The 2017 NFL preseason's first week of action arrives on Wednesday night as the Carolina Panthers host the Houston Texans. The first game for Week 1 will take place at Charlotte, North Carolina's Bank of America Stadium. While there probably won't be a lot of the superstar players on the field, it could give a glimpse at some of the rookie hopefuls and other players looking for a roster spot. Here's the latest Texans vs. Panthers game preview including matchup odds, TV channel, start time, and how to watch the NFL preseason game live streaming online.

Houston vs. Carolina

The Houston Texans come into tonight's game with a debate over quarterback on their minds. The team traded away Brock Osweiler ahead of the season and traded up to draft Clemson star, Deshaun Watson. They also have veterans Tom Savage and Brandon Weeden. All three players will get some time on the field tonight to start making their cases for a starting job. Also, there's the possibility that defensive star J.J. Watt will be back on the field after recovering from back surgery which kept him out the past season.

The Carolina Panthers are a team looking to return to form this coming season. After making the Super Bowl two seasons ago, they failed to qualify for the playoffs last year.

However, it's expected that the team will be back on track and quarterback Cam Newton will show why he's still amongst the game's MVP players. Newton won't be playing in the preseason opener, but brand new rookie running back Christian McCaffrey will get a bit of time on the field for fans to possibly see what he's capable of.

The odds for tonight's game favor the Carolina Panthers by 1.5-points to win against the Texans. On the money line, the home team is a -125 favorite, while Houston is a +105 underdog. The over/under points total is 38 points, but as with most preseason games, these are always hard to predict based on which personnel might play most or not play at all.

How to watch it live

Wednesday's Houston Texans vs. Carolina Panthers is scheduled for a 7:30 p.m. Eastern Time start. Live television coverage of the 2017 NFL preseason game will be available exclusively on the NFL Network. This channel can be found on many cable and satellite TV services around the country.

For live streaming, there are a few options to consider. One of those is signing up for a free Sling TV membership. The channel streaming service is offered for a free one-week trial offer for all new customers at Sling.com and includes NFL Network amongst its second tier of channels. There's also the NFL Game Pass service which gives customers live out-of-market preseason games and replays for each game. More details are available at GamePass.NFL.com where various packages are explained.
© ALL RIGHTS RESERVED