NFL Super Wild Card Weekend: How to watch Eagles vs. Buccaneers on Fox, 49ers vs. Cowboys on CBS and the rest of Sunday’s action – CNET [CNET]

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After an expanded, 17-week regular season, the NFL Playoffs are finally here. After Saturday night saw wins by the Bengals and Bills, the 14 teams in the mix for Super Bowl LVI have dropped to 12. That number will fall even further Sunday, with three playoff games on the docket:

  • Eagles at Buccaneers: 1 p.m. ET (10 a.m. PT) on Fox
  • 49ers at Cowboys: 4:30 p.m. ET (1:30 p.m. PT) on CBS, Paramount Plus, Nickelodeon and Amazon Prime Video
  • Steelers at Chiefs: 8:15 p.m. ET (5:15 p.m. PT) on NBC and Peacock

The top seeds in each conference — the Green Bay Packers in the NFC and the Tennessee Titans in the AFC — have a first-round bye, while the Rams and Cardinals will play on ESPN, ABC and ESPN Plus on Monday night. 

The good news for football fans who cut the cable TV cord is that it’s easier than ever to stream NFL playoff games live. This year inexpensive services, namely Peacock and Paramount Plus, are carrying NBC and CBS games, while premium live TV streaming services like YouTube TV and Hulu with Live TV stream every game too. Keep reading to see the matchups and how to watch the games this weekend and throughout the playoffs.

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Nick Bosa and the San Francisco 49ers will take on the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday in the NFL’s Super Wild Card weekend. 

Katelyn Mulcahy/Getty Images

NFL Playoff seedings

The four division winners and three Wild Card teams in each conference have qualified for the playoffs.

NFC

1. Green Bay Packers (13-4): NFC North division winner
2. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (13-4): NFC South division winner
3. Dallas Cowboys (12-5): NFC East division winner
4. Los Angeles Rams (12-5): NFC West division winner
5. Arizona Cardinals (11-6): Wild Card berth
6. San Francisco 49ers (10-7): Wild Card berth
7. Philadelphia Eagles (9-8): Wild Card berth

AFC

1. Tennessee Titans (12-5): AFC South division winner
2. Kansas City Chiefs (12-5): AFC West division winner
3. Buffalo Bills (11-6): AFC East division winner
4. Cincinnati Bengals (10-7): AFC North division winner
5. Las Vegas Raiders (10-7): Wild Card berth
6. New England Patriots (10-7): Wild Card berth
7. Pittsburgh Steelers (9-7-1): Wild Card berth

Super Wild Card Weekend matchups and schedule

The three major networks that broadcast NFL games during the regular season — CBS, NBC and Fox — will each show at least one playoff game, and the Monday night game will be on ESPN. You can watch an alternate, kid-friendly broadcast of the second game on Sunday on Nickelodeon. And the streamers are in on the action this year with games available to stream on Peacock, Paramount Plus, Prime Video and ESPN Plus. Times here are all ET.

Sunday

  • Eagles at Buccaneers: 1 p.m. on Fox
  • 49ers at Cowboys: 4:30 p.m. on CBS, Paramount Plus, Nickelodeon and Amazon Prime Video
  • Steelers at Chiefs: 8:15 p.m. on NBC and Peacock

Monday

  • Cardinals at Rams: 8:15 p.m. on ABC, ESPN and ESPN Plus

How to watch Super Wild Card Weekend

Major streaming providers such as YouTube TV, Hulu Plus Live TV, FuboTV and DirecTV Stream offer nearly all the major channels you’ll need for football this weekend: CBS, NBC, Fox and ABC or ESPN.

Sling TV offers NBC and Fox in some markets with its Blue package, but it lacks CBS and ABC. It’s also worth noting that to get ESPN you will either need to switch to its Orange package or go for its pricier Blue and Orange bundle. 

If you’re fine with watching on your phone or tablet, you can use the Yahoo Sports app to stream all six games on Super Wild Card Weekend.

What do I need to know about Peacock? 

All of NBC’s NFL Playoff games — including the Super Bowl on Feb. 13 — will be available to stream on its Peacock streaming service, so long as you pay for one of its Premium subscriptions. 

