Thanksgiving Day usually means family, food and football! After tossing the pigskin around in the morning, you can settle in and watch NFL football games from just after noon until bedtime. Even if you or your family have cut the cord, we've got all the help you need to stream all these special holiday games. Here is how to stream the 2019 NFL Thanksgiving Day games if you don't have cable.
Every year the NFL now has three games on three different networks. Continuing two long standing traditions, Fox and CBS have games featuring the Detroit Lions and Dallas Cowboys. The night game on NBC can feature any of the teams in the league, but there is no flexing better matchups into this game in the way they can for Sunday Night Football. Here is the schedule for this year's 2019 Thanksgiving Day NFL games.
All times shown are Eastern
- 12:30 p.m., Chicago Bears vs. Detroit Lions, Fox
- 4:30 p.m., Buffalo Bills vs. Dallas Cowboys, CBS
- 8:20 p.m., New Orleans Saints vs. Atlanta Falcons, NBC
While dinner is still in the oven, the Chicago Bears (5-6) play the Detroit Lions (3-7-1) at 12:30 p.m. from Ford Field in Detroit. This NFC North division rivalry game is always a tense game. The Bears are technically still in the NFC Playoff picture, but with their next four opponents a combined 29-15 this game is a must win to keep that dream alive.
Around the time you are fixing your second plate, the Buffalo Bills (8-3) face the Dallas Cowboys (6-5) at 4:30 p.m. from AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Tex. In the best Thanksgiving Day game, the Bills bring an incredibly stingy defense down to the Lone Star State. With 33 sacks and 15 turnovers, Buffalo could make things harder on Dallas head coach Jason Garrett, who is already on the hot seat.
CBS Sports Network Tiki Barber asks if the Cowboys will fire Jason Garrett if he loses to the Bills.
In the last game of the holiday, the New Orleans Saints (9-2) take on the Atlanta Falcons (3-8) at 8:20 p.m. from Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. At the start of the season, this matchup looked appealing but the Falcons woeful season has spoiled the fun. Still expect lots of scoring in a dome game involving Saints quarterback Drew Brees.
How to stream the NFL Thanksgiving Day games
Now that you know why these games matter, you just need to know how to watch them online. Whether you are using the TV with the whole family gathered around, or sneaking it on your phone at the table while your Mom isn't looking, it is easy to get these games. Here's how to stream the NFL Thanksgiving Day games if you have cut the cord
Hulu with Live TV
- The cost: $45 a month after a one week free trial
- Watch Hulu on: Apple TV, Android TV, Amazon Fire TV, Chromecast, Roku, Xbox One, Xbox 360, Nintendo Switch, iOS, Android, and browsers
- Local channels on Hulu: ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox, and others. Find your local channels here .
- Thanksgiving Day NFL Football on Hulu: Yes, with your local Fox, CBS and NBC stations.
More on Hulu with Live TV:
- See all Hulu channels
- What's new on Hulu this month
Thanksgiving's Perfect Play
Stream kickoffs all through Turkey-day.
Hulu combines a huge back catalog of shows with a large selection of live TV channels. They can include local Fox, CBS and NBC stations, so your Thanksgiving can be filled with NFL Football.
Fubo TV
- The cost: $55 a month after a one week trial
- Watch Fubo TV on: Apple TV, Android TV, Amazon Fire TV, Chromecast, Roku, iOS, Android and web browsers
- Local channels on Fubo TV: CBS, Fox, NBC and CW. Find your locals here .
- Thanksgiving Day NFL Football on Fubo TV: Yes, Fubo has Fox, CBS and NBC locals available.
More on Fubo TV:
- See all Fubo TV channels
- Fubo TV 4K streaming
A favorite for sports fans
Fill your family's holiday with football on Fubo.
Fubo TV has had a sports focus since the very beginning. While they have expanded their focus, the service is still a great way to stream sports, including all three Thanksgiving Day NFL games.
Sling TV - Sling Blue
- The cost: $25 a month after your first month for $15
- Watch Sling TV on: Apple TV, Android TV, Amazon Fire TV, Chromecast, Roku, Xbox One, LG, or Samsung smart TVs, iOS, Android, Amazon Fire tablets, browsers and more
- Local channels on Sling TV: NBC and Fox on Sling Blue. Find your local channels here .
- Thanksgiving Day NFL Football on Sling TV: Some with local Fox and NBC stations for the early and late game, but no CBS means you miss out on the middle afternoon game.
Sling TV has flexible plans for NFL fans who want to pick and choose. The service has the lowest base price among live streaming services, although if you want the most NFL games, you'll need the Orange + Blue plan. Sling TV is a great value for both ESPN and the NFL Network.
