How to watch NFL's Texans vs. Chargers

The 2025 NFL playoffs begin Saturday and the first game will be one of the league’s relatively new traditions.

It’s not just about the Houston Texans playing in the opening game of Wild Card Weekend, which has happened frequently throughout the franchise’s history. The first contest of the NFL postseason will also be broadcast on Nickelodeon.

Nickelodeon – a sister channel of CBS with programming for children and teenagers – has broadcast an NFL game every year since 2021. Sean McManus, chairman of CBS Sports, approached the league with the idea of marketing football to a younger audience while educating them about key concepts of the game.

Nickelodeon’s first simulcast – the 2021 Wild Card Playoff game between the New Orleans Saints and Chicago Bears – was a resounding success. This led to the channel continuing to broadcast one game per year while also adding a weekly program called “NFL Slimetime” to its programming catalog.

Nickelodeon has often incorporated its most famous traditions into its NFL broadcasts. This included superimposed slime on the field, appearances by the most famous stars and commentary by the network’s most famous characters, SpongeBob SquarePants and Patrick Star.

NFL STATISTICS CENTER: The latest NFL scores, schedules, odds, stats and more.

Here’s what you need to know about the NFL, Nickelodeon’s history, and how to watch the alternate broadcast for the start of the 2025 playoffs.

Bold NFL Predictions:Who will make a splash in the wildcard round?

What is Nickelodeon Wild Card Game 2025?

Nickelodeon’s NFL broadcast of the 2025 playoffs will be the first game of the postseason. The AFC South-winning Texans host the conference’s top wild card team, the Chargers, in the battle for a place in the divisional round.

Jim Harbaugh’s Chargers, who finished the 2024 NFL season with a record of 11-6, are slight favorites over the home team Texans, who won the AFC South for the second straight year with a record of 10-7.

When is the Nickelodeon Wild Card Game?

The Texans vs. Chargers game begins at 4:30 p.m. ET. There will be no additional pre-game coverage of the contest on Nickelodeon, as the film “Trolls” will be shown on the network leading up to the playoff game.

CBS’ pregame coverage of the event begins at 3:30 p.m. ET with the broadcast of “The NFL Today.”

Nickelodeon Wildcard Game Live Stream

Live stream: Paramount+, Fubo

NFL fans can watch the Texans vs. Chargers game with a subscription to Paramount+, the streaming service from CBS and Nickelodeon. Cord cutters can also get involved with a subscription to Fubo, which offers a free trial.

Stream NFL games with a Fubo subscription

NFL on Nickelodeon Announcers

Nate Burleson will anchor the NFL on Nickelodeon’s broadcast, as he has done since the show’s inception.

However, he will not be paired with a traditional announcing group. Instead, he will broadcast the game alongside Tom Kenny and Bill Fagerbakke, who voice SpongeBob SquarePants and Patrick Star, respectively. The two will appear as the iconic characters in the show and will be shown as animated versions of them. Burleson is also animated, but as himself.

The show will feature two reporters: NFL Slimetime’s Dylan Schefter (daughter of ESPN’s Adam Schefter) and SpongeBob SquarePants character Sandy Cheeks, voiced by Carolyn Lawrence.

Rules and punishments are explained by Dora The Explorer (voiced by Diana Zermeño).

NFL to Nickelodeon history

Nickelodeon’s wildcard broadcast of the Texans vs. Chargers game will be the network’s sixth NFL game since 2021. The games have only been broadcast in the postseason or on Christmas Day in the program’s history. It also covered Super Bowl 58, which was broadcast by its sister network CBS.

Here’s a look at the games Nickelodeon broadcast:

January 10, 2021: New Orleans Saints 21, Chicago Bears 9
January 16, 2022: San Francisco 49ers 23, Dallas Cowboys 17
December 25, 2022: Los Angeles Rams 51, Denver Broncos 14
December 25, 2023: Las Vegas Raiders 20, Kansas City Chiefs 14
February 11, 2024: Kansas City Chiefs 25, San Francisco 49ers 22 (OT)
January 11, 2025: Houston Texans vs. Los Angeles Chargers

NFL POWER RANKINGS:Which playoff team is the biggest threat to the Super Bowl?

NFL playoff schedule

The NFL playoffs begin Jan. 11 with the league’s Super Wild Card Weekend and end Feb. 9 with Super Bowl 59 in New Orleans.

Wildcard weekend

Always east

Saturday, January 11th

Breaking News

Dellupodisabato

How to watch NFL’s Texans vs. Chargers

Leave a Reply Cancel reply