Three NFL games on Thursday, November 26, all on free broadcast TV in the US: CBS at 1:00 p.m. ET, FOX at 4:30 p.m., and NBC at 8:20 p.m. Here’s where to stream them, what time they start in the UK, and how to keep Peacock working abroad.
Here’s how to watch Thanksgiving football 2026: three NFL games on Thursday, November 26, and every one of them airs on free broadcast TV in the US. Bears vs. Lions kicks off at 1:00 p.m. ET on CBS, Eagles vs. Cowboys follows at 4:30 p.m. ET on FOX, and Chiefs vs. Bills closes the day at 8:20 p.m. ET on NBC and Peacock.
If you’re reading from outside America: Thanksgiving is the big US family holiday on the fourth Thursday of November, and a full day of football is as much a part of it as the turkey. This year, the NFL adds its first-ever Thanksgiving Eve game, Packers vs. Rams on Netflix, the night before.
At home, it’s easy. On the road, it isn’t. Peacock says US customers can only stream on a device that is physically in the US, so the subscription you pay for won’t stream from a hotel overseas. Below you’ll find the channels, the kickoff times in ET and UK time, and the fix for traveling fans.
Here’s who carries the Thursday games in the main English-speaking markets, as of October 28, 2026.
Country | Where to watch | Free? |
|---|---|---|
United States | CBS, FOX, and NBC; streams on Paramount+, FOX One, and Peacock | Yes, with an antenna |
United Kingdom | NFL Game Pass on DAZN; Sky Sports plan not out yet | No, subscription |
Ireland | NFL Game Pass on DAZN | No, subscription |
Canada | DAZN, Game Pass included | No, subscription |
Australia | NFL Game Pass on DAZN | No, subscription |
In the US, each game sits with a different network, so you need three channels, or three apps, to see the whole day.
Game | Time and where in the US |
|---|---|
Bears vs. Lions | 1:00 p.m. ET, CBS, streams on Paramount+ |
Eagles vs. Cowboys | 4:30 p.m. ET, FOX (FOX Deportes in Spanish), FOX One |
Chiefs vs. Bills | 8:20 p.m. ET, NBC and Peacock (Universo in Spanish) |
Like other CBS games, the Lions game streams on Paramount+. FOX games stream on FOX One, where FOX notes that availability can vary by region. NBC Sports puts the night game on both NBC and Peacock.
Outside the US and China, NFL Game Pass on DAZN streams every NFL game live and on demand, so all three Thursday games are covered, with English commentary. The NFL schedule also tags the Netflix game with Game Pass, so check the DAZN app if you plan to watch Packers vs. Rams there. A weekly pass fits Thanksgiving week: £16.99 for Regular or £18.99 for Ultimate in the UK, €19.99 or €23.99 in Ireland, and AUD 33.99 or AUD 37.99 in Australia. In Canada, Game Pass comes with a DAZN subscription. In the UK, Sky Sports shows more than 160 live games this season, Thursday Night Football included, but it hadn’t announced its Thanksgiving lineup as of October 28.
Yes, in the US. CBS, FOX, and NBC are free broadcast networks, so an HD antenna picks up all three Thursday games at no cost. Streaming is a different story: Paramount+, FOX One, and Peacock are paid services, and the Wednesday game is for Netflix subscribers.
Outside the US, we found no confirmed free option for the Thanksgiving games as of October 28. In the UK, Ireland, Canada, and Australia, Game Pass on DAZN is a paid subscription, and so is Sky Sports in the UK. In Germany, the NFL says RTL shows every US primetime game free, and Chiefs vs. Bills is exactly that, but RTL hasn’t published its plan for November 26 yet. Mediaset in Spain carries a free selection of games and hasn’t named its Thanksgiving picks either.
An antenna does nothing for you in a hotel abroad, though. If you’re an American traveling over the holiday, the realistic route is the subscription you already pay for, and that’s where a VPN comes in.
Peacock is blunt about it: US customers need their device to be physically in the US, and the service isn’t available to international audiences yet. Paramount+ and FOX One can run a similar check, which is why your Thursday plan can fall apart at the airport. Our guide to US streaming services in Europe explains how that works.
