Contrary to popular opinion, there are many reasons to watch Thursday Night Football online tonight. It’s just that those reasons don’t happen to be of the “good football” variety. Tonight the 2-10 Houston Texans take on the 3-9 Jacksonville Jaguars in a showdown of two of the NFL’s worst teams. Whereas previous showcase games have featured teams vying for playoff positions, tonight’s live TNF game on NFL Network includes two teams fighting for the highest spot in the NFL Draft. And that’s in spite of the Texans having one of the top-rated defenses in the league. So, since you’re not likely to want to tie up your HDTV with the “loser bowl,” you can watch TNF online using one of several different tools.
The Jaguars were largely expected to have one of the NFL’s worst records going into the season. Yet here in the first game of Week 14, it’s the Houston Texans sitting on an NFL-worst 2-10 record. Morale in Houston is horrible as a result, and there is extreme doubt that Case Keenum is the Texans’ quarterback of the future. But therein lies a key reason Houston fans may want to tune into tonight’s game. The Texans’ fall from division champ to NFL’s cellar dweller could result in a future franchise QB such as Heisman front-runner Jameis Winston, who was cleared earlier today in a sexual assault case.
The top spot in the NFL Draft isn’t reason enough to tank this year, particularly with so many first-round QB options. But the Texans have a great defense in spite of their record, so having the chance to draft a cornerstone QB could catapult them back into the playoff hunt next season. The Houston Texans have the third-ranked defense and are allowing just 303 yards of total offense per game. One of their problems has been allowing nearly 27 points per game in spite of that D, underscoring their need to perform better on offense and at the QB position. It’s ironic, then, to see the Texans have the 10th-ranked offense.
The Jacksonville Jaguars, meanwhile, would probably rather watch Thursday Night Football online like their fans than play in the game themselves. The Jaguars have had a brutal season, but they’ve eeked out three victories in spite of having the last-ranked rushing game, last-ranked offense, 23rd-ranked passing game and 25th-ranked defense. Expectations started low, unlike the Texans’ position, but even by those standards they’re bad. Still, the Jaguars’ defense and special teams rattled Case Keenum the last time these teams met, and they’ve recorded sacks, forced eight turnovers given up only 67.8 yards per game rushing over the past four games.
More than likely that’s why ESPN analysts are predicting the Jaguars to win. The Texans have a much better team on paper, but they’ve got the NFL’s worst record and are traveling to Jacksonville’s Everbank Field at a time when the Jaguars have some positive momentum. Kickoff for tonight’s Thursday Night Football game on NFL Network is 8:25 EST / 5:25 PST. The ratings aren’t expected to be too high for this TNF game, but with a good Texans defense, momentum on the Jaguars side and both teams vying for the top spot in the 2014 NFL Draft, there are some interesting reasons to tune in.
You can watch Thursday Night Football online on a laptop, desktop or tablet computer via the NFL Networks’ own website. Using the links on that page you can Experience the game online with live look-ins to the game broadcast, constant updates from the sidelines, instant game film breakdown and expert studio analysis. You can also watch Texans vs Jaguars Thursday Night Football online via DirecTV’s website if you have the NFL Sunday Ticket with MAX package. The package requires a subscription, but anyone who has one can watch the live streaming version free of any game, including tonight’s Thursday Night Football “loser bowl.”