Watching the NFL Playoffs: Wild Card Round

The NFL playoffs begin today. It's called the Wild Card Round, even though six division champions are playing this weekend.

AFC North champion Baltimore Ravens and NFC West champion San Francisco 49ers are top seeds in their respective conferences and get a first round bye. The other three division champs in each conference are hosting wild card teams, hence the "Wild Card Round" name.

The Games

Today, there are two games scheduled, three tomorrow, and one Monday.

Saturday

• Cleveland (5th seed, wild card) at Houston (4th seed, AFC South champions), NBC
• Miami (6th seed, wild card) at Kansas City (3rd seed, AFC West champions), Peacock

Sunday

• Pittsburgh (7th seed, wild card) at Buffalo (2nd seed, AFC East champions), CBS
• Green Bay (7th seed, wild card) at Dallas (2nd seed, NFC East champions), Fox
• Los Angeles (6th seed, wild card) at Detroit (3rd seed, NFC North champions), NBC

Monday

• Philadelphia (5th seed, wild card) at Tampa Bay (4th seed, NFC South champions), ABC, ESPN, ESPN+

How to watch

The various networks carrying the games are available to streamers in several different ways.

ABC

• Antenna (free)
• Sling TV (8 markets only) ($45/month)
• Vidgo (Plus) ($70/month)
• Hulu+Live TV ($77/month)
• YouTube TV ($73/month)
• Fubo (Pro) ($75/month)
• DirecTV (Entertainment) ($85/month)

CBS

• Antenna (free)
• Paramount Plus (Premium) $12/month
• Hulu+Live TV ($77/month)
• YouTube TV ($73/month)
• Fubo (Pro) ($75/month)
• DirecTV (Entertainment) ($85/month)

ESPN

• Sling TV (Orange) ($40/month)
• Vidgo (Plus) ($70/month)
• Hulu+Live TV ($77/month)
• YouTube TV ($73/month)
• Fubo (Pro) ($75/month)
• DirecTV (Entertainment) ($85/month)

ESPN+

• ESPN+ (standalone) ($10/month)
• Disney Bundle ($15/month)

Fox

• Antenna (free)
• Sling TV (18 markets only) ($45/month)
• Vidgo (Plus) ($70/month)
• Hulu+Live TV ($77/month)
• YouTube TV ($73/month)
• Fubo (Pro) ($75/month)
• DirecTV (Entertainment) ($85/month)

NBC

• Antenna (free)
• Peacock (Plus) ($12/month)
• Sling TV (11 markets only) ($45/month)
• Hulu+Live TV ($77/month)
• YouTube TV ($73/month)
• Fubo (Pro) ($75/month)
• DirecTV (Entertainment) ($85/month)

Peacock

• Peacock is its own service, and can be used to watch NBC live programming with the $12/month plan.

My Streaming Life does not often involve professional football, particularly NFL games. But, there is no denying the popularity of the NFL. If you want to watch the games and are a streamer, or if you're thinking about becoming a streamer, maybe this will let you know just what you would need to do to watch the games.