After last season’s epic conclusion, we head straight into this season’s gameplay. And while staking out a spot in a stadium for games is still tenuous, at least the regular schedule is back on the menu for the 2022-2023 NFL season. You can stream every 2022-2023 NFL game while in the US or while traveling abroad this year using a few key sources and a VPN.

Note that this guide only recommends official sources for the 2022-2023 NFL season. American football’s rough-and-tumble format makes it popular both inside and outside the US, but access while traveling is not always easy. Many fans turn to illegitimate streaming sources each year. However, most legitimate options can be unblocked with a VPN and allow fans to easily catch most games without turning to websites that may pose a security risk.

You may need a VPN to live stream the 2022-2023 NFL season on your usual home services while traveling abroad.

How to watch NFL games without cable using a VPN

If you’re in the US, you won’t need to worry; you can easily stream NFL games live, with many free options available. But if you’re connecting from abroad, you’ll need to consider a few additional options, some of which may require the use of a VPN to bypass geographic content restrictions.

Here’s how to stream NFL games without cable from anywhere:

  • Sign up for a well-rated VPN service. We recommend NordVPN but Surfshark and ExpressVPN are both services that provide similar quality.
  • Download and install the VPN app to your chosen device, or as a web browser extension (mostly for Chrome users).
  • Open your VPN app and connect to the correct server. If you’re attempting to access a US-based service, for example, connect to a US-based server.
  • Make sure to clear your browser or device cookies and cache data. You may also want to load up a private browsing window (Incognito mode on Chrome). This helps remove additional traces of your current location.
  • Load your desired streaming app or website. As long as the service is not actively blocking VPN connections, you should now have access to your desired NFL streams. Having problems? Try contacting your VPN chat support; in some cases, only certain VPN servers work to bypass some streaming services.

Best options to watch NFL 2022-2023 without cable

Once you’re ready to stream NFL games live this year, consider one (or more) of the following services:

We’ll dive into more detail for each of these options, including costs and specific coverage details.

Best VPN for NFL games without cable: NordVPN

                    Jan 2023

Apps Available:

  • PC
  • Mac
  • IOS
  • Android
  • Linux
  • Background
  • FireTV

Website: www.NordVPN.com

Money-back guarantee: 30 DAYS

Streaming online comes with a number of risks, but for NFL fans the biggest single concern is geographic content blocking. Strict broadcast rights mean that even in the US, you won’t have access to every game due to regional blackouts. And if you’re outside the US, access is always an on-going problem, as you may just lack services that carry NFL games abroad.

If you’re hoping to access free or exclusive NFL content abroad, you can use a virtual private network, or VPN, to bypass geographic content restrictions. VPNs mask your real identity and allow you to connect to a server in the US or elsewhere where NFL streams are available.

The best option we’ve tested for NFL games and most sports is NordVPN. We’ve found it maintains the fastest servers around and gets around geographic content blocks commonly employed by the NFL’s broadcast partners. You’ll be able to enjoy the HD NFL streams you’re paying for without interruption.

We highly recommend connecting to a NordVPN German server to open up all games and bypass blackouts for NFL Game Pass.

VPN for NFL season testing methodology

Comparitech reviewers strive to write the most comprehensive, useful, and accurate VPN reviews and recommendations on the web. To do that, we evaluate dozens of VPNs based on real-world experience, expert analysis, and a series of performance and security tests. When it comes to NFL VPNs, we specifically look at:

  • Access to streaming services: We use real-world tests to figure out which VPNs can reliably be used to watch major streaming services, including those that show the NFL live.
  • Speed: Live streams tend to be less compressed than on-demand streams, which makes them more bandwidth intensive. We measure download speeds of connections to multiple servers around the world.
  • Security: Every VPN we recommend meets Comparitech’s minimum standards of encryption and is tested for a variety of data leaks.
  • Customer support: Our reviewers send questions to each VPN’s support team as secret shoppers to gauge response times and quality.
  • Device support: We favor VPNs that make apps for a wide range of devices to ensure you can stream the NFL on any platform.
  • Privacy: All of our recommended VPNs boast no-logs policies, ensuring collect no identifying information or logs of your online activity while connected to the VPN.

You can read more about how we rate and review VPNs on our methodology page.

How to watch NFL live anywhere in the world

NFL broadcast rights vary, but your best option to watch live games anywhere in the world is to use NFL Game Pass. In the US, NFL Game Pass only offers on-demand streaming of games after they air, while in the UK and Ireland some games are blacked out. But in many other countries, including Germany, Switzerland, and Austria, NFL Game Pass carries all available NFL 2022-2023 games live without restrictions.

Here’s how to live stream NFL games on NFL Game Pass with a VPN:

  • Sign up for a VPN service, such as NordVPN or other recommended options.
  • Connect to a VPN server in a country where Game Pass offers complete live streaming, such as Germany.
  • Go to the NFL Game Pass website and sign up.
  • Live stream your NFL games all season long (and with a 7-day free trial)

How to watch the NFL without cable for free

Now we are back to a full schedule, the 2022-2023 NFL will deliver over 500 games played in stadiums across the US. You can watch most, if not all, of these games through paid streaming services worldwide. However, there are a few free options you can avail yourself of anywhere in the world.

Tubi TV

Thanks to new contract rights for the 2022-2023 NFL season, football fans will be able to enjoy FOX’s NFC games on Sundays completely free through Tubi TV. The Tubi TV service is an ad-supported VOD streaming service launched several years ago and now primarily owned by FOX. The service has thousands of TV shows, but FOX appears to be attempting to leverage it for live TV content instead of building a new service whole cloth as CBS and NBC have done.

