The Houston Texans, headlined by a slew of new rookies, including Tay Ersery at offensive tackle and Jayden Higgins and Jaylin Noel at wide receiver, will open up their preseason on Saturday afternoon against the Minnesota Vikings.
While the Texans aren’t planning on starting quarterback C.J. Stroud, the Vikings do plan on giving former first-round pick and projected starter J.J. McCarthy first-team reps. The former Michigan signal-caller has potential, but he missed all of his rookie season with a torn meniscus, thus leading to Sam Darnold’s resurgence under Kevin O’Connell’s offensive personnel.
As for who’s starting for Houston, coach DeMeco Ryans mentioned that the younger starters would see action. That means that Earsery, the projected starting right tackle, Noel, who’s fighting for first-team reps in the slot, and Higgins, the newest name on the outside, are expected to see action. As for everyone else?
“Everybody’s kind of on their own plan,” Ryans said. “We’ll have a handful of guys who won’t see time at all. Then we’ll have a certain group of guys who are limited. So, it’s just a lot of different guys in different categories there.”
There is still plenty to watch for with Stroud, Will Anderson Jr. and a swarm of other top names on offense.
Here’s where to watch the Texans vs. Vikings in Week 1 of the NFL preseason.
Stream Texans vs. Vikings (free trial)
What TV channel is Texans vs. Vikings on?
- TV channel: NFL Network, ABC 13 Houston
- Streaming: NFL Network | Fubo (free trial)
The Texans and Vikings will air live on NFL Network, but it will also air locally on ABC 13 in Houston. It’s been announced that J.J. McCarthy will start for the Vikings, and will likely play the entire first half of the game. For the Texans, only partial starters will see action, so fans should expect to see C.J. Stroud, Nick Chubb, Danielle Hunter, Nico Collins or others on the field in Minneapolis.
In addition to airing live on NFL Network, as well as the aforementioned channels, the Texans-Vikings game will also re-air on NFL Network on Sunday at 10 p.m. CT. NFL Network will re-run the game one final time on Friday, Aug. 15 at 11 a.m. CT.
Additionally, out-of-market fans can stream the game live on NFL+.
Texans vs. Vikings start time
- Date: Saturday, August 9
- Time: 3 p.m. CT
Kickoff for the Texans’ preseason opener against the Vikings is scheduled for 3 p.m. CT, as the two sides gather at U.S. Bank Stadium for the showdown between former Kyle Shanahan assistants. Do not expect many of the Texans’ starters to get reps in this one since DeMeco Ryans usually prefers to have his starters see reps in the joint practices that begin on Thursday against the Carolina Panthers back in Houston.
Streaming options for the game include the NFL Network and Fubo, which offers a free trial.
Texans tickets
Looking to buy Houston Texans tickets? We’ve got you covered.
Texans preseason schedule 2025
Below is Houston’s preseason schedule.
- Saturday, August 9: at Minnesota Vikings
- Saturday, August 16: vs. Carolina Panthers
- Saturday, August 23: at Detroit Lions
Texans’ regular-season schedule 2025
Below is Houston’s regular-season schedule.
Week 18: TBD: vs. Indianapolis Colts
Week 1: Sunday, September 7, 3:45 p.m. CT: at Los Angeles Rams
Week 2: Monday, September 15, 6 p.m. CT: vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (MNF)
Week 3: Sunday, September 21, Noon CT: at Jacksonville Jaguars
Week 4: Sunday, September 28, Noon CT: vs. Tennessee Titans
Week 5: Sunday, October 5, Noon CT: at Baltimore Ravens
Week 6: Sunday, October 12: Bye Week
Week 7: Monday, October 20, 9 p.m. CT: at Seattle Seahawks (MNF)
Week 8: Sunday, October 26, Noon CT: vs. San Francisco 49ers
Week 9: Sunday, November 2, Noon CT: vs. Denver Broncos
Week 10: Sunday, November 9, Noon CT: vs. Jacksonville Jaguars
Week 11: Sunday, November 16, Noon CT: at Tennessee Titans
Week 12: Thursday, November 20, 7:20 p.m. CT: vs. Buffalo Bills
Week 13: Sunday, November 30, Noon CT: at Indianapolis Colts
Week 14: Sunday, December 7, 7:20 p.m. CT: at Kansas City Chiefs
Week 15: Sunday, December 14, Noon CT: vs. Arizona Cardinals
Week 16: Sunday, December 21 at 3:20 p.m. CT: vs.Las Vegas Raiders
Week 17: TBD: at Los Angeles Chargers
Packers vs. Lions softball start time
- Date: XXXday, Aug. X
- Time: X p.m. ET/CT/PT
An example blurb for this H2: First pitch for Texas and Stanford’s first game of the day is scheduled for 6 p.m. CT. If Texas loses the first game, the second will be scheduled for 8:30 p.m.
Packers tickets
Looking to buy Green Bay Packers tickets? We’ve got you covered.
Packers preseason schedule 2025
Below is Green Bay’s preseason schedule.
- Day, Date: Team X, Team w
- Day, Date: Team X, Team w
- Day, Date: Team X, Team w
Packers regular-season schedule 2025
Below is Green Bay’s regular-season schedule.
- Day, Date: Team X, Team w
- Day, Date: Team X, Team w
- Day, Date: Team X, Team w
- Day, Date: Team X, Team w
- Day, Date: Team X, Team w
- Day, Date: Team X, Team w
- Day, Date: Team X, Team w
- Day, Date: Team X, Team w
- Day, Date: Team X, Team w
- Day, Date: Team X, Team w
- Day, Date: Team X, Team w
- Day, Date: Team X, Team w