Sunday Night Football: How to watch the New England Patriots vs. Buffalo Bills game tonight

As we head into Week 5 of the NFL season, the Buffalo Bills remain undefeated and sit firmly at the top of the AFC. Will AFC rivals the New England Patriots be able to knock them off that pedestal on Sunday? The Pats are 2-2 but are right behind the Bills in the AFC East standings, and they’ll head to Highmark Stadium for this week’s Sunday Night Football game on NBC and Peacock.

The Patriots vs. Bills game will kick off at 8:20 p.m. ET; here’s everything you need to know about where to tune in to the Week 5 game between the AFC East rivals.

How to watch the Patriots vs. Bills this Sunday:

Date: Oct. 5, 2025

Time: 8:20 p.m. ET

TV channel: NBC

Streaming: Fubo, DirecTV, Peacock, YouTube, NFL+ and more

New England Patriots vs. Buffalo Bills game time:

The Patriots vs. Bills game kicks off at 8:20 p.m. ET/5:20 p.m. PT this Sunday, Oct. 5, 2025.

Patriots vs. Bills game channel:

The Week 5 game between the Patriots and the Bills will air on NBC.

How to watch the Patriots vs. Bills game without cable:

You can stream NBC on platforms like DirecTV, Fubo and YouTube TV. The game will also be streaming on Peacock and on NFL+, though with an NFL+ subscription, you’re limited to watching this week’s game on mobile devices.

For $11/month, an ad-supported Peacock subscription lets you stream live sports and events airing on NBC, including Sunday Night Football and the rest of the upcoming NFL season on NBC. Plus, you’ll get access to thousands of hours of shows and movies, including beloved sitcoms such as Parks and Recreation and The Office, every Bravo show and much more.

For $17 monthly you can upgrade to an ad-free subscription which includes live access to your local NBC affiliate (not just during designated sports and events) and the ability to download select titles to watch offline.

$10.99/month at Peacock

DirecTV Stream is currently offering its Choice tier (typically $108+/month with fees) for just $72.98 (after fees) for your first month.

DirecTV Stream’s Choice tier gets you access to all the usual football suspects: NFL Network, ESPN, ABC, NBC, CBS and Fox, plus ACC Network, Big Ten Network, SEC Network and plenty more local Regional Sports Networks. (If you want to avoid paying the RSN fees, the Entertainment Tier has plenty of channels you can catch NFL games on, too.)

Whichever package you choose, you’ll get unlimited Cloud DVR storage and access to ESPN+’s new streaming tier, ESPN unlimited.

The best part is, currently, you can try all this out free for 5 days. So if you’re interested in trying out a live TV streaming service for football season, but aren’t ready to commit, we recommend starting with DirecTV Stream.

$73 for your first month at DirecTV

NFL Week 5 schedule:

All times Eastern.

Thursday, Oct. 2, 2025

Sunday, Oct. 5, 2025

Minnesota Vikings vs. Cleveland Browns: 9:30 a.m. (NFL Net, NFL+)
Dallas Cowboys vs. New York Jets: 1:00 p.m. (FOX)
Denver Broncos vs. Philadelphia Eagles: 1:00 p.m.(CBS)
Houston Texans vs. Baltimore Ravens: 1:00 p.m. (CBS)
Miami Dolphins vs. Carolina Panthers: 1:00 p.m. (FOX)
Las Vegas Raiders vs. Indianapolis Colts: 1:00 p.m. (FOX)
New York Giants vs. New Orleans Saints: 1:00 p.m. (CBS)
Tennessee Titans vs. Arizona Cardinals: 4:05 p.m.(CBS)
Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. Seattle Seahawks: 4:05 p.m.(CBS)
Detroit Lions vs. Cincinnati Bengals 4:25 p.m. (FOX)
Washington Commanders vs. L.A. Chargers: 4:25 p.m. (FOX)
New England Patriots vs. Buffalo Bills: 8:20 p.m. (NBC)

Monday, Oct. 6, 2025

How to watch NFL games in 2025:

Many NFL season games are broadcast on local channels, so if you’re looking to catch an in-market game, it may be as simple as turning on your TV (or setting up a digital TV antenna) or finding a live TV streaming service that carries the correct RSN (Regional Sports Network). If you want to watch out-of-market games, a $7 monthly subscription to NFL+ will let you watch every out-of-market local and primetime game in the season on your phone — but only a select few regular-season games on your TV. You could also spring for the uber-expensive NFL Sunday Ticket package to get every out-of-market Sunday game of the season.

When it comes to nationally broadcast games, NFL games typically air across ESPN, NBC, CBS, Fox, ABC and NFL Network. Thursday Night Football games stream exclusively on Prime Video, select football games will stream exclusively on Peacock, games on CBS will stream live on Paramount+, and Monday Night Football games will air on ESPN or ABC and stream on the newly revamped ESPN+ this season. That’s six channels and four streaming platforms to keep up with this season — and that’s not counting your local RSN’s for in-market games and an NFL+ or NFL Sunday Ticket subscription for out-of-market games. Plus, Netflix is once again hosting at least two Christmas Day matches, so add that subscription into the mix. And we can’t forget about Fox One, Fox’s first streaming service, a place where you can also stream games airing on FOX (if you don’t already have access to it).

