Look, being a Cowboys fan is a full-time job. It’s stressful. It’s emotional. And honestly, just trying to figure out where can i watch the cowboys every single week has become a puzzle that requires a PhD in streaming services. One week they are on CBS, the next they’re a "special presentation" on Amazon, and then suddenly you're scrambling to find your brother-in-law's login for a cable app because the game is exclusive to a platform you didn't even know existed.
The NFL’s broadcast map is a mess. It’s a total jigsaw of local rights, national primetime slots, and "out-of-market" headaches. If you live in Dallas, life is relatively simple—you just turn on the TV. But for the millions of fans in the "Silver and Blue" diaspora, from New York to Los Angeles, the struggle is very real. You just want to see if Dak is hitting his targets or if the defense is actually holding up, but instead, you're staring at a "This program is unavailable in your area" screen.
Let's break down the actual, physical places you can find the game without losing your mind.
The Sunday Afternoon Standard (CBS and FOX)
Most of the time, the Cowboys live on FOX. Since they are an NFC team, FOX holds the primary rights to their Sunday afternoon games. You’ve seen the "America’s Game of the Week" graphics a thousand times. If the Cowboys are playing a 4:25 PM ET slot against a team like the Eagles or the Giants, there is a 99% chance it’s on your local FOX affiliate.
But things get weird when they play AFC teams. If the Cowboys are hosting the Jets or traveling to Kansas City, that game might slide over to CBS.
Here is the kicker: local blackouts. If you aren't in the "primary market," the networks decide what you see based on geographic relevance. If you're in Montana and the Broncos are playing at the same time as the Cowboys, you're probably getting the Broncos. To solve this, you basically have to rely on the NFL’s "coverage maps" which are released every Wednesday. Sites like 506 Sports are the holy grail for this. They color-code the entire US map so you can see exactly which game your local tower is pulling in.
Primetime Stress: NBC, ESPN, and Amazon
The Cowboys are the kings of primetime. Jerry Jones knows it, the networks know it, and the ratings prove it. This is why you often find yourself hunting for a different remote.
Sunday Night Football belongs to NBC. It is the gold standard of sports broadcasting. If Al Michaels or Mike Tirico is talking, you’re looking for the NBC logo or the Peacock app. Peacock has actually become pretty reliable for this—they simulcast every Sunday night game, so you don't necessarily need a cable cord.
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Monday Night Football is the ESPN world. Sometimes it’s on the main ESPN channel, sometimes it’s on ABC, and occasionally they do that "ManningCast" on ESPN2 which is either the best or worst way to watch a game depending on how much you like hearing Peyton yell "Omaha" over the actual play-by-play.
Then there is Thursday Night Football. This is where people usually get tripped up. Since 2022, Amazon Prime Video has the exclusive rights to Thursday nights. You cannot find these on local cable unless you are in the immediate Dallas-Fort Worth market (where a local station will usually simulcast it). For everyone else, you need a Prime subscription. No Prime, no game. It’s that simple.
The "Out of Market" Solution: YouTube TV and NFL Sunday Ticket
If you live outside of Texas and want to guarantee you never miss a snap, you have to talk about Sunday Ticket. For decades, it was a DirecTV exclusive, which meant you had to bolt a satellite dish to your house like it was 1998. Thankfully, that era is over.
Google took over Sunday Ticket via YouTube TV.
It’s expensive. Let's not sugarcoat it. You're looking at hundreds of dollars per season. But it is the only legal way to watch every single out-of-market Sunday afternoon game. If you're a die-hard fan living in Seattle, this is your only path to seeing those 1:00 PM games that never make it to the West Coast airwaves.
Wait, there's a catch. Sunday Ticket only covers the Sunday afternoon games on FOX and CBS. It does not include:
- Sunday Night Football (NBC)
- Monday Night Football (ESPN)
- Thursday Night Football (Amazon)
- Postseason games
So, even if you shell out for the big package, you still need a way to access the national broadcasts. It’s a multi-app world now.
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NFL+ and the Mobile Trap
The NFL has its own streaming service called NFL+. It’s actually pretty decent for what it is, but you have to read the fine print.
NFL+ allows you to watch "live local and primetime games" on your phone or tablet. Notice the keywords there: phone or tablet. You generally cannot cast these live games to your 75-inch TV. It’s designed for the guy standing in line at the grocery store or the person stuck at a wedding reception who needs to check the score.
