NFL Week 16: How to watch Bills vs. Patriots on CBS, Washington vs. Cowboys on NBC, RedZone and more – CNET [CNET]

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The Tennessee Titans took down the San Francisco 49ers on Thursday night to open Week 16, with the Packers beating the Browns and the Colts knocking off the Cardinals on Saturday. Today brings another round of NFL action as the end of the regular season nears, with yet another slate of games that could have major implications on the NFL playoffs, NFL draft and fantasy leagues. 

Notable games in the early window include an AFC North showdown between the Ravens and Bengals and AFC East tilt between the Bills and Patriots. Both of those games air at 1 p.m. ET (10 a.m. PT) on CBS. The highlight of the late window features the Steelers taking on the Chiefs at 4:25 p.m. ET (1:25 p.m. PT), also on CBS. 

Closing out the day will be an NFC East clash between the Washington Football Team and Dallas Cowboys at 8:20 p.m. ET (5:20 p.m. PT) on NBC. 

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

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Dak Prescott and the Dallas Cowboys will look to continue their march to the playoffs when they take on the Washington Football Team on Sunday Night Football.

Sarah Stier/Getty Images

How to stream NFL games

Major streaming providers such as YouTube TV, Hulu Plus Live TV, FuboTV and DirecTV Stream offer nearly all the major channels you will need for football. This includes CBS, NBC and Fox, as well as ESPN, which is needed for Monday Night Football. 

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

Those who are fine with watching on phones or tablets, meanwhile, can also use the Yahoo Sports app to stream the games that are broadcast on your local stations for free or that are airing in primetime. Games that are streaming in your area can be found here

What about RedZone and the NFL Network? 

All of those services above, with the exception of DirecTV Stream, offer the option to get RedZone and the NFL Network. RedZone will usually require you to spend another $10 or $11 per month as an add-on. 

If RedZone is all you care about, the cheapest option is getting Sling TV Blue for $35 a month and adding the $11-per-month Sports Extra add-on. This gets you all the football channels with the exception of ESPN and CBS. 

What channel is the NFL Network? 

If you do have cable or satellite, here is where you can find the NFL Network on a few of the bigger providers. Note: The exact channel numbers may change depending on your area, so for best results check your channel guide. 

  • DirecTV: Channel 212
  • Dish Network: Channel 154
  • Verizon Fios: Channel 588
  • Comcast Xfinity: Channel 180
  • Charter/Spectrum: Channel 310
  • Altice/Optimum: Channel 219

What 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

What about Peacock? 

All of NBC’s regular-season NFL games 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-a-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 Thursday Night Football? 

Most Thursday Night Football games have been broadcast on Fox, NFL Network and Amazon Prime Video and this included Saturday’s Browns/Packers tilt. With the Thursday night games now completed, the last remaining Prime game will be a Jan. 10 Wild Card playoff game. 

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

YouTube TV costs $65 a month and includes all the major football channels, with RedZone available for an extra $11 a month. Plug in your ZIP code on its welcome page to see which local networks are available in your area. (YouTube TV resolved its dispute with Disney and restored ESPN to its lineup.)

Read our YouTube TV review.

 

FuboTV costs $65 a month and has all the major NFL channels with RedZone available as an $11-per-month add-on. Click here to see which local channels you get.

Read our FuboTV review.

 

Sling TV’s $35-a-month Blue plan includes NBC, Fox and the NFL Network. Enter your address here to see which 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. RedZone is also available for an extra $11 a month.

Read our Sling TV review.

 

Hulu with Live TV costs $70 a month and includes all the major football channels, with RedZone available for an extra $10 a month. 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 nearly all the major channels for football with the notable exceptions of RedZone and the NFL Network. You can use its channel lookup tool to see which local channels are available where you live.

Read our DirecTV Stream 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

Peacock will show NBC’s full slate of Sunday Night Football games. You will, however, need one of the service’s Premium plans to watch Sunday Night Football 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.

Read our Peacock review.

 

Most Thursday Night games will be available on Amazon Prime Video. For millions of Amazon Prime subscribers, the Prime Video channel is already included at no extra cost. But if you’re not a subscriber, it might be worth it to shell out the $9 a month for the stand-alone TV service fee. 

With the NFL season almost over the last matchup for Prime users this season will be a Jan. 10 Wild Card playoff game. 

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.