NFL preseason games are scattered across five places this week: here's where to actually find them

NFL preseason Week 1 spreads 16 games across local stations, NFL Network, the ESPN app, and NFL+, with no single schedule showing all of them, and NFL+ drew complaints on opening night. Here's where preseason games actually air, and why your team's game might not be on NFL+ even if you pay for it.

The gist: Finding an NFL preseason game this week is genuinely confusing, and it's a preview of the exact problem StreamCaddy exists to solve. The 16 games of Week 1 are split across five different places depending on your team and your market, the official schedules don't agree with each other, and NFL+ took heat on Thursday when some subscribers said they couldn't log in. Here's the real map, plus the blackout catch that trips people up.

Where preseason games actually air

Preseason Week 1 runs Thursday, August 13 through Saturday, August 15, with all 32 teams playing across 16 games. Unlike the regular season, there's no tidy national home. Any given game lands in one of these places:

• Your local broadcast station. Most preseason games air on the participating teams' local TV stations, in their home markets. If it's your team, your local channels are the first place to look.
• NFL Network. Six games air nationally on NFL Network, which is now owned and operated by ESPN. Every preseason game is also eventually re-aired on NFL Network.
• The ESPN app. Several games stream live in the ESPN app for ESPN Unlimited subscribers ($29.99/month). This is where the confusion starts: NFL.com's schedule lists only the NFL Network games, while ESPN's lists the games on the ESPN app, so no single official schedule shows everything.
• A national partner, once each. NBC, FOX, CBS, ESPN, and Prime Video each carry one exclusive preseason game across the three weeks.
• NFL+, for out-of-market games. Out-of-market preseason games stream on NFL+ ($6.99/month, or $14.99 for Premium). Note that NFL Sunday Ticket does not include preseason at all.

The NFL+ catch that looks like an outage

On Thursday night, some NFL+ subscribers reported trouble logging in and reaching games, and at least one prominent analyst publicly asked the league for refunds. It isn't confirmed how widespread the problems were, and the NFL hadn't issued a statement as of Thursday evening.

Here's the important part, and it's the kind of thing worth checking before you assume the app is broken: NFL+ blacks out games that are airing locally in your market. So if your team's preseason game is on your local station, NFL+ will not stream it live to you, by design, not because of a glitch. NFL+ is built for national and out-of-market games. If your game is the local broadcast, the app was never going to show it, and the fix is your antenna or a live-TV service that carries your local station, not a refund.

That distinction, a real access problem versus a blackout rule that's working as intended, is exactly the sort of thing that makes "where can I watch this?" so hard to answer on your own.

Why it got more confusing this year

The big shift is that ESPN now owns and operates NFL Network. That pulled preseason coverage into ESPN's orbit (and onto the ESPN app via Unlimited), while the games that aren't national still live on local stations and NFL+. The result is a viewing map with no single front door and no single schedule, which is why even dedicated fans spent Thursday night hunting for the right channel or app.

For the full picture once the games count, our NFL viewing guide maps out where every regular-season game lives, including the streaming-only matchups and how out-of-market coverage works.

Quick way to find your team's game

• Your local team, at home in your market: check your local broadcast stations first.
• A nationally scheduled game: you need NFL Network (through a TV package that carries it, or the ESPN app with ESPN Unlimited).
• An ESPN app game: the ESPN app, on ESPN Unlimited.
• An out-of-market game: NFL+ (but not your in-market games, which it blacks out).

Not sure which of this week's games you can already watch? StreamCaddy maps the cheapest correct way to watch all of your teams and events for your exact location and subscriptions.

Sources

1. NBC Sports (Pro Football Talk) — "Week 1 of the preseason will have viewers scrambling to find the games" (with ESPN now owning and operating NFL Network, preseason viewing is confusing; NFL.com's schedule lists only NFL Network games while ESPN's lists ESPN App games; a game-by-game breakdown of NFL Network vs. ESPN App windows; all out-of-market preseason games available on NFL+), August 13, 2026 — https://www.nbcsports.com/nfl/profootballtalk/rumor-mill/news/week-1-of-the-preseason-will-have-viewers-scrambling-to-find-the-games
2. FOX Sports — "2026 NFL Preseason Week 1 Schedule: Dates, Times, TV Channels, How to Watch" (Week 1 features all 32 teams across 16 games Aug. 13-15; six games air nationally on NFL Network, the rest through local team affiliates; NFL+ offers live national and out-of-market games subject to local blackouts and device restrictions), August 10, 2026 — https://www.foxsports.com/stories/nfl/2026-nfl-preseason-week-1-schedule-dates-times-tv-channels-how-to-watch
3. Yahoo Sports (via Heavy) — "NFL Draws Scrutiny Over NFL+ Issues During Preseason Games" (some NFL+ subscribers reported problems logging in and accessing Aug. 13 games; analyst Warren Sharp asked the NFL for refunds; no public NFL statement confirming a widespread outage; the league notes preseason games airing locally can be unavailable live on NFL+ due to local blackout restrictions; NFL+ from $6.99/month, Premium $14.99), August 14, 2026 — https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/nfl-draws-scrutiny-over-nfl-033736606.html
4. Yahoo Sports — "How to Watch NFL Preseason Week 1: Full Schedule, Channels, Live Streams for Games" (all games broadcast in participating teams' local markets; NFL Network simulcasts several games each week nationally, as does the ESPN app via its Unlimited plan; national partners NBC, Fox, CBS, ESPN and Prime Video each have one exclusive preseason game), August 13, 2026 — https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/watch-nfl-preseason-week-1-090001909.html