Thursday Night Football: How to Watch Rams vs. Seahawks Tonight for Free
When to watch the Los Angeles Rams vs. Seattle Seahawks
- Thursday, Dec. 18, at 8:15 p.m. ET (5:15 p.m. PT).
Where to watch
- The Rams-Seahawks game will stream live on Prime Video and free on Twitch. Fans in the home markets of each team can also watch on a local channel.
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We’ve got a good one tonight in Seattle for Thursday Night Football. The Rams and Seahawks are tied atop the NFC at 11-3. The winner of tonight’s game will have the inside track for the NFC West division title and a first-round bye as the conference”s top seed. Meanwhile, tonight’s loser is in danger of tumbling down the Wild Card standings, with the 49ers and Bears only a game back at 10-4 and the Packers sitting a half game behind that at 9-4-1.
The Rams won the previous meeting between these two teams last month by a score of 21-19. The Rams picked off Sam Darnold four times, but Seattle’s defense kept the game close. The Seahawks had a chance to steal the game at the end but missed a 61-year field as time expired.
Tonight’s game kicks off at 8:15 p.m. ET (5:15 p.m. PT) and will stream nationally on Prime Video and free on Twitch. Fans in the Los Angeles and Seattle markets can watch on a local TV station but the rest of the country will need to stream it on Prime Video or Twitch.
Jaxon Smith-Njigba of the Seattle Seahawks leads the NFL in receiving yards through 15 weeks, with 1,541 yards. Puka Nacua of the Los Angeles Rams is second, with 1,367 yards.
Mike Carlson/Getty ImagesHow to watch Rams vs. Seahawks on TNF
Tonight’s game will stream nationally on Prime Video, giving NFL fans more incentive than free two-day shipping to sign up for an Amazon Prime account, which costs $15 a month or $139 a year. You can also subscribe only to Prime Video for $9 a month.
If you don’t pay for either of Amazon’s services, you can watch free on Prime Video’s Twitch channel. (Twitch is also owned by Amazon.)
You can also use NFL Plus, the league’s $7-per-month streaming service (or $15 a month with Red Zone included), to stream the game without subscribing to Prime or Prime Video. Note that NFL Plus viewing is limited to watching on just a phone or tablet, not on a computer or TV.
You can watch tonight’s game and the rest of the Thursday Night Football slate this season on Prime Video. For millions of Amazon Prime subscribers, the Prime Video channel is already included at no extra cost. But if you’re not an Amazon Prime subscriber, it might be worth it to shell out the $9 a month for the stand-alone Prime Video service, not only for football but also its impressive selection of shows and movies.
Can I watch the Rams-Seahawks game on local TV?
Yes, Rams and Seahawks fans in the local markets of each team will be able to watch the game on an over-the-air station. For this game, that’s Fox 11 (KTTV) in Los Angeles and Fox 13 (KCPQ) in Seattle, according to 506 Sports.
There are two ways to watch local channels on your TV without cable or satellite TV. The first is with a live TV streaming service. The second is with an over-the-air antenna if you live in an area with good reception.
You can watch Fox with a live TV streaming service, but not every service carries every local network in every area, so check each one using the links below to make sure it carries Fox where you live.
How to watch NFL Week 16 from anywhere using a VPN
Looking ahead to the weekend, if you find yourself unable to view this weekend’s games locally because of incorrectly applied blackout restrictions, you may need a different way to watch. That’s where using a VPN can come in handy. A VPN is also the best way to stop your ISP from throttling your speeds on game day by encrypting your traffic, plus it’s a great idea for when you’re traveling and find yourself connected to a Wi-Fi network, and you want to add an extra layer of privacy for your devices and logins.
With a VPN, you’re able to virtually change your location on your phone, tablet or laptop to get access to the game. So if your internet provider or mobile carrier has stuck you with an IP address that incorrectly shows your location in a blackout zone, a VPN can correct that problem by giving you an IP address in your correct, nonblackout area. Most VPNs, like our Editors’ Choice, ExpressVPN, make it really easy to do this.
Don’t miss any of our unbiased tech content and lab-based reviews. Add CNET as a preferred Google source.
Using a VPN to watch or stream sports is legal in any country where VPNs are legal, including the US and Canada, as long as you have a legitimate subscription to the service you’re streaming. You should be sure your VPN is set up correctly to prevent leaks. Even where VPNs are legal, the streaming service may terminate the account of anyone it deems to be circumventing correctly applied blackout restrictions.
Looking for other options? Be sure to check out some of the other great VPN deals taking place right now.
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ExpressVPN is our current best VPN pick for people who want a reliable and safe VPN, and it works on a variety of devices. Prices start at $3.49 a month on a two-year plan for the service’s Basic tier.
Note that ExpressVPN offers a 30-day money-back guarantee.
Plan out your weekend football viewing
The weekend slate arrives a day early with two games on Saturday. Both are NFC clashes, and you can watch both on your local Fox channel or the Fox One streaming service.
NFL Week 16 Saturday schedule
| Away team | Home team | Time (all times ET) | TV channel | Streaming service |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Philadelphia Eagles | Washington Commanders | 5 p.m. | Fox | Fox One |
| Green Bay Packers | Chicago Bears | 8:20 p.m. | Fox | Fox One |
On Sunday, there are seven games starting at 1 p.m. ET (10 a.m. PT) on CBS and Fox today, followed by four games in the late window before we get to the Sunday night game on NBC and Peacock.
