Bills vs Lions live stream: How to watch 2021 NFL preseason game online

It’s time for the Bills vs Lions live stream, which presents two teams coming off of very different offseasons. Tonight’s NFL live stream will be the first look at a very different Detroit squad. 

Buffalo is hoping for a lot more of the same from a 2020 season that saw them win a playoff game for the first time since 1995. Meanwhile Detroit fired their coach and traded away their franchise quarterback in the hopes that a fresh start will bring a bevy of wins to a restless fan base.

Matthew Stafford was the Lions’ starting quarterback for each of the last 12 seasons. Now he’s in Los Angeles and Jared Goff is in the motor city as the Lions new signal caller. Friday night will be his first time playing in front of Detroit fans and learning his new offensive system. 

While Goff is getting his feet wet in the preseason, so is new Lions’ head coach Dan Campbell. Campbell played 10 seasons in the NFL as a tight end for the Giants, Cowboys and Lions. He recently revealed that he drinks 40 ounces of coffee every morning while adding four shots of espresso to that boiling barrel of java, so if his offense is anything like his coffee order it will be high octane! 

And since today's game is seen as the start of a new era, we're expecting the home crowd to be extra amped. That said, high expectations could lead to a negative reaction were things to not go well.

• The best streaming devices for watching the games
• How to watch every NFL live stream
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Josh Allen is coming off a season that put him in the MVP conversation with the Bills. However he will not play in the Bills preseason opener. Instead Bills fans get their first look at former Bears’ quarterback Mitchell Trubisky who will get the start and play a significant amount or time in his new offense.

Lions host the Bills as 1-point favorites. The over/under is 37. 

How to watch Bills vs Lions live stream with a VPN

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NFL streaming tip:

If you're away from home and so can't watch the Bills vs Lions live stream, you can still see the game. Using the best VPN makes it so that you can appear to be surfing the web from your home town, so you can access the same streaming services you already pay for.

Here's how easy it is to stream NFL from anywhere in the world:

1. Get a VPN (we recommend ExpressVPN as the best out there)
2. Connect to the location you want to stream from
3. Use your usual streaming service and watch like normal

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Bills vs Lions live streams in the US

In the US, Bills vs Lions is going to be broadcast at 7 p.m. ET / 4 p.m. PT today (Friday, August 13) on the NFL Network. It's available with most cable packages and on two of our favorite streaming services: fuboTV and Sling TV.

If FOX, ESPN, NBC and NFL Network have typically been enough to get you all the football you need, you could rely on Sling. Select market will get CBS games via Locast integration, and NFL RedZone is available in the $11 per month Sports Exrta pack for Sling Blue members. You can get CBS NFL games via Paramount Plus, if you want.

A more comprehensive package comes from Fubo TV, as it has all five of the main channels you'll want: CBS (built right in), ESPN, FOX, NBC and the NFL Network. RedZone is available in the $10.99 per month Sports Plus add-on. That's why it's one of the best streaming services.

It's a case of "you get what you pay for" as Sling Orange & Blue (which you'd need to get ESPN, FOX, NBC and NFL Network) costs $50 per month, while the Fubo TV Standard package gives you all of the above, for $65 per month.

Fubo.TV: One of the best streaming services with the NFL Network, and the top pick for watching all of the 2021 NFL live streams, Fubo has all of the right network channels and the two cable channels you don't want to go without. Who needs cable? Not Fubo subscribers. It's got a 7-day free trial so you don't need to pay up front.

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If you can stand to miss some games, Sling TV provides a middle ground. The $50 per month Sling Orange + Blue package has FOX affiliates for this game, as well as local NBC affiliates plus ESPN.

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• How to get NFL Sunday Ticket without DirecTV

NFL Sunday Ticket: No pre-season games are included, so the Bills vs Lions game won't be on NFL Sunday Ticket.

Bills vs Lions live streams in the UK

American football fans across the pond cannot watch Bills vs Lions on  Sky Sports, the typical home to more than 100 live games per NFL season. 

Americans abroad could just use the service of their choice, provided they log in via a VPN such as ExpressVPN.

Also, the NFL Game Pass can be purchased for $99 and will allow you to live stream 28 preseason football games. This is ONLY for NFL Preseason games. You cannot live stream NFL regular season games using NFL Game Pass.

The Bills vs Lions live stream starts at 12 a.m. BST Saturday morning.

Bills vs Lions live streams in Canada

Get in, folks, we're going to Da Zone. Or to be more specific, Canadian football fans will need DAZN to watch Bills vs Lions live streams in Canada. 

DAZN is also the home of live Champions League soccer games. Plus, Canadians get a 30-day free trial of DAZN here.