Getty Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs kick off their 2023 season against the Detroit Lions.
The NFL is officially back, as the Detroit Lions head to Arrowhead Stadium on Thursday, September 7 to take on the World Champion Kansas City Chiefs.
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The game will be televised nationally on NBC, but if you don’t have cable, you can watch a live stream for free on FuboTV or DirecTV Stream.
Here’s how:
FuboTV
You can watch a live stream of NBC and 100-plus other TV channels on FuboTV, which comes with a free seven-day trial:
Once signed up for FuboTV, you can watch the Lions vs Chiefs live on the FuboTV app or FuboTV website.
Compatible devices for the FuboTV app include Roku, Roku TV, Amazon Fire TV or Fire Stick, Apple TV, Chromecast, Xbox One or Series X/S, Samsung TV, LG TV, any device with Android TV (such as a Sony TV or Nvidia Shield), iPhone, Android phone, iPad or Android tablet.
You can also watch live on the NBC Sports app or NBCSports.com. You’ll need to sign in to a cable provider to watch this way, but you can use your Fubo credentials to do that.
DirecTV Stream
DirecTV Stream has four different channel packages: “Entertainment,” “Choice,” “Ultimate” and “Premier.” NBC is included in every one, and you can pick any package and any add-on you want with your free five-day trial:
Once signed up for DirecTV Stream, you can watch the Lions vs Chiefs live on the DirecTV Stream app or DirecTV Stream website.
Compatible devices for the DirecTV Stream app include Roku, Roku TV, Amazon Fire TV or Fire Stick, Apple TV, Chromecast, Samsung TV, any device with Android TV (such as a Sony TV or Nvidia Shield), iPhone, Android phone, iPad or Android tablet.
You can also watch live on the NBC Sports app or NBCSports.com. You’ll need to sign in to a cable provider to watch this way, but you can use your DirecTV Stream credentials to do that.
Peacock TV
If you’ve used up all your free trials for other streaming services, the cheapest way to watch a live stream of the game is on Peacock TV’s Premium plan, which costs $5.99 per month and includes every NFL game that’s on NBC:
Once signed up for Peacock, you can watch the Lions vs Chiefs live on the Peacock TV app or Peacock TV website.
Compatible devices for the Peacock TV app include Roku, Roku TV, Amazon Fire TV or Fire Stick, Apple TV, Chromecast, Xbox One or Series X/S, PlayStation 4 or 5, Samsung TV, LG TV, any device with Android TV (such as a Sony TV or Nvidia Shield), iPhone, Android phone, iPad or Android tablet.
Sling TV
If you’re looking for another cheap option, Sling TV is the cheapest live-TV streaming service that includes this game. NBC (live in select markets) is included in the “Sling Blue” bundle, which is just $20 for your first month:
Once signed up for Sling TV, you can watch the Lions vs Chiefs live on the Sling TV app or Sling TV website.
Compatible devices for the Sling TV app include Roku, Roku TV, Amazon Fire TV or Fire Stick, Apple TV, Chromecast, Xbox One or Series X/S, Samsung TV, LG TV, any device with Android TV (such as a Sony TV or Nvidia Shield), airTV Mini, Oculus, Portal, iPhone, Android phone, iPad or Android tablet.
You can also watch live on the NBC Sports app or NBCSports.com. You’ll need to sign in to a cable provider to watch this way, but you can use your Sling credentials to do that.
If You Live in Canada: DAZN
Viewers in Canada can watch a live stream of every NFL game (preseason, regular season, postseason), NFL Network and NFL RedZone on DAZN, which comes with a free trial:
Once signed up, viewers in Canada can watch the Lions vs Chiefs live on the DAZN app or DAZN website.
Compatible devices for the DAZN app include Roku, Roku TV, Amazon Fire TV or Firestick, Apple TV, Chromecast, Xbox One or Series X/S, PlayStation 4, Samsung Smart TV, any device with Android TV (such as a Sony TV or Nvidia Shield), iPhone, Android phone, iPad or Android tablet.
Lions vs Chiefs Preview
Kansas City is coming off its second Super Bowl win in the last four seasons. The Chiefs went 14-3 in the regular season and will be looking to win their eighth straight AFC West title.
The Chiefs had the best offense in the NFL last season (29.2 points per game) and are led by reigning MVP Patrick Mahomes. On the defensive side, Kansas City surrendered 21.7 points per game, but drama surrounds the team’s D-line heading into this one.
All-Pro pass rusher Chris Jones is in the middle of a contract holdout and his status for the game remains unclear. Jones led K.C. with 15.5 sacks last year, so if he doesn’t play, his absence will surely be felt.
On the other side, the Lions were one of the surprise teams of the NFC last year, going 9-8 and barely missing the playoffs. Led by QB Jared Goff, Detroit put up an impressive 26.6 points a game, which ranked fifth in the NFL.
On defense, Detroit allowed 25.1 points per contest and the plan for Detroit when defending Mahomes is clear. “Make him go backwards and never turn around where he can throw back that way,” Lions head coach Dan Campbell said about how he planned on stopping Mahomes. “That would be about the best way to sum it up. Yeah, look, this guy is – he’s tough. That’s the easy answer to all this. He is a highly competitive, highly instinctive aware player and it all – he is the engine in this offense, everything runs through him, he makes it go.”
Key to the Lions’ pass rush will be second-year standout Aiden Hutchinson, who led the team in sacks as a rookie with 9.5.
“He’s a great football player, has the physical talent, but also a smart football player,” Mahomes said about Hutchinson. “He had three interceptions last year so you know he can do a little bit of everything. We’ll have to account for him every snap because you know he’s a gamechanger type of player and we can’t let him affect the game on some of those big moments.”
Kansas City has gone 9-1 in season openers since the 2013 season. The Chiefs are 9-5 all-time against the Lions, most recently winning in 2019, 34-30.
Here’s a look at the broadcast crew slated to announce the game:
- Play-By-Play: Mike Tirico
- Color Analyst: Cris Collinsworth
- Sideline Reporter: Melissa Stark