By Chris Brantner
For some people, Thanksgiving is a day to stay home, stuff themselves silly, and watch football on the couch until the turkey coma sets in around 7 p.m. For other people, though, Thanksgiving means traveling — making it more difficult to catch the Turkey Day football action.
If you’re spending Thanksgiving on the road or at a friend or family member’s house, it might be tough to keep up with the NFL games. Luckily, there are several ways you can watch the Thanksgiving NFL games on your iPhone.
How to watch Thanksgiving football on iPhone
There are three NFL matchups on Thanksgiving this year, two of which feature the traditional Thanksgiving teams: the Lions and the Cowboys.
Turkey Day 2018 opens with the Chicago Bears taking on the Detroit Lions at 12:30 p.m. Eastern on CBS. At 4:30 p.m. Eastern, the Washington Redskins go head-to-head with the Dallas Cowboys on Fox. Finally, the Atlanta Falcons play the New Orleans Saints at 8:20 p.m. Eastern on NBC for those who haven’t slipped into a food coma by then.
If you’re away from your TV or computer but still want to catch these Thanksgiving NFL games, make sure you have your iPhone on you and one (or all) of these top streaming apps. Here’s how to catch all the football action on your phone.
NFL
One of the easiest ways is through the free NFL app available for download in the app store. The NFL app will let you watch NFL games right on your iPhone. Just be aware that if you’re not watching over Wi-Fi, you’ll burn through a ton of data. Also, note that you won’t be able to mirror those games to your TV. You’ll need to watch them right on your phone.
Yahoo Sports
The free Yahoo Sports: Scores & News app streams all the NFL games that are nationally televised on CBS, Fox and NBC. (That means all the Thanksgiving 2018 football games.)
Yahoo Sports includes exclusive commentary, analysis and extras for the hard-core NFL fan or fantasy football player. It offers one of the most immersive NFL mobile experiences. One caveat, though: You must use the Yahoo Sports app over a cellular connection, not Wi-Fi. Make sure you have plenty of data saved up.
CBS All Access
CBS All Access is a great way to catch the Bears-Lions games. While the CBS All Access service requires a subscription starting at $5.99 per month, you can sign up for a free seven-day trial. Time that trial just right, and you’ll get a free way to catch the first game of the day. CBS All Access even works with Apple AirPlay.
Fox Sports Go
If you have a cable subscription but will be away from it due to holiday travel, the Fox Sports Go app is a good go-to for the 4:30 p.m. Eastern Cowboys-Redskins game. The app itself is free on iOS devices, but you’ll have to sign in with the credentials issued to you by your cable provider. Once there, you’ll be able to watch a Fox live stream during the Thanksgiving Cowboys game.
NBC Sports
Just like the Fox Sports Go app, the NBC Sports app is free but will require you to log in using your cable subscription or streaming service. Once logged in, you’ll be able to watch live streams of all NFL games on NBC like the Thanksgiving evening game between the Falcons and the Saints.
fuboTV
For the hard-core sports fan, fuboTV can’t be beat. It’s a subscription-based streaming service designed entirely for sports. Starting at $40 a month, fuboTV offers live streams of CBS, NBC, Fox, NFL Network and NFL Redzone, making it perfect for catching all the 2018 Thanksgiving NFL games. If you sign up this weekend, you can secure a free week-long trial to carry you through Thanksgiving Day.
Don’t miss the Thanksgiving NFL games
Thanksgiving and football go together like Thanksgiving and turkey. Even if you’re away from home or a TV, there’s no reason to miss any of the Thanksgiving NFL games this year if you have an iPhone. Download some of the apps above and catch every play (in between slices of pumpkin pie).
Chris Brantner founded Streaming Observer, a website for cord cutters.
