How to watch Indianapolis Colts vs Houston Texans
Two division rivals will face off looking to pick up their first win of the season in Indy on Sunday afternoon.
Someone is finally going to get into the win column on Sunday, Sept. 27 (unless the game ends in a tie), as the Indianapolis Colts host the Houston Texans in an early AFC South matchup at Lucas Oil Stadium. Both teams enter at 0-2, and the stakes are already starting to feel significant; the loser will fall to 0-3 overall and 0-1 in the division. Houston has also won five straight meetings in the series, so the Colts have a chance to snap that streak while avoiding an even deeper early-season hole. The game will kick off at 1 p.m. ET and will be broadcast on CBS. If you are looking for a live TV streaming service to watch the game, we recommend doing so with a five-day free trial to DIRECTV. You can also stream with a subscription to Paramount+ Premium.
How to watch Indianapolis Colts vs. Houston Texans
- When: Sunday, Sept.27, 2026, at 1 p.m. ET
- TV: CBS
- Stream: Watch with a five-day free trial to DIRECTV or Paramount+.
- From anywhere: Watch with a subscription to a VPN.
Everything you need to know to stream Colts vs. Texans:
Why we recommend DIRECTV to watch Colts vs. Texans
When it comes to offering the most channels in streaming, every live TV streaming service is chasing DIRECTV. The platform offers the most of The Streamable’s top 35 cable channels, so if you are looking for a breadth of programming options, DIRECTV is a surefire hit. In addition, the streamer has the industry’s best guaranteed free trial. While others can roll out longer options depending on what time of year it is and what qualifications you meet as a customer, DIRECTV offers a five-day trial to all new users. So, if you are specifically looking to watch the Colts vs. Texans game, this is the option that makes the most sense.
Related: How to watch every game of the 2026-27 NFL season
But in the 2025-26 season of NFL and college football, for the first time, DIRECTV is able to offer an even more compelling package of channels for football fans. Earlier this year, DIRECTV launched its Genre Packs that allow people to pick curated channel lineups around central themes and genres, and for sports fans, that means the MySports Pack.
The MySports plan runs $70 a month after the aforementioned five-day free trial, which gives you a way to check out everything that it has to offer before having to pay a penny. You’ll also get a bunch of great sports channels with MySports, including ACC Network, Big Ten Network, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNEWS, ESPNU, FS1, FS2, Golf Channel, MLB Network, NBA TV, NFL Network, NHL Network, SEC Network, TBS, TNT, and USA Network, and depending on your market, ABC, CBS, Fox, and NBC.
These channels bring you an incredible selection of games from across pro and college sports, oh, and MySports also comes with a free ESPN streaming service subscription? Pretty solid. All these channels and features are available for just $70, which is why it’s our favorite way to watch.
DIRECTV
DIRECTV is one of The Streamable’s top choices for the best live TV streaming service overall in 2026, especially for users who want the most channels or want to watch the most live sports. With an unbeatable lineup of local, news, sports, and entertainment channels, three main signature packages, an unlimited DVR, and 20 simultaneous streams at home, DIRECTV remains a premier choice for any cord-cutter.
Watch a preview of Colts vs. Texans
Can you watch Colts vs. Texans for free?
If you are just looking for a streaming service to watch this specific game and nothing else, there are options available for you. DIRECTV, Hulu + Live TV, Fubo, and YouTube TV all offer free trials, but they vary in length, so be wary. DIRECTV’s industry-leading trial runs for five days, while Hulu + Live TV’s is a solid three days.
Those are pretty straightforward, but when it comes to the sports-minded streamer Fubo, things can get a little complicated. As The Streamable’s expert David Satin discovered when signing up for the services, figuring out how long Fubo’s trial is — even as you are signing up — can be a bit difficult. Nonetheless, it will be at least one day, with the potential to be as many as seven, depending on a wide range of factors that Fubo does not share publicly.
The YouTube TV trial is said to be “up to two weeks,” but can be as short as two days. So it is difficult to ascertain what you are actually getting before you go through the signup process.
If you are looking to watch the game for free, I would recommend DIRECTV, because that streamer has the longest guaranteed free trial and gives you the best channel options. As mentioned above, Paramount+ also has a free trial, but that is not a live TV streaming service in the same way that the rest of the options are. It will only provide you live access to NFL games and UEFA Champions League soccer on the Essentials tier, and what is being broadcast on your CBS affiliate on the Paramount+ Premium tier.
| DIRECTV | Fubo | Hulu | Sling TV | YouTube TV | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free Trial | Free Trial | Free 3-Day Trial | Save with Sling | Free Trial | |||||
| $20.99 | $9.99 | $28.99 | $19.99 | $29.99 | $45.99 | $45.99 | $64.99 | ||
| CBS | + $24 | + $59 | + $61 | - | - | - | - | ✓ | |
What are all of the streamers you can use to watch the Colts vs. Texans?
Fortunately for football fans, there are six different streaming services that will stream the game, so you have options to choose from if you don’t already subscribe to any of them. We discussed DIRECTV and the free trial options above, but there is one more, and it offers a different type of streaming arrangement.
Ultimately, there are tons of different ways to stream the game, and while we recommend DIRECTV as the best way to stream this game, you have plenty of options to find the platform that meets your needs.
Paramount Plus
Paramount+ is a subscription video streaming service that includes on-demand access to 40,000+ TV show episodes from BET, CBS, Comedy Central, MTV, Nickelodeon, Nick Jr., and more. Get free access with a Walmart+ subscription.
Paramount+ includes “1883,” “Tulsa King,” “Star Trek: Discovery,” “SpongeBob SquarePants,” and “PAW Patrol.” Subscribers can watch the NFL, college football, The Masters, college basketball, UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League, Serie A, and NWSL. The service also offers the option to watch your live CBS affiliate. The upgraded ad-free package includes premium movies and shows from Showtime.
How to watch Colts vs. Texans with a VPN
If you’ll be away from home and can’t watch the game as you normally would, you can still catch all of the action, no matter where you are in the world with a VPN. A VPN can be used on your phone, tablet, or computer and make you appear to be back home — even when you’re not — making sure you feel at home no matter where you are. A VPN is a safe and secure way to stay protected online while streaming your favorite sports, movies, and shows on the go. Keep in mind that you will still need to be subscribed to a live TV streaming like DIRECTV in order to stream the game with a VPN.
ExpressVPN is one of the best providers around, at one of the best prices. Currently, you can get a month of service for as little as $5. ExpressVPN is the most-trusted VPN on the market and comes with a 30-day money-back guarantee. ExpressVPN has servers in 105 countries, best-in-class encryption, 24-hour live support, and the best speeds available.
While ExpressVPN is our recommendation for the best VPN to use while you are traveling, there are a number of other high-quality options available depending on what you are looking for.
- Most Secure: NordVPN | Starting at $3.09 per month
- Best Budget Option: Surfshark | Starting at $2.50 per month
- Best Free Option: Proton VPN | Free plan available
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