7mate (Australia free-to-air)

The Australian free-to-air network 7mate had a 4-year deal in place with the NFL that expired in 2019. Then the deal was extended for at least one year for the 2020-2021 season. It appears the deal remained in place for the 2022-2023 season as well.

7mate broadcasts both Sunday and Monday games. Anyone outside of Australia can access 7mate streams with a VPN.

USTV Now

USTV Now carries two key US-based broadcast channels: FOX and CBS. Coverage is fairly limited, however, as the service only offers one local FOX affiliate, and national FOX and CBS broadcasts which black out content for many games.

How to watch NFL games in the US

In the US, several broadcasters share the rights to the NFL. Currently, NFL broadcast rights are shared by:

If you want to keep everything under one roof, however, you may want to consider NFL Game Pass. This service offers every US game on-demand after it airs, with no blackouts. But if you want to watch everything live, you can sign up for NFL Game Pass and connect to your account through a VPN to a country where every live game is available through the service (including Germany, Switzerland, Spain, and other Eurozone countries).

Alternative options to watch 2022-2023 NFL in the US

Your only gaps in coverage will be NFC games (FOX, Tubi TV), Monday Night Football (ESPN) and Sunday Night Football (NBC, Peacock). If you add Sling TV’s Blue package for $35 per month, you can get ESPN for cheap. Meanwhile, Tubi TV is free, and Peacock has a free tier, although NBC may choose to silo its games behind the $4.99/month paywall.

With those options, you’ll have almost every NFL channel, with the exception of ESPN and NBC, and your overall costs will be as follows:

Total: $49.99 – $54.99/month

From our research, this combination is the single best option to get the most number of NFL games without cable in the US for the least expense. However, if having multiple services is not up your alley, we strongly recommend you consider fuboTV, YouTube TV, or Hulu + Live TV.

Finally, don’t count out DAZN in the US. DAZN costs $20 per month in the US (or $99 per year). While the service does not carry NFL in the US market, we’ve found a VPN works with DAZN Canada (which does have live NFL games via NFL Game Pass). Using that combo, you can get NFL games live and at a much lower cost.

Watch NFL games in Canada

NFL fans in Canada have a few options to watch the NFL in 2022. Fans can purchase access to NFL Game Pass as a one-time payment for $74.99 to watch full live games and replays of every season game. Canadian NFL fans can also watch NFL games without cable using two other sources:

  • DAZN (with NFL Game Pass): $20/month CAD
  • TSN Direct (RDS Direct for French): $24.99/month CAD

If you want to see every NFL game, DAZN is your best option. Not only does DAZN have streaming rights for most NFL games in Canada, but it also offers NFL Game Pass. And unlike in the US, where Game Pass only offers NFL replays, in Canada, Game Pass offers the games live and in HD.

DAZN is more expensive in Canada than in many other locations where it’s available but provides a large number of sport and options that help to justify the higher price. TSN is another option. The service has a standalone streaming app. TSN will carry most NFL games in Canada as well.

How to watch NFL games in the UK

Outside of the US, the UK is the third most popular place for American Football. There are a few easy-to-access options for UK NFL fans as well. Your best options for NFL in the UK include:

  • Now TV (Sky Sports access): £6.99/month for Now TV, plus £5.99/month for Sky Sports Mobile
  • NFL Game Pass

Now TV may be the best option for those who want access to Sky TV and Sky Sports without having to get any equipment. You can get a Now TV Entertainment Pass at a minimum, then add on Sky Sports Mobile. The total cost is just under £13 per month, making it far cheaper than signing up to Sky TV directly, which can be comparatively expensive.

How to watch NFL games in Australia

There are two cable-free options for NFL in Australia:

  • NFL Game Pass: $249/year AUD
  • Foxtel Now: $40/month AUD + $29/month AUD sports add-on
  • 7mate: free (undetermined)

NFL Game Pass is the best route for Australian NFL fans, as it carries most games live, and every other game on-demand with full replays. It’s also easy to download and stream on a large number of devices. For those that want a free route, 7mate will have a select few games throughout the season (two per week, Sundays and Mondays). As it’s a free, over-the-air TV option, you can also tune in with an antenna. Foxtel Now is also a viable option, although the price may not be the best at $69 per month for access.

Watch NFL in Europe

A few options exist for European countries outside of the UK. For those in Europe, some NFL streaming options include:

  • DAZN (Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Italy): 9,99€/month
  • NFL Game Pass (Most of Europe): Prices vary by country

If available, DAZN is a great option. Not only does it offer NFL Game Pass, but it also provides a load of other sports options. Its low cost makes it a solid entry for European NFL fans.

For European countries where DAZN is not available, NFL Game Pass is the option to go with, where available. Prices will vary from country to country, so you’ll want to check what those prices are after logging into the NFL Game Pass website from your country. While NFL Game Pass offers every US NFL game live in many countries, it may only offer replays in some countries.

Streaming an NFL game from outside the USA might go against the streaming service’s terms of use, but it’s not a crime. Although using a VPN might technically be grounds to suspend or terminate your streaming account, we’ve seen no precedent of any of the NFL streaming services penalizing VPN users.

NFL 2022-2023 season guide

There will be well over 500 NFL games happening this season. You may have a hard time catching every game if you stick to just one service, or don’t plan out how to get full coverage.

We suggest you mix live streaming options with on-demand replays to get the full experience. There are several sources you can use to look up the entire schedule of upcoming games.

  • NFL.com’s schedule
  • ESPN’s NFL schedule
  • Google’s NFL schedule

You may also be able to find schedules from individual broadcasters that detail what games are available on their networks, and when. Check the “NFL” section for those sites to see if broadcast schedules are available.