How to watch Texans vs. Chiefs with and without cable: Full Divisional Round streaming guide

After a week of well-earned rest, the Kansas City Chiefs begin their drive for a third straight Super Bowl title as they welcome the Houston Texans to Arrowhead Stadium for a Divisional Round showdown on Saturday afternoon. Kickoff is set for 4:30 p.m. ET, and the game will be broadcast on ESPN. The two teams met in this very same spot just a few weeks ago, back on Dec. 21, when Patrick Mahomes and the two-time defending champs pulled away in the second half en route to a 27-19 win. Now, though, the stakes have ratcheted up a notch, and CJ Stroud and Co. are looking for an upset after a convincing Wild Card win over the Los Angeles Chargers.

The Chiefs have occupied the top spot in the AFC standings just about all year, winning their first nine games and finishing with a 15-2 record to secure home-field throughout the playoffs. But while that record is awfully impressive, it's also a little misleading: Yes, Kansas City was among the best teams in the league this season, but they also flirted with disaster on a seemingly weekly basis, pulling out a ridiculous string of one-score wins. Injuries have decimated the offense around Mahomes, and while the defense has done its best to pick up the slack, they were lucky to avoid several losses down the stretch of the regular season. This team knows how to win at home in January, but they look more vulnerable than they have in a while.

The Texans, meanwhile, seemed ticketed for big things in year two under Stroud. But it's been a far bumpier ride than most expected, between injuries to Stroud's receiving corps and offensive line and sometimes predictable playcalling from OC Bobby Slowik. A lackluster AFC South allowed Houston to earn a top-four seed nonetheless, and they looked revitalized against the Chargers last weekend, bullying Justin Herbert into four interceptions. Question marks remain around the offense, but with DeMeco Ryans at the helm, this is one of the most physical defenses in the entire league, one that could frustrate Mahomes and his limited group of pass-catchers.

With this game being as intriguing as it is, NFL fans who are unable to attend the event in person will want to watch it on TV. Here's how that can be done.

How to watch Texans vs. Chiefs with cable

Using your cable provider's online platform

If you won't be at home watching the game on a television, you can still tune in via your cable provider's online platform. Whether you're a subscriber to Verizon, Spectrum, Cox or another provider, simply hop over to ESPN's streaming service and enter your log-in credentnials.

Watching on cable TV channels

ESPN is broadcasting the game so it should be easily accessible to most cable subscribers. To find what channel ESPN is on, your best bet is to check directly with your local cable provider. Channel numbers aren't the same across different services or even different regions.

Here are some ESPN channel numbers for national services:

How to watch Texans vs. Chiefs without cable

Subscription-based streaming services with ESPN

Free trials and discounts

Of the options above, YouTube TV has the most generous free trial by far, giving new users 21 days of access without spending a penny. Hulu and FuboTV offer free trials as well, but those are only for three days and seven days, respectively. Unfortunately, neither Sling TV nor ESPN+ offer free trials.

Watching on mobile devices

All of the above options have mobile apps available on Apple's App Store or the Google Play store on Android.