Eagles-Colts preseason game: Start time, channel, how to watch and stream

The Eagles will face off against the Indianapolis Colts in their final preseason game Thursday, just two days after a brawl forced a joint practice between the teams to end early.

Jason Kelce apologized for igniting the scuffle with what he described as a “cheap shot” on Colts linebacker and Philadelphia native Zaire Franklin. It’s unclear if Kelce or many of the Eagles starters will take the field Thursday at Lincoln Financial Field.

The game is streaming exclusively on Amazon’s Prime Video, with Al Michaels and Kirk Herbstreit on the call. It will also air in Philadelphia on Fox 29. It’s a convenient spot for Amazon, since they’ll be back in Philadelphia a couple of weeks to stream their first game of the season – the Birds’ home opener in Week 2 against the Minnesota Vikings.

“That was just luck of the draw,” said Jay Marine, vice president and global head of sports for Prime Video. Michaels said it “works out extremely well” to add a layer of comfort for new members of the crew. That includes incoming Thursday Night Football producer Mark Teitelman, who is taking over for veteran producer Fred Gaudelli.

All eyes will be on Marcus Mariota, the Eagles’ backup quarterback who has had an underwhelming preseason, posting just a 56.3 passer rating on 28 attempts. Granted, that’s a small sample size and this is the preseason, but he’s been shaky enough for some to question whether the Eagles should look for other options.

“Mariota was benched twice in the past four years, and he was a five-year loser in Tennessee,” Inquirer columnist Marcus Hayes wrote this week. “It would be irresponsible to put the best team in the NFC, filled with rising and fading stars, in the hands of sixth-round rookie Tanner McKee.”

Here’s everything you need to know to watch or stream the Eagles’ final preseason game:

Thursday’s Eagles-Colts preseason game will stream exclusively on Amazon’s Prime Video beginning at 8 p.m. Eastern

Michaels, the veteran play-by-play announcer entering his second season with Amazon, will call the game. Joining him again this season in the booth is Herbstreit, who also is ESPN’s top college football analyst. After surviving his first season as an NFL announcer while pulling double-duty on a college pregame show and Saturday night game, Herbstreit said he plans to “chill.”

“I can’t even tell you how much I prepared because I didn’t want to let anyone down, including myself,” Herbstreit said. “Going through that last year really helped me understand what I need to do and recalibrate as I get ready for the second year of making this run.”

Kaylee Hartung, who joined NBC’s Today show earlier this year as a national correspondent, will report from the sidelines at Lincoln Financial Field.

Yes, the game will simulcast in the Philadelphia TV market on Fox 29. It will also air in Indianapolis on WRTV.

If you’re looking to watch the game for free and you live in or around Philadelphia, your best option is to use a digital antenna.

The game will also air on the radio on 94.1 WIP, where fans can listen to the familiar voices of Merrill Reese and former Eagles receiver Mike Quick. WIP host Howard Eskin will handle sideline reporting duties.

Staff writers Jeff McLane, EJ Smith, Josh Tolentino, and Olivia Reiner will be covering the action live on Gameday Central. Notes and observations about the game will be at Inquirer.com/Eagles. Don’t forget to subscribe to our free Sports Daily newsletter.

A pared-down, shortened version of Prime Video’s pregame coverage will begin streaming at 8 p.m., featuring Charissa Thompson and Andrew Whitworth.

Pregame coverage of the Eagles’ final preseason game on 94.1 WIP begins at 6 p.m., with Glen Macnow, Ike Reese, Eliot Shorr-Parks, and Hugh Douglas.

With Fox 29 airing the game in the Philadelphia market, the station will air its own pregame coverage beginning at 7:30 p.m. with Game Night Live, featuring Breland Moore and former Eagles linebacker Garry Cobb.

NBC Sports Philadelphia won’t air any pre- or postgame coverage.

Unlike previous seasons, NFL teams have been able to keep their rosters at 90 players throughout the preseason. But that will end Tuesday, with the Eagles and every other team must cut their rosters down to 53-players.

In addition to the 53-man active roster, the Eagles will be able to carry up to 16 players on their practice squad.

One new wrinkle this season is teams will be allowed to carry a third quarterback without having to use a spot on their 48-player game day roster. This emergency quarterback would be allowed to enter the game if the two other quarterbacks get hurt or are ejected, which is what happened to the San Francisco 49ers in their NFC championship loss to the Eagles.

Teams will be permitted to dress the third quarterback without having him count against the game-day limit. The third quarterback can enter only if the two other quarterbacks are not available, due to injury or ejection.

» READ MORE: Eagles 53-man roster projection 3.0: Is there a spot for Britain Covey? Safety depth chart still in flux

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