NFL Week 16 Sunday schedule
| Away team | Home team | Time (all times ET) | TV channel | Streaming service |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Buffalo Bills | Cleveland Browns | 1 p.m. | CBS | Paramount Plus |
| Kansas City Chiefs | Tennessee Titans | 1 p.m. | CBS | Paramount Plus |
| Cincinnati Bengals | Miami Dolphins | 1 p.m. | CBS | Paramount Plus |
| New York Jets | New Orleans Saints | 1 p.m. | CBS | Paramount Plus |
| Los Angeles Chargers | Dallas Cowboys | 1 p.m. | Fox | Fox One |
| Minnesota Vikings | New York Giants | 1 p.m. | Fox | Fox One |
| Tampa Bay Buccaneers | Carolina Panthers | 1 p.m. | Fox | Fox One |
| Jacksonville Jaguars | Denver Broncos | 4:05 p.m. | Fox | Fox One |
| Atlanta Falcons | Arizona Cardinals | 4:05 p.m. | Fox | Fox One |
| Pittsburgh Steelers | Detroit Lions | 4:25 p.m. | CBS | Paramount Plus |
| Las Vegas Raiders | Houston Texans | 4:25 p.m. | CBS | Paramount Plus |
| New England Patriots | Baltimore Ravens | 8:20 p.m. | NBC | Peacock |
How to watch NFL Week 16 in the US
If you don’t want to subscribe to a live TV streaming service, you can watch the CBS games with Paramount Plus, the Fox games with Fox One and the NBC games with Peacock.
Football fans can stream CBS’ Sunday afternoon football schedule each week of the season on Paramount Plus with its $8 per month Essentials tier. You can check for yourself if your area has live CBS streaming here.
Fox’s new direct-to-consumer streaming service costs $20 a month or $200 a year and lets NFL fans watch their local Sunday afternoon games on Fox. You’ll also get access to Fox’s complete TV portfolio, including sports-related channels such as Fox Sports, B1G, FS1, FS2 and local Fox stations.
With Peacock’s $11-per-month Premium plan, you can watch tonight’s game and every Sunday Night Football game this season. Read our Peacock review.
Best live TV streaming services for NFL fans
While subscribing to Paramount Plus, Fox One and Peacock is cheaper than a live TV streaming service, the advantage of the latter is the ability to flip quickly between CBS and Fox on Sunday afternoon when two games are on at the same time. Shutting down one streaming service and firing up another is much slower and more annoying, to the point that it’s not worth flipping to the other game during a commercial break of the one you’re watching.
The good news for football fans is that CBS and Fox are available on most live TV streaming services along with NBC, ABC, ESPN and NFL Network for SNF, MNF and the NFL’s international games.
DirecTV’s MySports plan costs $70 a month and includes ABC, CBS, Fox, NBC and NFL Network, which are the main channels you need to watch NFL games on Thursday, Sunday and Monday each week of the season. You can’t get the RedZone add-on with the MySports plan but will need to subscribe to the full $85-a-month package and then add RedZone for an extra $15 a month.
You can use DirecTV’s channel lookup tool to see which local channels are available where you live. Read our DirecTV review.
YouTube TV carries all of the channels needed to watch the NFL and costs $83 a month, and you can add RedZone for an extra $11 per month.
YouTube TV is also the exclusive home 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).
Plug in your ZIP code on YouTube TV’s welcome page to see which local networks are available in your area.
Fubo’s main package costs $85 per month and includes ABC, CBS, Fox, NBC and NFL Network. You can also add RedZone for an extra $11 per month.
Fubo has a new skinny bundle that includes most of the channels you need for the NFL. This new Fubo Sports plan costs $56 per month ($46 for the first month) and includes all of the above channels except NBC for Sunday Night Football. It also includes access to ESPN’s new streaming app. It’s worth noting that the bundle is only available in certain regions at the moment, with a gradual rollout across the country.
Click here to see which local channels you get in your region with Fubo. Read our Fubo review.
All the live TV streaming services above allow you to cancel anytime and require a solid internet connection. Looking for more information? Check out our live TV streaming services guide.
Quick tips for streaming the NFL with a VPN
- With four variables at play — your ISP, browser, video streaming provider and VPN — experience and success may vary.
- If you don’t see your desired location as a default option for ExpressVPN, try using the “search for city or country” option.
- If you’re having trouble getting the game after you’ve turned on your VPN and set it to the correct viewing area, there are two things you can try for a quick fix. First, log into your streaming service subscription account and make sure the address registered for the account is an address in the correct viewing area. If not, you may need to change the physical address on file with your account. Second, some smart TVs — like Roku — don’t have VPN apps you can install directly on the device itself. Instead, you’ll have to install the VPN on your router or the mobile hotspot you’re using (like your phone) so that any device on its Wi-Fi network now appears in the correct viewing location.
- All of the VPN providers we recommend have helpful instructions on their main site for quickly installing the VPN on your router. In some cases with smart TV services, after you install a cable network’s sports app, you’ll be asked to verify a numeric code or click a link sent to your email address on file for your smart TV. This is where having a VPN on your router will also help, since both devices will appear to be in the correct location.
- And remember, browsers can often give away a location despite using a VPN, so be sure you’re using a privacy-first browser to log into your services. We normally recommend Brave.