A VPN from our table takes care of the location check. Connect to a US server, open Peacock, and sign in to your own account. The app sees a US connection, and you get the night game on the plan you already have. You still need an active Peacock subscription, since a VPN doesn’t replace one, and nothing changes on your bill.
| VPN Service | Price | Peacock | Tested | Action |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 ExpressVPNBEST | From $2.79/mo | ✓ Works | October 24 | Try it |
 NordVPN | From $2.99/mo | ✓ Works | October 25 | Open |
 Surfshark | From $1.78/mo | ✓ Works | October 24 | Open |
 Private Internet Access | From $1.79/mo | ✓ Works | October 26 | Open |
 CyberGhost | From $1.75/mo | ✓ Works | October 21 | Open |
 IPVanish | From $2.19/mo | ✓ Works | October 24 | Open |
 ProtonVPN | From $3.59/mo | ✓ Works | October 20 | Open |
✓ Works✓ Works✓ Works✓ Works✓ Works✓ Works✓ WorksWe rank the VPNs in the table on StreamFix data, and our VPN ranking methodology explains how each provider is scored. New to all this? Start with what a VPN does for streaming.
Pick a VPN from the table
Choose one that currently works with Peacock according to StreamFix data.
Install the app
Put it on the phone, laptop, or TV you plan to watch on.
Connect to a US server
Pick a server in the US, where your subscription is billed.
Sign in with your own account
Open Peacock, Paramount+, or FOX One and log in as usual.
Start early
Open the stream ten minutes before kickoff, not at the coin toss.
ExpressVPNFrom $2.79/mo
All times are Eastern, with Pacific added for the two night games. Here’s the full holiday slate, Wednesday to Friday.
Date and time | Game, stadium, TV |
|---|---|
Wed, Nov 25, 8:00 p.m. ET (5:00 p.m. PT) | Packers vs. Rams, SoFi Stadium, Netflix |
Thu, Nov 26, 1:00 p.m. ET | Bears vs. Lions, Ford Field, Detroit, CBS |
Thu, Nov 26, 4:30 p.m. ET | Eagles vs. Cowboys, AT&T Stadium, Arlington, FOX |
Thu, Nov 26, 8:20 p.m. ET (5:20 p.m. PT) | Chiefs vs. Bills, Highmark Stadium, Buffalo, NBC and Peacock |
Fri, Nov 27, 3:00 p.m. ET | Broncos vs. Steelers, Acrisure Stadium, Pittsburgh, Prime Video |
In the UK and Ireland, the Thursday games start at 6:00 p.m., 9:30 p.m., and 1:20 a.m. on Friday, and the Netflix game starts at 1:00 a.m. on Thursday. Montreal is on Eastern Time too. Black Friday keeps the football going with Broncos vs. Steelers on Prime Video at 3:00 p.m. ET.
The records below come from the NFL standings as of October 28, after Week 7. Four more weeks of games come before Thanksgiving, so expect them to change.
Detroit hosts the early game at Ford Field. The Bears come in with 5 wins and 2 losses, the Lions with 4 wins and 2 losses, which makes it the stronger of the two afternoon games on paper. CBS has it nationally at 1:00 p.m. ET.
Dallas hosts at AT&T Stadium in Arlington. Neither team has had the season it wanted: the Eagles sit at 2 wins and 5 losses, the Cowboys at 3 wins and 4 losses. FOX carries it at 4:30 p.m. ET, and Miranda Lambert performs at halftime as part of the 30th Salvation Army Red Kettle Kickoff.
Buffalo hosts the night game at Highmark Stadium, on NBC and Peacock at 8:20 p.m. ET. The Chiefs and the Bills both have 5 wins and 1 loss. Going by the records alone, this is the one we’d stay up for, though that’s our opinion, not a forecast.
The Lions and the Cowboys traditionally play at home on Thanksgiving Day, which is why the two afternoon games land in Detroit and Dallas. This year, the night game goes to Buffalo.
