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Watch Houston Texans Vs. New England Patriots Free Live Stream: Start Time, Preview As Pats Rare Underdog At Home

By Jonathan Vankin
Published on: 11:04 PST, Sep 22, 2016

The New England Patriots face the Houston Texans in a National Football League Week Three contest that will live stream Thursday night, in a game that sees the Patriots facing two unfamiliar circumstances. First, New England enters the game as underdogs on the Las Vegas sports book boards — at home.

Vegas has seen the Patriots as home underdogs on only five previous occasions since the start of the 2002 season, the season after the team won its first Super Bowl under Coach Bill Belichick, with quarterback Tom Brady calling the signals. The Patriots won four of those “underdog” home games.

The second unusual circumstance is directly related to the first. The Patriots have serious issues at the quarterback position.

With the exception of 2008, when Brady missed the entire season after tearing a knee ligament in the opening game and backup Matt Cassell stepped in to lead the team to an 11-5 season, the Patriots have not had to worry about the quarterback role since Brady took over from an injured Drew Bledsoe in 2001.

But with Brady set to serve the third game of his four-game suspension when the Texans roll into Foxborough on Thursday night — and sensational sub Jimmy Garoppolo still unable to play after spraining his shoulder last Sunday against the Miami Dolphins — the Patriots are forced to start rookie Jacoby Brissett under center against a fearsome Texans defense led by J.J. Watt, Jadeveon Clowney, and Brian Cushing.

Brissett was the second of the Patriots’ three third-round draft picks this year, 91st overall, out of North Carolina State, and as a third-stringer behind Brady and Garoppolo, was not expected to see any meaningful action in 2016.

But with Brady’s “Deflategate” suspension and Garoppolo’s injury, Brissett was pressed into service against the Dolphins — and on Thursday gets his first NFL start when the Patriots face the Texans.

Watch a preview of the New England-Houston matchup, from CBS Sports, in the following video.

To find out how to watch a live stream of the Houston Texans vs. New England Patriots Thursday Night National Football League game, see the streaming links at the bottom of this article.

Kickoff is scheduled for 8:25 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time — 5:25 p.m. Pacific — at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts, on Thursday, September 22.

Though Brissett remains a question mark for the Patriots, he will have one important advantage that Garoppolo did not enjoy so far this season. New England All-Pro tight end Rob Gronkowski is expected to make his return to face the Texans after missing the first two games with a hamstring injury.

PREVIOUS NFL COVERAGE FROM THE INQUISITR:
New England Patriots Vs Houston Texans: Bold Predictions For Week 3 Of The 2016 NFL Season
Who Is Jacoby Brissett? Pats Shock NFL With Surprise Pick Of QB In 3rd Round
Will Injury To New England Patriots QB Jimmy Garoppolo Sideline Him Vs. Houston Texans?
NFL Rumors: New England Patriots Trade For Barkevious Mingo From Cleveland Browns
Tom Brady Injury: New England Patriots’ Quarterback Slices Thumb With Scissors, Misses Preseason Game

To find out whether the New England Patriots can beat the odds and win their third straight game despite starting a rookie quarterback, or if the Houston Texans behind new signal caller Brock Osweiler can take advantage of the Patriots’ injury situation — and to take part in the second-ever Twitter free live stream of an NFL Thursday Night Football game — go to the Twitter live stream page by clicking on this link. On mobile devices, the live stream will appear in the “Moments” section of the Twitter app. Fans who prefer to watch the free live stream on their TV sets can do so using the Amazon Fire, Apple TV, or Xbox devices by downloading the Twitter app for those set-top streaming boxes as well.

As part of Twitter’s plans to syndicate its NFL live stream to outlets across the internet, the Sports Illustrated site, SI.com, becomes the first to carry the Twitter live stream. See the Houston Texans vs. New England Patriots game on the SI site by clicking on this link.

Finally, fans who receive the NFL Network on their cable or satellite systems will be able to view the conventional, non-Twitter live stream of the Houston Texans vs. New England Patriots game on Thursday at this link.

[Featured Image by Scott Halleran/Getty Images]

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