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After a wild start to the NFL divisional playoff round, which saw the Denver Broncos and the Seattle Seahawks moving on to the championship round, fans can expect even more intensity on Sunday when C.J Stroud and the Houston Texans taking on Drake Maye and the New England Patriots in Foxborough.
How to Watch Patriots vs. Texans, At a Glance:
- Date: Sunday, Jan. 18,2026
- Start time: 3 p.m. ET
- TV Channel: ESPN
- Streaming: DirecTV (with a five-day free trial), Fubo (with a five-day free trial), ESPN Unlimited, Sling TV, Hulu + Live TV
The Texans have been on a hot streak as of late, but taking on Maye at home is no easy task. Both young quarterbacks will be a major spotlight of the game, but our prediction is that this matchup will more than likely turn into a defensive battle. Houston’s top rated defense aims to shutout Drake like they did Aaron Rodgers during their wild card game against the Steelers. The Pats have a pretty stellar defense as well and facing an inconsistent Texans offense, New England could squeeze out a win today.
Don’t want to miss any of the NFL playoff action? We’ve compiled every way you can watch and stream the game live online and for free. Keep scrolling to learn how.
How to Watch the Patriots vs. Texans Game Online for Free
If you don’t have cable, there are still plenty of ways to watch ESPN and the Patriots vs. Texans game online. Fans can take advantage of multiple streaming services that offer free trials, so you can watch the playoff game today without paying a dime. Signing up to streamers like DirecTV, Hulu + Live TV, Sling TV and Fubo you can get right into the football action.
DirecTV is offering a five-day free trial, which will let you watch ESPN and more for free. The Entertainment and Sports Programming Network is included in all of the streaming packages. In addition to unlimited DVR storage, you’ll get access to local channels and the ability to stream on as many devices as you want.
With prices starting at just $4.99 for a day pass, Sling TV includes ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPN 3 (for ABC simucast) with it Sling Orange and Sling Orange + Blue packages — which features dozens of channels that can be streamed on up to three devices at the same time. Sling Orange + Blue features FS1 and the NFL Network too
Please note: Sling TV’s pricing and channel availability depends on your local TV market.
Fubo is another great option you can take advantage of to watch ESPN online. The streamer offers a seven-day free trial that’ll give you access to ESPN free and more than 240 live TV channels. The service offers a promo that’ll get you up to $30 off the first month, which can get you access to ESPN and more for as low as $54.99 (reg. $84.99 per month).
For the most content options, Hulu + Live TV gives you access to the entire Hulu library in addition to more than 95 live TV channels — including ESPN for just $82.99 per month.
And, unlike the rest of the options, you can also expand your content library by bundling Hulu + Live TV with Disney+ and ESPN Unlimited. You’ll not only have all of the Hulu library to watch, but also exclusive and original programming available exclusively on ESPN Unlimited.
ESPN Unlimited
ESPN Unlimited is the official streaming platform for ESPN, and a subscription includes instant access to games and more exclusive content for $29.99 per month. You can save almost 17% off by purchasing an annual subscription for $299.99 per year. There is no free ESPN Unlimited trial, but it does include exclusive on-demand videos and access to content from what was formerly known as ESPN Insider.
In addition to live sports, ESPN Unlimited has original shows to stream on-demand, plus game recaps and analysis, a shorter version of NFL Primetime and full replays of historic NFL matchups.
To expand your savings and content offerings, currently, you can bundle ESPN Unlimited with Hulu and Disney+ for a single monthly price of just $29.99 per month for all three services for 12 months of streaming.