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.
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As for who’s starting for Houston, 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 season/preseason.
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What TV channel is Texans vs. Vikings on?
The Texans and Vikings play on Saturday in Week 1 of the 2025 NFL preseason. 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.
Texans vs. Vikings start time
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.
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Streaming options for the game include the NFL Network and Fubo, which offers a free trial.
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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 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
Week 18: TBD: vs. Indianapolis Colts
This article originally appeared on Texans Wire: How to watch Texans vs. Vikings Preseason Game 1: Time TVschedule