NFL 2020: How to watch Patriots vs. Rams tonight without cable – CNET [CNET]

Despite an increasing number of COVID-19 outbreaks throughout the league and a handful of teams having their schedule adjusted as a result, the 2020 NFL season still remains doggedly on track, for now.

After coronavirus issues caused yet another week to have games run into Tuesday, the NFL is set to play what appears — for now — to be a fairly normal-looking Week 14 slate. The Patriots visit the Rams to open the action tonight with 14 games to follow on Sunday and just a single game, the Ravens and Browns, set for Monday night. With COVID-19 cases on the rise around the country, however, whether this plan holds remains an open question.

Tonight’s contest, however, should be a good one. The Patriots enter Los Angeles at 6-6 and are looking to keep their playoff hopes alive. They’re currently two games behind the Colts and Dolphins for the final two AFC playoff seeds. The Rams, meanwhile, are 8-4 and looking to stay ahead of the Seahawks in the race for the NFC West division crown. 

The Patriots and Rams kick off in Los Angeles on Thursday at 8:20 p.m. ET (5:20 p.m. PT) on Fox, NFL Network and Amazon Prime Video.

Here’s how to watch tonight’s action, as well as the rest of the NFL season, without cable.

How can I watch the NFL without cable? 

You can stream the 2020 NFL season, no cable required, on any live-TV streaming service that carries channels with live games. Numerous such services offer broadcast networks like CBS, NBC and Fox as well as ESPN, the NFL Network and NFL RedZone. Exact channels may also vary based on where you live, but the best services for NFL fans are YouTube TV and FuboTV.

Thursday Night Football is also available to stream on Amazon Prime Video (so long as you subscribe to Amazon Prime), Twitch or the Yahoo Sports or NFL apps. Fox and the NFL Network broadcast Thursday Night Football games as well. 

For those looking for a different experience, Fox will be streaming its Thursday night games in 4K on FuboTV (as well as offering the 4K feed on certain cable and satellite providers). Amazon, meanwhile, will be adding the option to choose from a variety of different announcers in its Prime Video app, so you have options just in case Fox’s Joe Buck and Troy Aikman aren’t to your liking. 

Read more: NFL streaming: Best ways to watch the 2020 football season live without cable

All of the services above offer free trials, allow you to cancel anytime and require a solid internet connection. Looking for more information? Check out our massive streaming services guide.

As mentioned above, the NFL will also once again stream 11 games live on Amazon Prime Video and Twitch. The full list of remaining dates and games for that platform is: 

• Dec. 17: Los Angeles Chargers at Las Vegas Raiders
• Dec. 25: Minnesota Vikings at New Orleans Saints (note this Christmas Day matchup is on a Friday)
• Dec. 26: San Francisco 49ers at Arizona Cardinals (this game is on Saturday night and will be exclusive to Prime Video and Twitch outside the teams’ respective home markets)
• Jan. 10: AFC Wild Card playoff game that airs on CBS

Finally, cord-cutters can receive free local CBS, Fox and NBC broadcasts using an over-the-air antenna.

When did the NFL season start? 

The NFL regular season began on Thursday, Sept. 10, with the Houston Texans visiting the Kansas City Chiefs.

Where are games being played? 

The current plan is for teams to play their games as scheduled in their respective home stadiums. 

Are fans allowed in? 

There is no single answer, with some teams allowing fans and some not. 

The Chiefs, for example, hosted their home opener on Sept. 10 with 15,895 fans in attendance, 21% of Arrowhead’s capacity. 

Other teams, including the Tennessee Titans and Chicago Bears, hosted their respective home openers without fans in the stands in Week 2. This so far has been a team-by-team, city-by-city situation that is subject to change throughout the season.

What happened to the preseason? 

The NFL canceled the entire 2020 preseason in July, with teams focusing on doing their own training camps to prepare for the upcoming season. 

Will the NFL move some Sunday games to other days? 

The NFL had been rumored to be looking at moving some games to Saturday if college football was scaled back significantly this fall, but this scenario seems unlikely now that the Big Ten, Pac-12, Mountain West and MAC conferences announced they will play truncated seasons, which reversed previous decisions to postpone their fall seasons. The ACC, Big 12 and SEC have already begun their 2020 campaigns.

The NFL would potentially need to seek government approval if it did want to move games to Friday or Saturday nights due to Chapter 32 of the United States Code, which was designed to keep those nights free from September through December for high school and college football. 

Which players are sitting out? 

Like in other sports, a fair amount of NFL players have opted out of the 2020 season. Here are a few of the notable players not participating this year, with a larger list available at ESPN: 

• Patrick Chung, S, New England Patriots
• Dont’a Hightower, LB, New England Patriots
• Marqise Lee, WR, New England Patriots
• Marquise Goodwin, WR, Philadelphia Eagles
• Devin Funchess, WR, Green Bay Packers
• Geronimo Allison, WR, Detroit Lions
• C.J. Mosley, LB, New York Jets
• Nate Solder, OT, New York Giants
• Damien Williams, RB, Kansas City Chiefs