Thursday Night Football — that is, the Thursday night NFL games — are now on Amazon Prime Video, and only streaming on Prime Video. (OK, and on NFL+. But, yeah …) That’s true when the Pittsburgh Steelers head to Cleveland to play the Browns on September 22 to open Week 3. It’ll be a short week for both teams, with the AFC rivals having each played games just five days prior.
The big thing to remember about this one? You can (mostly) only watch the Steelers and Browns on Amazon Prime Video. That is, you’ll have to stream the game via the Prime Video app. It’s not a huge deal, as Amazon is pretty good at this sort of thing. It’s just that the game isn’t in the traditional spots anymore.
That’s great for those who already have an Amazon Prime subscription, which is required to watch the game. If you don’t have a subscription to Amazon Prime, you’ll need to get one. Sort of. The game also will be available on Twitch (which Amazon owns), as well as on NFL+. And broadcast affiliates in both Pittsburgh and Cleveland should have the game on, too. But for everyone else? It’s all about the NFL on Prime Video.
Thursday’s game will be the second division test for the Steelers, who edged out Cincinnati in a wild Week 1 finish that came down to a field goal in the final seconds after both teams struggled with their kicking game. This is Cleveland’s first AFC North match. The Steelers are coming off an ugly 17-14 loss Sunday at the hands of the New England Patriots. The Browns had their own pain on Sunday, falling 31-30 to the New York Jets. (Elsewhere in the AFC North, Miami beat Baltimore, and Dallas edged Cincinnati.)
Back to Thursday Night Football, though. The Amazon Prime Video app is available on every major streaming platform, including Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Android TV, Chromecast with Google TV, on iOS and Android devices, on gaming consoles, on various smart TVs, and in a web browser.
As for who’s going to win the game? DraftKings has the Steelers +4.5, with the over/under at 38.5. That’s going to be tough for Browns fans to hear. On the other hand, little comes easy to Browns fans these days. DraftKings, by the way, is the exclusive pregame and in-game odds provider for Thursday Night Football. You’ll find on-air talent ahead of the game, as well as a same-game parlay for eligible customers in the DraftKings app.
“We’re delighted to work with Prime Video to help fuel fan excitement and competitive spirit for Thursday Night Football,” Stephanie Sherman, chief marketing officer at DraftKings, said in a press release. “We believe that streaming is the future of live sports and this collaboration will allow us to more effectively connect the game and gaming experience for football fans.”
Then there’s the matter of the Pittsburgh quarterback controversy. Actually, there isn’t one — Mitch Trubisky is the man. For now. The question really at this point is just how quickly might the calls for rookie Kenny Pickett come raining down from the stands.
Here’s the full Thursday Night Football schedule. All games are scheduled for 8:15 p.m. ET.
- Sept. 15: Kansas City Chiefs 27, L.A. Chargers 24
- Sept. 22: Pittsburgh at Cleveland
- Sept. 29: Miami at Cincinnati
- Oct. 6: Indianapolis at Denver
- Oct. 13: Washington at Chicago
- Oct. 20: New Orleans at St. Louis
- Oct. 27: Baltimore at Tampa Bay
- Nov. 3: Philadelphia at Houston
- Nov. 10: Atlanta at Carolina
- Nov. 17: Tennessee at Green Bay
- Dec. 1: Buffalo at New England
- Dec. 8: Oakland at L.A. Rams
- Dec. 15: San Francisco at Seattle
- Dec. 22: Jacksonville at N.Y. Jets
- Dec. 29: Dallas at Tennessee
And here’s hoping that this time someone remembers to turn off subtitles on Prime Video. (They were on by default in Week 2.)
For those who somehow don’t yet have an Amazon Prime subscription, it’s the optional add-on service for Amazon that gets you all sorts of stuff on top of the ability to shop at Amazon in the first place. The tentpole feature is “free delivery.” It’s not actually free — you’re paying for it with your subscription, of course. But that’s really just the tip of the iceberg. It also gets you countless movies and series and shows on Prime Video — including Thursday Night Football. There’s also ad-free music, Prime Gaming, Amazon Photos, and other exclusive deals.
Amazon Prime comes with a free 30-day subscription. And you’ve got a few pricing plans after that, starting at $7 if you qualify for government assistance, $7.50 a month for students, and $15 a month for everyone else. Or if you’re looking to save some money you can opt for the $139 annual subscription.
