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How to Watch the NFL Playoffs Today Online for Free, Including the Cowboys vs. Rams Game

By:
Brad Tuttle
6 min read
Dak Prescott of the Dallas Cowboys looks to pass against the Seattle Seahawks in the Wild Card playoff round on January 05, 2019 in Arlington, Texas. - Ronald Martinez—Getty Images
Dak Prescott of the Dallas Cowboys looks to pass against the Seattle Seahawks in the Wild Card playoff round on January 05, 2019 in Arlington, Texas. Ronald Martinez—Getty Images

The NFL playoffs are in full swing this weekend, with four games scheduled that will narrow the field of teams fighting for a spot in the 2019 Super Bowl on Sunday, February 3. The two NFL playoff games today (Saturday, January 12) are: Colts vs. Chiefs and Cowboys vs. Rams.

Both matchups are interesting. The Indianapolis Colts are arguably the NFL's hottest team: After starting 2018 at 1-5, Andrew Luck and the Colts have won their last five games, including an impressive Wild Card playoff win on the road against the Houston Texans last weekend. Still, the 12-4 Kansas City Chiefs, playing at home with one of the league's most potent offenses, are 5.5-point favorites to beat the Colts in the AFC divisional playoffs on Saturday.

The Dallas Cowboys, meanwhile, are easily the hottest NFC team right now. The Cowboys won seven of their final eight regular season games, and then edged the Seattle Seahawks 24-22 in the playoff opening round. But the 13-3 Los Angeles Rams have been one of the league's best teams all year long, and the betting odds for the Cowboys vs. Rams game Saturday night indicate the Rams are 7-point favorites to win at home.

The TV broadcasts for the NFL playoffs are all being handled by free, over-the-air broadcast networks. So it's super simple to watch NFL playoff games for free on TV. What's more, fans can also live stream the NFL playoffs for free on their phones, or even watch NFL playoff games online for free on other screens. Here are all the details you need.

What Channel Is the Cowboys vs. Rams Game On Today?

What time does the Colts vs. Chiefs game start today? How about the Cowboys vs. Rams game? What channels are broadcasting the NFL playoff games today? And how about the NFL playoffs on Sunday?

Here's all the info you need, starting with the NFL game schedule today, Saturday, January 12:

• Indianapolis Colts vs. Kansas City Chiefs, 4:35 p.m. ET on NBC
• Dallas Cowboys vs. Los Angeles Rams, 8:15 p.m. ET on Fox

Here's the NFL playoff schedule for Sunday, January 13:

• Los Angeles Chargers vs. New England Patriots, 1:05 p.m. ET on CBS
• Philadelphia Eagles vs. New Orleans Saints, 4:40 p.m. ET on Fox

It's very easy to watch NFL playoff games for free on TV today and Sunday. If you have cable TV or another pay TV package, it probably comes with local broadcasts of network TV channels, including NBC, Fox, and CBS.

If you don't have cable, you can still watch the NFL playoffs with a digital antenna. A basic HDTV antenna costs around $25, and once it's hooked up to a TV in most of the country you'll be able to watch local affiliates for over-the-air TV networks such as ABC, CBS, Fox, and NBC, as well as PBS.

Watching broadcast TV with a digital antenna is totally free, and comes in hi-def. What channels you get with an HDTV antenna in your home may vary, however, based on the strength of the antenna, its positioning in your house or apartment, and where you live.

How to Live Stream the NFL Playoffs for Free Today

To live stream NFL games —including the playoffs this weekend and the Super Bowl — on your phone, download the NFL App or Yahoo Sports mobile app. Both are free to download and provide free NFL game live streams on phones (and sometimes, tablets).

Either app will allow you to watch the NFL playoffs online for free on your phone. Unfortunately, the NFL App and Yahoo Sports app do not allow fans to live stream NFL games on smart TVs or laptops. You can't use them to screencast games to your TV either. They work only with smaller screens — smartphones, specifically, and sometimes tablets.

How to Watch the NFL Playoffs Online for Free: Cowboys vs. Rams

If you're hunting for another way to watch the NFL playoff games today online on a smart TV or another large screen, consider signing up for a free trial of a streaming TV service that includes local broadcast TV channels in its packages.

In most of the country, the streaming TV services Fubo TV, Hulu Live, DirecTV Now, PlayStation Vue, and YouTube TV include CBS, NBC, ABC, and Fox in packages, alongside dozens of other "pay TV" channels. Another service, Sling TV, includes local Fox and NBC stations in certain parts of the country.

The cost of these live stream TV services normally starts at $25 to $45 per month. But they are all available to new subscribers for free during free-trial periods that last about a week.

So you could watch the NFL playoff games online for free this weekend by subscribing to a streaming TV service and taking advantage of the free trial. You'd then have the rest of the week to try out the service before deciding if you want to pay up.

If you ultimately decide you do not want to become a paying subscriber, remember to cancel the streaming TV service before the free trial ends. If you miss the deadline, you'll be charged in full for the first month.

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