Wednesday, November 25, brings the first Thanksgiving Eve game in NFL history. The Rams host the Packers at SoFi Stadium at 8:00 p.m. ET, which is 5:00 p.m. PT and 1:00 a.m. Thursday in the UK. The Packers have 4 wins and 3 losses as of October 28, the Rams 3 wins and 4 losses. U2 headlines the halftime show.
The game is exclusive to Netflix, and the NFL says Netflix will carry it in more than 200 countries for its subscribers, with commentary in English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, and German. In plain terms, you need a Netflix subscription, but you don’t need a VPN for this one game. Netflix also has a Christmas Day doubleheader on December 25: Packers vs. Bears at 1:00 p.m. ET and Bills vs. Broncos at 4:30 p.m. ET.
If you’re away from home on Thursday, though, it’s another matter, and this VPN currently leads our Peacock ranking:
Check the server country. Geoblocking is the usual cause. Connect to a US server for Peacock, Paramount+, and FOX One.
Switch servers. Still blocked? Pick another US server and reload the app.
Clear the cache. Your app or browser may remember your real location. Clear cookies, open a private window, or restart the app.
Check your account. A VPN doesn’t replace a subscription. Peacock, Paramount+, and FOX One each need your own active plan.
Test it on Wednesday. Try your setup a day early. Watching from Europe? The night game starts after midnight, on Friday local time, so set an alarm for the right day.
Watching on a television rather than a laptop? Our guide to setting up a VPN on a smart TV covers Samsung, LG, and Android TV.
ExpressVPNFrom $2.79/moSpending the holiday overseas? Set up a VPN before Wednesday, connect to a US server, and watch on the service you already pay for. Right now, this VPN leads our Peacock table:
Our best VPN comparison puts the leading providers side by side, and the Peacock streaming guide goes deeper on the app itself. Back home, our list of streaming services in the US has the rest of the lineup, and our guide to watching US TV while traveling covers more apps. Missed the international games? Here’s where to watch the NFL in Europe. Shopping the holiday sales too? Check our Black Friday VPN deals. If baseball is your other sport, here’s where to watch the World Series. Fight fans can check how to watch UFC 334 for the full card and start times.
PeacockPartly available6 of 194tracked countriesThree games on Thursday, November 26: Bears vs. Lions at 1:00 p.m. ET on CBS, Eagles vs. Cowboys at 4:30 p.m. ET on FOX, and Chiefs vs. Bills at 8:20 p.m. ET on NBC and Peacock. The night before, Packers vs. Rams plays the first-ever Thanksgiving Eve game on Netflix.
The first game, Bears vs. Lions, kicks off at 1:00 p.m. ET, which is 6:00 p.m. in the UK. Eagles vs. Cowboys follows at 4:30 p.m. ET and Chiefs vs. Bills at 8:20 p.m. ET, or 5:20 p.m. PT.
In the US, CBS, FOX, and NBC are free broadcast networks, so an antenna gets you all three Thursday games. Outside the US, we found no confirmed free option for these games as of October 28, 2026.
Yes. An antenna covers CBS, FOX, and NBC. To stream instead, the CBS game runs on Paramount+, the FOX game on FOX One, and the NBC night game on Peacock, all of which are paid. Our overview of streaming platforms compares what each service offers.
Peacock only streams to devices in the US, so travelers connect to a US server with a VPN from our table and sign in to their own account. Fans living in the UK, Ireland, Canada, or Australia can use NFL Game Pass on DAZN instead.
Yes. The NFL says Netflix carries Packers vs. Rams in more than 200 countries for its subscribers, with commentary in English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, and German. You need a Netflix subscription, but no VPN.
Yes, outside the US and China. Game Pass on DAZN streams every NFL game live and on demand, including all three Thursday games and the Wednesday game. In the UK, a weekly pass costs £16.99 for Regular and £18.99 for Ultimate.
In the US and the UK, a VPN is a legal privacy tool. You still pay for your own Peacock, Paramount+, or DAZN subscription, and the VPN simply lets you reach it while you travel.
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