School is back in session, new iPhones are here and NFL football has returned to our TV screens. Welcome to September! I’ve got recommendations for the best ways to watch or stream the NFL 2026 season, and here is your Week 1 NFL viewing guide for the first full Sunday of games.

According to the 506 Sports coverage map, most of the country will get the Bills-Texans game on CBS and the Falcons-Steelers game on Fox in the early window starting at 1 p.m. ET (10 a.m. PT) today. For the late games starting at 4:25 p.m. ET (1:25 p.m. PT), nearly everyone will see the NFC North clash between the Packers and Vikings on CBS, and the Commanders take on the Eagles in a matchup of NFC East rivals on Fox. 

If you find yourself less interested in the games that are being broadcast in your area or your access is blocked because of an internet location glitch, there’s an option to watch another game that doesn’t require subscribing to something like NFL Sunday Ticket or NFL Plus, or searching the internet for a sketchy website: You can use a virtual private network. With a VPN, you can watch any of today’s games from anywhere.

Keep reading for the full Sunday schedule of games today and the best ways to watch no matter where you live.

NFL TV schedule for Sunday, Sept. 13

This Sunday, there are eight games in the early window followed by four games in the late window. The first full day of football this season concludes with the Giants hosting the Cowboys for Sunday Night Football.

Early games (1 p.m. ET, 10 a.m. PT)

• Baltimore Ravens at Indianapolis Colts: CBS/Paramount Plus
• Buffalo Bills at Houston Texans: CBS/Paramount Plus
• Cleveland Browns at Jacksonville Jaguars: CBS/Paramount Plus
• New York Jets at Tennessee Titans: CBS/Paramount Plus
• Atlanta Falcons at Pittsburgh Steelers: Fox/Fox One
• Chicago Bears at Carolina Panthers: Fox/Fox One
• New Orleans Saints at Detroit Lions: Fox/Fox One
• Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Cincinnati Bengals: Fox/Fox One

Late games (4:25 p.m. ET, 1:25 p.m. PT)

• Arizona Cardinals at Los Angeles Chargers: CBS/Paramount Plus
• Green Bay Packers at Minnesota Vikings: CBS/Paramount Plus
• Washington Commanders at Philadelphia Eagles: Fox/Fox One
• Miami Dolphins at Las Vegas Raiders: Fox/Fox One

Sunday Night Football (8:20 p.m. ET, 5:20 p.m. PT)

• Dallas Cowboys at New York Giants: NBC/Peacock

Best live TV streaming services for NFL fans

You’ll need CBS and Fox to watch the afternoon games. The good news for football fans is that these channels are available on most live TV streaming services, along with NBC for Sunday Night Football and ESPN for Monday Night Football. But note that not every service carries every local network in every area, so check each one using the links below to make sure it carries each local network where you live.

Carries CBS, Fox and NBC for $45 per month

DirecTV MySports

DirecTV’s MySports skinny bundle is the cheapest way to watch the CBS and Fox games on Sunday afternoon and NBC games on Sunday night. It also includes ESPN for Monday Night Football. And important for Sunday afternoons, DirecTV supports multiview, where you can watch up to four games at once. But if you want to add the RedZone channel, you’ll need to pick one of DirecTV’s pricier plans; it’s not available as an add-on with the MySports bundle.

The discounted rate of $45 per month is available for the first six months and covers the entire NFL regular season and playoffs, but is for new subscribers only. The standard cost for the MySports bundle is $65 a month. You can use DirecTV’s channel lookup tool to see which local channels are available where you live.

Carries CBS, Fox and NBC for $83 per month

YouTube TV

For $83 a month (discounted to $60 for the first three months for new subscribers), you’ll get all the major football channels, and RedZone is available for an extra $11 per month. YouTube TV also features multiview to watch up to four games at once. Plug in your ZIP code on YouTube TV’s welcome page to see which local networks are available in your area. 

With YouTube TV, you can also subscribe to NFL Sunday Ticket. But note that Sunday Ticket doesn’t include local games. You can only watch Sunday afternoon games that aren’t being broadcast on CBS or Fox in your area. If you want to watch all the football on Sundays, you’ll need Sunday Ticket plus a YouTube TV subscription (or just get Sunday Ticket and then use an antenna for local games).

To get the full experience of your local games, NFL Sunday Ticket and NFL RedZone, you’ll need the YouTube TV base plan ($83 per month), Sunday Ticket ($240 for returning subscribers or $378 for new subscribers for the season) and the Sports Plus add-on ($11 per month).

Read our YouTube TV review.

Carries CBS, Fox and NBC for $65 per month

Fubo Sports

Fubo’s Sports skinny bundle costs $65 per month ($55 for the first month) and includes CBS, Fox and NBC — as well as ESPN for Monday Night Football. Similar to DirecTV, you cannot add RedZone to Fubo’s Sports plan, only with one of its more comprehensive and expensive packages.

Click here to see which local channels you get in your region with Fubo. Read our Fubo review.

DTC streaming options for NFL Sundays

If you don’t want to subscribe to a live TV streaming service, you can watch the games on Sunday with a trio of direct-to-consumer streaming services that together cost $42 a month.

Make a VPN your Sunday MVP

If your team isn’t part of your Sunday slate, you can use a VPN to stream NFL games that are outside of your local broadcast area. A VPN encrypts your traffic and prevents your internet service provider from throttling your speeds, and can also be helpful when connecting to public Wi-Fi networks while traveling, adding an extra layer of protection for your devices and logins. 

VPNs are meant to protect your privacy online, but you can also use a VPN to virtually change your location on your phone, tablet or laptop to access geographically restricted streaming content such as out-of-market NFL games. Most VPNs, like our Editors’ Choice, ExpressVPN, make it easy to do this. Using a VPN to watch or stream sports is legal in any country where VPNs are legal, including the US and Canada, and can be used for legitimate purposes such as improving online privacy and security. 

However, some streaming services may have policies that restrict VPN use for accessing region-specific content. If you’re considering a VPN for streaming, check the platform’s terms of service to ensure compliance. 

If you choose to use a VPN, follow the provider’s installation instructions to ensure you’re connected securely and in compliance with applicable laws and service agreements. Some streaming platforms may block access when a VPN is detected, so verifying if your streaming subscription allows VPN use is crucial.

The live TV streaming services listed above allow you to cancel at any time. They do require a solid internet connection. Looking for more information? Check out our live TV streaming services guide. 

Matt Elliott

Senior Editor

Matt Elliott is a senior editor at CNET with a focus on laptops and streaming services. Matt has more than 20 years of experience testing and reviewing laptops. He has worked for CNET in New York and San Francisco and now lives in New Hampshire. When he’s not writing about laptops, Matt likes to play and watch sports. He loves to play tennis and hates the number of streaming services he has to subscribe to in order to watch the various sports he wants to watch.

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