There are two of these tiers, a $5-per-month Premium option that has ads (when watching nonlive content) and a $10-per-month Premium Plus option that will stream nonlive content ad-free (and let you download some content to watch offline).

How about Paramount Plus? 

Paramount Plus offers live CBS feeds with its Premium tier for $10 a month. Depending on where you live, however, your local CBS station (and those NFL games) might not be available. CBS offers livestreaming services in many markets; you can check if your area has live CBS streaming here

And Prime Video? 

Amazon Prime Video will show one NFL Playoff game — the 49ers-Cowboys game on Sunday.

And ESPN Plus?

ESPN’s standalone streaming service will also show one playoff game — the Monday night game between the Rams and the Cardinals.

And Nickelodeon? 

The kid-friendly, slime-happy version of the 49ers and Cowboys game can be found on Nickelodeon (which may also be listed as Nick).  A number of streaming services — including DirecTV Stream, YouTube TV, FuboTV and Hulu Plus Live TV — all offer the channel. 

Here’s the channel number for cable customers, though you may want to consult your local channel guide to be sure it’s the right number in your area. 

  • DirecTV: Channel 299
  • Dish: Channel 170 (East Coast) or 171 (West Coast)
  • Comcast Xfinity: Channel 825
  • Charter Spectrum: Channel 6
  • Altice/Optimum: Channel 121 
  • Verizon Fios: Channel 752

Best options to stream Super Wild Card Weekend

Here are our recommendations for the best ways to watch the NFL Playoffs without cable.

Peacock will show NBC’s games during the NFL Playoffs, including the Super Bowl on Feb. 13. You will, however, need one of the service’s Premium plans to watch the games live and full-game replays, though highlights are available on the free tier. The ad-supported Premium plan costs $5 a month, and the ad-free Premium Plus plan costs $10 a month. Note that you’ll still have to watch ads during live football with the $10 plan; ad-free applies only to on-demand content.

Read our Peacock review.

 

Those looking for CBS games will be able to stream them on Paramount Plus with its $10-per-month Premium tier. You can check for yourself if your area has live CBS streaming here.

Read our Paramount Plus review.

 

YouTube TV costs $65 a month and includes all the channels needed to watch every NFL Playoff game. Plug in your ZIP code on its welcome page to see which local networks are available in your area.

Read our YouTube TV review.

 

FuboTV costs $65 a month and has all the NFL channels needed to watch every playoff game. Click here to see which local channels you get.

Read our FuboTV review.

 

Hulu with Live TV costs $70 a month and includes all the needed football channels. Click the “View channels in your area” link on its welcome page to see which local channels are offered in your ZIP code.

Read our Hulu with Live TV review.

 

Formerly AT&T TV, DirecTV Stream’s basic $70-a-month package includes all the major channels for football. You can use its channel lookup tool to see which local channels are available where you live.

Read our DirecTV Stream review.

 

Sling TV’s $35-a-month Blue plan includes NBC and Fox, but only in a handful of markets. Enter your address here to see if those local channels are available where you live. 

Note: This version of Sling TV does not include ESPN. For that, you’ll need to switch to the similarly priced Orange plan or go for the combined $50-per-month Orange and Blue bundle. Sling does not offer CBS or ABC with any of its plans.

Read our Sling TV review.

 

For millions of Amazon Prime subscribers, the Prime Video channel is already included at no extra cost. If you’re not a subscriber, it costs $9 a month for the stand-alone TV service fee. Prime Video streamed games on Thursday nights during the regular season and has one game left on its schedule — the 49ers and Cowboys on Sunday at 4:30 p.m. ET.

ESPN Plus costs $6 a month or $60 a year and will show the game on Monday night between the Rams and Cardinals. You can also get ESPN Plus as part of the Disney bundle that also includes Disney Plus and Hulu for $8 a month or $80 a year. 

All of the live TV streaming services above offer free trials (except Peacock, which just has a free tier that doesn’t stream live NFL games), allow you to cancel anytime and require a solid internet connection. Looking for more information? Check out our live-TV streaming services guide.