NFL Week 16: How to Watch Packers vs. Bears, Bills vs. Browns and More Games From Anywhere

• NFL Week 16: How to Watch Packers vs. Bears, Bills vs. Browns and More Games From Anywhere
• How to watch NFL Week 16 from anywhere using a VPN
• Plan out your weekend football viewing
• How to watch NFL Week 16 in the US
• Best live TV streaming services for NFL fans
• Quick tips for streaming the NFL with a VPN

Welcome to Week 16! The NFL playoffs are looming, and there are two games today followed by a full slate tomorrow. The biggest game today is an NFC North showdown between longtime rivals Chicago and Green Bay, which starts tonight at 8:20 p.m. ET (5:20 p.m. PT) and will be broadcast nationally on Fox.

On Sunday, the Bills will look to capitalize on their win last Sunday against the Patriots and keep the heat on their AFC East rivals. The Bills are in Cleveland to take on the Browns, who are in the middle of another lost season but are still worth watching because Myles Garrett is nearing the NFL's single-season sack record. The Bills-Browns game will be shown in most of the country as the 1 p.m. ET (10 a.m. PT) game on CBS, followed in nearly every market by the Steelers and Lions at 4:25 p.m. ET (1:25 p.m. PT) on CBS.

It's a bit more mixed for the single Fox game on Sunday, but the game that'll be shown in the most areas is the Chargers and Cowboys that starts at 1 p.m. ET (10 a.m. PT), according to the coverage map on 506 Sports. 

If you find yourself less interested in the games that are being broadcast in your area or your access is blocked because of an internet location glitch, there's an option to watch another game that doesn't require subscribing to something like NFL Sunday Ticket or NFL Plus, or searching the internet for a sketchy website: You can use a virtual private network. With a VPN, you can watch any of today's games from anywhere.

Caleb Williams and the Chicago Bears lost to the Green Bay Packers in their first meeting this season and have a chance for revenge on Saturday night on their home turf.

John Fisher/Getty Images

How to watch NFL Week 16 from anywhere using a VPN

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.

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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.

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.

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.

Paramount/CNET

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.

Read our Paramount Plus review.

Fox

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.

James Martin/CNET

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

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.

Sarah Tew/CNET

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

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 accessing the game after turning on your VPN and setting it to the correct viewing area, there are two quick fixes you can try. First, log in to your streaming service subscription account and ensure the address registered for the account is within 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 need to install the VPN on your router or the mobile hotspot you're using (such as your phone) so that any device connected to 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 installing a cable network's sports app, you'll be asked to verify a numeric code or click a link sent to the email address on file for your smart TV. This is where having a VPN on your router can also be helpful, as 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.