More on Sling TV:
- See all Sling TV channels
- How to subscribe to Sling TV
Sling the pigskin around
Stream NFL on Thanksgiving and save some cash for Black Friday.
Sling is the most economical of the major streaming services. You'll miss the CBS game, but you can stream the other two NFL games for less than your holiday meal costs.
AT&T TV Now - Plus Plan
- The cost: $65 a month after a free trial
- Watch AT&T TV Now on: Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, Chromecast, Roku, Samsung Smart TVs, iOS, Android, and browsers
- Local channels on AT&T TV Now: ABC, CBS, Fox, NBC and more. Find your locals here .
- Thanksgiving Day NFL Football on AT&T TV Now: Yes, with local Fox, CBS and NBC for Thanksgiving Day games.
More on AT&T TV Now:
- See all AT&T TV Now channels and plans
- How to sign up for AT&T TV Now
Football plus HBO
They put the 'T' in Touchdowns
AT&T TV Now has probably the deepest channel lineup around. Get all the Thanksgiving NFL games streaming on the Plus Plan, then catch Watchmen since you'll get HBO as well.
YouTube TV
- The cost: $50 a month after a free trial
- Watch YouTube TV on: Apple TV, Android TV, Amazon Fire TV Coming Soon , Chromecast, Roku, Samsung, LG, HiSense or Vizio smart TVs, iOS, Android and browsers
- Local channels on YouTube TV: ABC, CBS, Fox, NBC and more. Find your locals here .
- Thanksgiving Day NFL Football on YouTube TV: Yes, with all three games streaming from your local Fox, CBS and NBC stations.
More on YouTube TV:
Punt, Pass and Subscribe
YouTube makes live NFL games simple, even on big holidays.
YouTube TV is one of the easiest streaming services to understand, with a single plan, a ton of channels — including every local channel you will need for NFL Thanksgiving Day games.
CBS All Access
- The cost: $6 a month or $10 a month for commercial free plan after a one week free trial
- Watch CBS All Access on: Apple TV, Android TV, Amazon Fire TV, Chromecast, Roku, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Samsung or Vizio smart TVs, iOS, Android, browsers and more
- Local channels on CBS All Access: Many local CBS stations are available to stream live. Find your local CBS station here .
- Thanksgiving Day NFL Football games on CBS All Access: Some, with only the 4:30 p.m. afternoon game from your local CBS station.
CBS All Access is a standalone streaming service dedicated to the broadcast network, and it adds tons of additional content. It has big name originals shows like Star Trek Discovery, The Twilight Zone and the new Picard series. The service also includes live broadcasts from your local CBS station to watch NFL games on Sunday afternoons.
More on CBS All Access:
NFL goes All Access
Get the CBS game plus All Access Originals.
CBS All Access is a streaming service that uses a one-of-a-kind playbook. They balance originals with content from their broadcast network, plus live broadcasts including this Thursday NFL game.
Watch the NFL Thanksgiving Day games on Yahoo! Sports mobile app and NFL mobile app
As long as you are willing to watch exclusively on a mobile device, you have the option to watch these NFL games for free in the Yahoo! Sports app or NFL mobile app.
No subscription is needed to watch these games, but there are a few catches; ones that even Odell Beckham Jr can't make. This is mobile only, so no viewing on smart TVs or using Chromecast or AirPlay. Also you need to have location permissions turned on, even though these are all nationally broadcast games.
This is still a nice perk, because it doesn't require you to pay and it could be enough in a pinch to satisfy super-fans. Just don't let Grandma catch you streaming to your Pixel while everyone is saying grace.
How to watch NFL Thanksgiving Day games even if you're outside the United States
Are you going to be traveling to visit family to celebrate Thanksgiving outside of the United States? If you still want to watch these special NFL games, streaming them can be worse than eating Aunt Becky's Raisin Potato Salad. It's all because streaming services often block their feeds if you're not in America. Blame the lawyers, contracts, or greedy fat cats!
There is a way to get things working again by using a VPN. Those three little letters mean "Virtual Private Network," and that sends your internet traffic from wherever you are through a specific set of servers. Then it slides your internet traffic back into the United States even while you're abroad. That means you can sail away while your internet stays on the shores of the USA.
Does a VPN sound appealing to you? It's easy to get a great one with subscription services that, for a few bucks a month, tunnel your traffic through your choice of a variety of locations. It can also give you security and peace of mind on open WiFi connections, because a VPN protects you against snoopers on any network. Give one a try to see if it works for you, and then put it to good use. Even enjoy your football from a half a world away.
Football from far away
Thanksgiving abroad can still include American football.
ExpressVPN has all the things you want from a VPN, including multiple plans at different price points. It also has servers in 94 countries and apps for all major platforms.