However, NFL+ Premium is a different beast. It gives you "Full Game Replays." This is honestly a sleeper hit for fans who work on Sundays. You can watch the entire game, commercial-free, about 30 minutes after the final whistle blows. They even have "Condensed Games" where you can see every single play in about 45 minutes. It’s incredibly efficient, though it requires the self-discipline to stay off social media so you don't spoil the score.
Watching for Free: The Digital Antenna
We’ve spent a lot of time talking about expensive apps, but we shouldn't forget the "old way."
If you live in a major city, a $20 digital antenna from a big-box store can pull in FOX, CBS, ABC, and NBC in high definition. Better yet, the signal is often uncompressed, meaning it actually looks better than the compressed stream you get from a cable provider or a streaming app.
If you are in the Dallas area, this is your best friend. Even the games on "cable" channels (like Monday Night Football) are often broadcast over-the-air on local stations like WFAA or KDFW to satisfy NFL home-market rules. It’s the cheapest way to solve the question of where can i watch the cowboys without adding another $80 monthly bill.
International Fans and the Game Pass
If you are reading this from London, Mexico City, or anywhere else outside the US, your life is actually much easier. The "International Game Pass" (now hosted through DAZN) is significantly more comprehensive than the US version.
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In most countries, this service gives you every single game—live—with no blackouts. The NFL treats international growth differently than domestic viewership. They want to make it as easy as possible for a fan in Germany to watch the Cowboys, whereas, in the US, they want to squeeze every cent out of regional TV deals.
Common Misconceptions About Streaming the Cowboys
People often think that if they have a "Sports Pack" on their cable or satellite provider, they get all the games. They don't. Those packs usually just give you things like the RedZone channel or college sports networks.
Speaking of RedZone, it’s hosted by Scott Hanson (the guy is a legend who doesn't seem to use the bathroom for seven hours straight). RedZone is incredible for fantasy football, but it’s a nightmare for a dedicated Cowboys fan. They only show the Cowboys when they are "inside the 20" or if something big just happened. You miss the grit. You miss the 3rd-and-long conversions in the second quarter. If you want the full Cowboys experience, RedZone is a supplement, not a replacement.
Another big mistake is assuming "I have Hulu, so I'm good." There is a massive difference between Hulu and Hulu + Live TV. The basic $10-ish version of Hulu won't show you live sports. You need the Live TV tier, which is essentially a cable replacement service.
The Checklist for Success
To make sure you aren't staring at a blank screen at kickoff, you should have a "game day kit" ready. It sounds nerdy, but it saves you from that 12:55 PM panic when you realize the game isn't where you thought it would be.
- Check the Schedule: Look at the official Cowboys website. Look specifically for the "Broadcast" column.
- Verify the Network: Is it FOX, CBS, NBC, ESPN, or Amazon?
- Check Your Location: If it’s a Sunday afternoon game on FOX/CBS, check 506 Sports to see if your zip code is getting the Dallas feed.
- Internet Stability: If you are streaming, for the love of everything, use an ethernet cable or make sure you're on 5GHz Wi-Fi. There is nothing worse than the stream buffering right as the kicker lines up for a game-winning field goal.
- Backup Plan: Have the radio feed ready. The Cowboys flagship station is 105.3 The Fan. If the video fails, Brad Sham’s voice is the next best thing. He’s been the "Voice of the Dallas Cowboys" forever, and frankly, he’s better than half the TV announcers anyway.
The landscape of NFL broadcasting is changing fast. By 2026 and 2027, we might see even more games move to platforms like Netflix or Google exclusively. For now, it’s a game of "Where’s Waldo," but with a silver star on his helmet.
Stay diligent with the schedule, keep your passwords updated, and maybe keep an antenna in the closet just in case. The NFL wants your viewership, but they don't always make it easy.
Actionable Next Steps
Start by downloading the NFL App and the Yahoo Sports App on your phone; they often provide free streaming of local and primetime games based on your GPS location (as long as you aren't trying to put it on a TV). Next, check your current streaming or cable subscriptions to see if you have local channel integration. If you're a cord-cutter, look into a trial of YouTube TV during a month when the Cowboys have multiple out-of-market games scheduled. Finally, if you're out of the market, set aside a budget for NFL Sunday Ticket early in the summer so the "sticker shock" doesn't hit you right when the season starts.