You can stream on up to five devices at once, and there’s also unlimited cloud DVR.
3) Hulu with Live TV
Cost: $44.99 per month (after a 7-day free trial)
- 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 free access to Hulu’s sizable on-demand library. (Check out the full list of Hulu Live TV channels.)
4) YouTube TV
- Cost: $50 per month (after a 7-day free trial)
- 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 ESPNand FS1. (Take a look at the full list of YouTube TV channels here.)
Saints vs. Texans: Why it matters
Both of these teams have embraced the pass-happy realities of the modern NFL. Monday night’s matchup is going to give the league a look at just how powerful these teams will be on offense.
Drew Brees and Deshaun Watson are two of the strongest quarterbacks in the league, but the performance of their supporting casts will dictate whether these teams can keep pace with other high flying offenses. If these teams hope to best teams like Kansas City, Green Bay, Los Angeles, and New England en route to the Super Bowl, they are going to have to produce early and often.
Brees threw for just under 4,000 yards last year while Watson threw just over 4,000. Both teams are going to need that kind of production, and maybe a little more, to carry them deep into the postseason.
In the modern NFL, a successful team has to have an offense running on all cylinders. This first Monday night matchup should give fans a sense of just how powerful these two teams will be.
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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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