Confused? You’re not alone. Here’s a breakdown of the platforms we recommend checking out ahead of the 2025 NFL season, so that come game time, tuning into your favorite team’s games will be as easy as simply turning on the TV.

Fubo’s new skinny sports bundle, Fubo Sports, includes local broadcast stations owned-and-operated by ABC, CBS and FOX, plus additional affiliates in select markets, as well as ACC Network, Big 10 Network, CBS Sports Network, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNews, ESPNU, Fox News, FS1, FS2, Fubo Sports Network, ION, NFL Network, SEC Network and Tennis Channel. It also includes free access to ESPN’s new ESPN+ unlimited plan. Fubo subscribers get unlimited cloud DVR storage too.

The new Fubo Sports tier will be available starting September 2. You can get $10 off your first month, which brings the cost to $45.99; after that, it goes up to $55.99/month.

This new Fubo package has you covered for most nationally broadcast or in-market NFL games, and still leaves you with major savings compared to a traditional cable package.

The platform offers a free trial period, so you can check it out for a few days of the 2025 NFL season and decide if it’s right for you this year.

Pros

Free trial available
Unlimited cloud DVR storage
Free ESPN unlimited

$45.99 for your first month at Fubo

YouTube TV gets you nearly every channel you’ll need for the 2025 NFL season, including Fox, NBC, ABC, CBS, ESPN and NFL Network.

Plus, YouTube is once again the home of NFL Sunday Ticket! The Sunday Ticket package, while pricey on its own (currently $276/season for new subscribers), gets you ALL the Sunday out-of-market games (160+ games per season). You can also break the payment for this package down into $34.50/month for 8 months, or add NFL RedZone to that package, which brings the total to $39.75/month or $318 for the season.

If you choose to bundle Sunday Ticket with YouTube TV, which gets you all the primetime games and every out-of-market Sunday game, the monthly cost for new users will start at $84.49 for the first three months, then shoot up to $117.50/month. You can try YouTube TV (but not Sunday Ticket!) free for 10 days.

One thing to note: YouTube TV livestreams have a tendency to run on a slight delay, which isn’t great if you’re trying to keep up with the game live down to the exact second. This is a fantastic package for a football superfan, but you’ll still need access to Prime Video, Peacock, ESPN+ and Netflix for those streaming exclusive games.

Pros

Offers NFL Sunday Ticket bundle
Offers almost every channel you need for NFL games

Cons

High cost
Locked into YouTube TV Base Plan with the Sunday Ticket bundle
Known for broadcast delays

$84.49/mo for your first 3 months at YouTube

DirecTV Stream is currently offering its Choice tier (typically $108+/month with fees) for just $72.98 (after fees) for your first month.

Whichever package you choose, you’ll get unlimited Cloud DVR storage and access to ESPN+’s new streaming tier, ESPN unlimited.

Pros

Full package free trial available
Many local RSNs included
free ESPN unlimited
Unlimited Cloud DVR

Cons

Cost
Regional Sports Network fee

$73 for your first month at DirecTV

Amazon Prime Video is the exclusive home for the NFL’s Thursday Night Football games. On top of Amazon Prime Video, an Amazon Prime subscription includes free shipping, exclusive deals, access to the Prime Day 2025 sale event, Amazon Music, a year of free GrubHub+ and more. A standard Amazon Prime subscription is $15 monthly or $139 annually, but discounts are available for students and those on qualified government assistance. You can try Amazon Prime free for 30 days.

Pros

You probably already have access to Prime Video

Cons

Only Thursday Night Football games

$15 at Amazon

A basic $6.99 per month (or $40 annually) NFL+ subscription will get you live local and primetime regular and preseason NFL games exclusively on your phone or tablet, plus live audio for every game of the season across supported devices and access to NFL Network. NFL+ Premium, while a little pricier at $14.99 per month (or $80 annually) also includes access to NFL RedZone, plus full and condensed replays of every game across supported devices. NFL+ also offers a 7-day free trial.

Cons

Can only watch MOST live games on your phone

$6.99/month at NFL

ESPN’s revamped streaming platform offers thousands of exclusive live events, original studio shows and acclaimed series that air across ESPN’s suite of 7 linear channels, as well as exclusive content on ESPN+, ABC on ESPN, SEC+, ACCNX and some content from NFL Network and NFL RedZone. The new tier costs $29.99/month or $299.99/year.

Also of note, for its first year in existence, ESPN unlimited includes “bundle” access to Disney+ and Hulu at no extra cost!

And starting September 3, for an extra $10/month, you can bundle ESPN unlimited with NFL+ Premium, which includes full access to NFL Network and NFL Redzone, plus out-of-market NFL games on mobile.

Pros