How and Where To Watch the NFL 2022 Season

By Rich Calder

This is going to be a great season to watch.

It’s been seven months since quarterback Matt Stafford helped lift the Los Angeles Rams to a 20–23 comeback win in Super Bowl LVI over the upstart Cincinnati Bengals, connecting with Cooper Kupp on a 1-yard game-winning touchdown pass with little over a minute to play.

Following a compelling off-season, where many of football’s top stars moved on to different franchises—including edge rusher Von Miller leaving the Rams to sign with the Buffalo Bills and quarterback Russell Wilson being traded from the Seattle Seahawks to the Denver Broncos—the 2022 National Football League season appears up for grabs with no team the clear favorite to win it all. This was evident when League action kicked off September 7 with the defending-champion Rams getting blown out 31–10 on their home turf by the Bills.

And this season promises viewers more ways than ever to watch games live—especially cord-cutting fans seeking to stream the action on their home TVs, mobile devices and tablets.

Check out the play-by-play on how to watch this 17-game regular season from now until January 11, 2023.

How to watch Thursday Night Football

After years of moving around different networks, TNF found a permanent home after the NFL cut a long-term broadcasting deal with Amazon Prime Video. Fifteen TNF matchups will air on the streaming service, with the exceptions being Week 1’s Bills-Rams kickoff game and Week 12’s Thanksgiving triple-header.

Games will continue to air for free in the local markets of playing teams, but all out-of-market viewers need a Prime Video subscription to watch TNF. If you don’t have one, you can sign up for a 30-day trial.

TNF games kick off at 8:20 p.m. ET. Play-by-play legend Al Michaels will call the games with Kirk Herbstreit providing commentary.

How to watch Sunday Night Football

NBC will remain home of SNF, so a live TV subscription that includes NBC is a must to watch—unless you have a digital antenna that picks up free channels.

For the first time, the NBC-owned streaming service Peacock is also offering a streaming option for the games, which mostly air Sunday evenings at 8:20 p.m. ET. The 20-game SNF package also includes games being played on Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Day.

Fans can also stream the primetime action on their mobile devices or tablets with NFL+, the League’s new streaming service.

They can also stream SNF through other subscription services like YouTubeTV, fuboTV, DIRECTV STREAM, Hulu + Live TV and Sling TV (only select markets).

Mike Tirico will call SNF games alongside color commentator Cris Collinsworth. Melissa Stark will make her SNF debut as sideline reporter.

How to watch early and late afternoon Sunday games    

Fox and CBS will continue to offer games weekly, including coverage of local teams in each market.

For viewers who are livestreaming, Fox games are available on FoxSports.com and the Fox Sports app, and CBS games can also be viewed on Paramount+.

Fans can also stream local regular season games on their mobile devices and tablets via NFL+, or they can catch the action with fuboTV, Sling TV (Fox games only) and YouTube TV.

If you’re a superfan who wants access to every single NFL game this year, you will need to get ESPN+. The ESPN streaming service is dipping into live NFL coverage for the first time and will exclusively broadcast the October 30 game between the Broncos and Jacksonville Jaguars, being played in London, which will air 9:30 a.m. ET. ESPN+ doesn’t offer a free trial but it can be bundled with Disney+ and Hulu.

How to watch Monday Night Football

TV’s longest-running program returns for its 53rd season this year. ESPN will broadcast nearly all the games, and viewers will also be able to stream MNF on ESPN’s website and app, as well as streaming services, including NFL+, fuboTV, Hulu + Live TV, Sling TV and YouTube TV.  Announcers Joe Buck, Troy Aikman and Lisa Salters will provide the commentary.

ESPN’s parent network ABC will also offer five of the MNF games on free TV—including a September 19 matchup against the Bills and Tennessee Titans that can only be seen on ABC and is part of a rare Monday-night NFL doubleheader.