The first Monday Night Football game of the 2025 season will feature two 2024 first-round draft picks: J.J. McCarthy and Caleb Williams will assume quarterback duties for the Minnesota Vikings and the Chicago Bears, respectively, when the two teams meet at Chicago’s Soldier Field. This Monday’s game will air at 8:15 p.m. ET on ABC and ESPN, which means you’ll have quite a few options when it comes to streaming it: you can catch both of those networks on platforms like DirecTV and Fubo, stream it through NFL+, or you can check it out on the new ESPN unlimited app, which combines all of ESPN’s networks in one place.
Here’s what you need to know to tune into Monday Night Football this week when the Minnesota Vikings visit the Chicago Bears.
Dates: Sept. 8, 2025
TV channels: ESPN, ESPN Deportes and ABC
Streaming: Fubo, DirecTV, ESPN unlimited, NFL+ and more
The Vikings vs. Bears game kicks off at 8:15 p.m. ET/5:15 p.m. PT this Monday, Sept. 8, 2025.
The Week 1 game between the Vikings and the Bears will air on ABC, ESPN and ESPN Deportes.
You can tune in to ESPN and ABC through your cable provider, or on streaming platforms like DirecTV, Fubo and more. You can also stream the game on the ESPN App with ESPN unlimited, or with NFL+ (via phone or tablet only).
All times Eastern.
Thursday, Sept. 4, 2025
Friday, Sept. 5, 2025
Sunday, Sept. 7, 2025
Monday, Sept. 8, 2024
Many NFL preseason games are broadcast on local channels, so if you’re looking to catch an in-market game, it may be as simple as turning on your TV (or setting up a digital TV antenna) or finding a live TV streaming service that carries the correct RSN (Regional Sports Network). If you want to watch out-of-market games, a $7 monthly subscription to NFL+ will let you watch every out-of-market local and primetime game in the season on your phone but only a select few regular-season games on your TV. You could also spring for the uber-expensive NFL Sunday Ticket package to get every out-of-market Sunday game of the season.
When it comes to nationally broadcast games, NFL games typically air across ESPN, NBC, CBS, Fox, ABC and NFL Network. Thursday Night Football games stream exclusively on Amazon Prime Video, select football games will stream exclusively on Peacock, games on CBS will stream live on Paramount+, and Monday Night Football games will air on ESPN or ABC and stream on the newly revamped ESPN+ this season. That’s six channels and four streaming platforms to keep up with this season and that’s not counting your local RSN’s for in-market games and an NFL+ or NFL Sunday Ticket subscription for out-of-market games. Plus, Netflix is once again hosting at least two Christmas Day matches, so add that subscription into the mix. And we can’t forget about Fox One, Fox’s first streaming service, a place where you can also stream games airing on FOX (if you don’t already have access to it).
Confused? You’re not alone. Here’s a breakdown of the platforms we recommend checking out ahead of the 2025 NFL season, so that come game time, tuning into your favorite team’s games will be as easy as simply turning on the TV.
To recap, here are all the ways you can watch NFL games in 2025.