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Coming off yet another disappointing season, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are looking to get off to a strong start as they attempt to make the playoffs for the first time since 2008. They’ll begin preseason play Friday night against the Steelers, who haven’t been out of the playoff mix as long as Tampa but are coming off a turmoil-filled season and will be missing two homegrown superstars in Le’Veon Bell and Antonio Brown.
The game starts at 7:30 p.m. ET and will be televised on various local channels for in-market viewers (NBC in Tampa Bay, CBS in Pittsburgh) and on NFL Network for out-of-market viewers. If you don’t have cable, you can watch a live stream of the game on your computer, phone or streaming device via one of the following live-TV streaming services:
NBC, CBS, Fox, CW (all live in select markets; view channels in your area) and NFL Network are among the 95-plus live TV channels included in the main FuboTV bundle, which is largely tailored towards sports.
You can start a free seven-day trial of FuboTV right here, and you can then watch a live stream of the Bucs vs Steelers on your computer via the FuboTV website, or on your phone (Android and iPhone supported), tablet, Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, Chromecast, or other supported device via the FuboTV app.
If you can’t watch live, FuboTV comes with 30 hours of cloud DVR space, as well as a 72-hour look-back feature, which allows you to watch the game on-demand within three days of its conclusion, even if you don’t record it.
Fans in Pittsburgh & Harrisburg: Amazon Prime
If the game is on CBS in your area (as it is in Pittsburgh and Harrisburg), and you don’t need any other channels, Amazon Prime’s CBS channel is a great option.
If you have Amazon Prime or want to start a free 30-day trial of Amazon Prime, you can watch all live and on-demand CBS content via the CBS All-Access Amazon Channel, which comes with a 7-day free trial.
Once you’re signed up for both Amazon Prime and the CBS channel, you can then watch a live stream of the Bucs vs Steelers on your computer via the Amazon website, or you can watch on your phone (Android and iPhone compatible), tablet, Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Fire TV Stick, Xbox One, PlayStation 4 or other streaming device via the Amazon Video app.
In addition to a Netflix-like on-demand streaming library, Hulu also offers a bundle of 60-plus live TV channels, including Fox, NBC, ABC, CBS & CW (all live in select markets; view channels in your area). NFL Network is not included, so this is an option for in-market viewers only.
You can sign up for “Hulu with Live TV” right here, and you can then watch a live stream of the Bucs vs Steelers on your computer via the Hulu website, or on your phone (Android and iPhone supported), tablet, Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, Chromecast, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, Echo Show, or other streaming device via the Hulu app.
If you can’t watch live, Hulu With Live TV comes with 50 hours of cloud DVR space, as well as the option to upgrade to “Enhanced Cloud DVR,” which gives you 200 hours of space and the ability to fast-forward through commercials.
PS Vue — which doesn’t require an actual PlayStation console to sign up or watch — offers four different live-TV channel packages. All include NBC, Fox, ABC, CBS and MyTV (all live in select markets; view channels in your area), while NFL Network is in the upper three bundles. NBC is not available in Tampa, so if you live there you’ll want to use a different option.
You can start a free five-day trial of PS Vue right here, and you can then watch a live stream of the Bucs vs Steelers on your computer via the PS Vue website, or on your phone (Android and iPhone supported), tablet, Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Chromecast, PlayStation (3 or 4), or other supported device via the PS Vue app.
If you can’t watch live, PS Vue comes with cloud DVR.
If You’re in Canada: DAZN
Viewers in Canada can watch every preseason, regular season and postseason NFL game live online via DAZN, a digital streaming service that also includes NFL Network, NFL RedZone, Premier League soccer, Champions League soccer, boxing and other live sports for $20 per month or $150 per year.
You can sign up for a free one-month trial of DAZN right here, and you can then watch a live stream of the Bucs vs Steelers and every other NFL game on your computer via DAZN.com, or on your phone, tablet, smart TV, Roku, Xbox One, or other streaming device via the DAZN app.
Bucs vs Steelers Preview
The Bucs have themselves another new head coach this season in Bruce Arians – their fifth head coach in the last decade. Arians is a two-time AP Coach of the Year who last coached for the Arizona Cardinals. In Arizona, Arians was the architect behind a swarming, turnover-heavy defense that paired well with a pass-happy aerial attack on the offensive end. Under Arians’ watch, the Cardinals only had one losing season while the Bucs mustered only a single winning season over the same period of time.
Arians is known as one of the league’s premier “quarterback whisperers” and has helped lead players like Andrew Luck and Carson Palmer to standout seasons. The Bucs are hoping Arians can work his magic with the talented but inconsistent Jameis Winston and the showdown with the Steelers gives the world the first look at the new Winston-Arians duo.
The Steelers are trying to transition into a new era as two of the three “Killer B’s” forced their way out of town. With only longtime franchise quarterback Ben Rothlisberger remaining, the Steelers are hoping running back James Connor can recapture his magic from last season while wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster takes the next step in his development as a lead option.
The Buccaneers opted to go defense-heavy in the draft as they look to patch up what was one of the league’s worst units last season. First-round pick Devin White should be expected to step into a major role immediately while new addition Ndamukong Suh looks to step in and fill the void left by departing franchise cornerstone DT Gerald McCoy.
The Steelers, on the other hand, were a fairly league-average defense last season who made a number of moves in both the draft and free agency to help fill some areas of need. Drafting linebacker Devin Bush while signing veteran Mark Barron, the Steelers defense looks to have taken a step back on the right track. One thing worth monitoring is the status of former All-Pro defensive back Joe Haden, who had to leave practice on a cart Wednesday afternoon suffering an apparent ankle injury.
Both teams enter the preseason with a number of major questions and their showdown – while a limited sample size – should give some solid indication for what else these two teams need to adjust in order to actually compete this coming season.
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How to Watch Bucs vs Steelers Preseason Game Online Without Cable