How to Watch NFL Games Online for Free Today, Including Rams vs. Bears on 'Sunday Night Football'
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The NFL games on TV today in week 14 of the 2018 season include exciting matchups like Patriots vs. Dolphins, Eagles vs. Cowboys, and Ravens vs. Chiefs, finishing up with a top-notch "Sunday Night Football" game: Rams vs. Bears.
The Los Angeles Rams and Chicago Bears are both leading their divisions — NFC West and NFC North, respectively — and either team could go far in the playoffs. In fact, the Rams, who are 11-1 and have the best record in the NFL, are now being given the best odds of winning the 2019 Super Bowl, scheduled for February 3 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.
But there is plenty more football to be played before then, including a full roster of games on the NFL schedule today. Here's a guide for how to watch today's NFL games for free — online or on TV — around the country.
What Is the NFL Game Schedule Today for Sunday, December 9?
First off, football fans do not get to watch every NFL game for free today. NFL games are broadcast on the major networks, which are free, but fans are typically limited by which Sunday games are being aired locally in their region.
Everyone gets to watch the Rams vs. Bears "Sunday Night Football" game for free tonight, because it's being broadcast nationally by NBC stations all over the country. Otherwise, fans will get to see a few (but not all) of the Sunday afternoon games for free that are airing on CBS and Fox.
Here's the full NFL game schedule for Sunday, December 9, and what channels are broadcasting the games:
• New York Jets vs. Buffalo Bills, 1 p.m. ET on CBS
• New York Giants vs. Washington Redskins, 1 p.m. ET on Fox
• New Orleans Saints vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 1 p.m. ET on Fox
• New England Patriots vs. Miami Dolphins, 1 p.m. ET on CBS
• Baltimore Ravens vs. Kansas City Chiefs, 1 p.m. ET on CBS
• Indianapolis Colts vs. Houston Texans, 1 p.m. ET on CBS
• Atlanta Falcons vs. Green Bay Packers, 1 p.m. ET on Fox
• Carolina Panthers vs. Cleveland Browns, 1 p.m. ET on Fox
• Denver Broncos vs. San Francisco 49ers, 4:05 p.m. ET on CBS
• Cincinnati Bengals vs. Los Angeles Chargers, 4:05 p.m. ET on CBS
• Detroit Lions vs. Arizona Cardinals, 4:25 p.m. ET on Fox
• Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Oakland Raiders, 4:25 p.m. ET on Fox
• Philadelphia Eagles vs. Dallas Cowboys, 4:25 p.m. ET on Fox
• Los Angeles Rams vs. Chicago Bears, 8:20 p.m. ET on NBC
Unless you have a special NFL subscription package (see below) that includes broadcasts of out-of-market games, you'll be limited to watching only the games airing on your local CBS and Fox stations. In general, that means you'll receive broadcasts of your local team's games, in addition to a couple of other NFL games that the networks believe will interest fans.
You don't need cable TV or another pay TV subscription to watch these NFL games. All you need is a TV connected to a digital antenna. You can buy a decent HDTV antenna for around $25. Once it's connected to your TV, you'll be able to watch free, unlimited broadcast of over-the-air networks like CBS, Fox, NBC, ABC, and PBS.
Note, however, that the exact list of channels you can watch for free with a digital antenna varies based on where you live and the strength and position of the antenna you have.
How to Live Stream NFL Games for Free on Your Phone
What if you want to watch NFL games online today — on a phone or other device? There are a few possibilities.
To live stream NFL games for free on your phone, simply download the latest version of the Yahoo Sports app or NFL App. Both of these mobile phone apps have free live streams of all the NFL games that are airing on your local CBS, Fox, and NBC stations. (They also have free live streams of "Monday Night Football," which is broadcast on the pay channel ESPN.)
The Yahoo Sports and NFL apps are totally free. They are free to download, and the NFL game live streams are free as well. However, the live streams are available only on phones. You cannot use these apps to watch NFL games on a larger screen, such as a tablet, laptop, or smart TV.
How to Watch NFL Games Online for Free on a Big Screen
To watch NFL games online today on any screen you want, considering registering for a free trial of a streaming TV service such as Fubo TV, Hulu Live, DirecTV Now, PlayStation Vue, or YouTube TV. These live streaming TV services bundle together dozens of channels into subscriber packages, and in most of the country they include local broadcasts of major networks like CBS, Fox, and NBC.
Packages for these streaming TV services start at about $40 per month, but all are available free to new subscribers during trial periods that last about a week. To watch NFL games online for free today, then, you could register as a new subscriber to one of these streaming services — and afterward still have nearly a full week to check them out.
Just remember, that if you don't want to become a paying subscriber, you must cancel before the free trial ends.
How to Watch Every NFL Game Today
All of the options above work if you're trying to watch NFL games broadcast on your local channels on Sunday. But what if you want to watch out-of-market NFL games — i.e., games that aren't airing on your local CBS or Fox stations?
If that's the case, you'll need access to a subscription package that includes out-of-market NFL game broadcasts. NFL Game Pass package is the cheapest option ($99.99 for the season), and new subscribers can sign up for a seven-day free trial. NFL Game Pass subscribers can watch (or stream) out-of-market NFL games, but games are available only after they have ended. In other words, you can't watch games live with NFL Game Pass.
The upside of NFL Game Pass is that the service allows subscribers to watch condensed, commercial-free versions of the games, which can be a huge time saver.
The other main option for fans who hope to watch out-of-market NFL games is DirecTV's NFL Sunday Ticket. Packages start at $300 per season (on top of a pay TV subscription), and viewers get to watch all out-of-market NFL games every Sunday. Unfortunately, there is no free trial for NFL Sunday Ticket.
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