Seahawks vs. Chargers 2017 live stream: Start time, TV channel, and how to watch online

A new era of Chargers begins at StubHub Center on Sunday night.

Aug 13, 2017, 10:00 PM UTC

Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports

After a long and heartbreaking offseason, the San Diego Chargers are no more. On Sunday night, they officially take the field as the Los Angeles Chargers in the snug confines of StubHub Center, facing the Seattle Seahawks to wrap up Week 1 of the preseason.

The game is airing on NFL Network and streaming online at Watch NFL Network. Fans in the Seattle and L.A. markets can catch it on their local affiliate listed here.

Neither team is expected to play its starters much, so the real intrigue will be seeing how a football game plays out in a soccer stadium. The home of MLS’ LA Galaxy, StubCub Center only fills 27,000, making it by far the smallest stadium in the country to host an NFL game. It’s only a temporary home until the Chargers’ new Inglewood stadium is complete, but it’ll certainly be an interesting game-day atmosphere in the meantime.

As for the actual on-field product, the Chargers are coming off a snake-bitten 5-11 season and dealing with their usual plague of injuries. Rookie offensive lineman Forrest Lamp, a second round pick, is already done for the year with a torn ACL. First round receiver Mike Williams has a nagging back injury that could put his season in jeopardy as well. The good news is that Jason Verrett was activated from PUP, a crucial step as he works his way back from an ACL tear suffered last year.

Keenan Allen is also back after he tore his ACL (sensing a theme here?), though neither man will play much, if at all, in the preseason opener. Same goes for Philip Rivers, Melvin Gordon, and most of the veterans who will get cameos at best. Look for extended action from third-string QB Cardale Jones, whom the Chargers acquired in a trade with the Buffalo Bills. He and coach Anthony Lynn worked together in Buffalo, so that’s a connection worth monitoring as Rivers gets up there in age.

The Seahawks went 10-5-1 and advanced to the Divisional round last season, but it felt like a disappointment after so many key injuries wiped out their depth. Most of the horses are back, though — Earl Thomas is healed from a broken leg, while Tyler Lockett (also a broken leg) is getting close, though he’s already been ruled out of this game. Doug Baldwin had a practice scare when he got his foot stepped on, but he’s fine.

The scariest injury situation didn’t even happen on the field. Second round defensive tackle Malik McDowell got in an ATV accident that resulted in severe head injuries. The team has been extremely vague on the details, perhaps out of respect to McDowell and his family, but the general feeling is that he won’t play this season. That’s a big loss for the Seahawks, who drafted McDowell to help shore up a suspect interior line.

In non-injury news, Seattle’s running back competition will be heavily scrutinized. Free agent Eddie Lacy is the presumptive favorite, but incumbent Thomas Rawls isn’t going away, and in fact worked exclusively with the first team in practice last week. There’s also pass-catching specialist C.J. Prosise to account for. The Seahawks’ backfield was ruined by injuries last season, but it’s a promising unit on paper if everybody stays healthy.