The answer to the big question is simple: NBC carried the Sunday Night Football showcase between the Bills vs Ravens, the NFL’s 2025 season opener from Highmark Stadium in Orchard Park. Kickoff was 8:20 p.m. ET on September 7, with streaming available on Peacock and through the NBC Sports app (authentication with a TV provider needed). If you get your local NBC over the air, an antenna worked too.
How to watch Sunday Night Football: Bills vs. Ravens
This was the league’s marquee primetime slot, and NBC had it nationwide. For cord-cutters, Peacock streamed the telecast to subscribers, while the NBC Sports app required you to sign in with a cable, satellite, or live TV streaming service that carries NBC in your area. In short: if you receive your local NBC affiliate, you could watch.
- TV channel: NBC (national)
- Kickoff: 8:20 p.m. ET, Sunday, September 7, 2025
- Venue: Highmark Stadium, Orchard Park, New York
- Streaming: Peacock (subscription) and NBC Sports app (TV provider sign-in)
- Other options: Live TV streaming services that include your local NBC station; over-the-air antenna where NBC is available
Availability for live TV streaming services varies by market, so the key is whether your plan includes your local NBC affiliate. Many viewers also lean on a basic antenna for big network games because NBC broadcasts over the air in most cities.
Pregame coverage built the stage the way Sunday Night Football usually does: wall-to-wall breakdowns, injury updates, and on-site reports flowing into the primetime window. The production is designed for casual fans and diehards—plenty of replays, field-level angles, and the kind of clock-and-situation explanations that make a tight fourth quarter easier to follow.
What happened on the field
It looked like a script: two former MVP-level quarterbacks trading big moments in front of a loud Week 1 crowd. Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson shared the spotlight with very different styles—Allen’s power throws and red-zone improvisation against Jackson’s acceleration and space-creating footwork. The game swung back and forth, then tightened late.
Baltimore’s offense stretched Buffalo horizontally, forcing defenders to choose between respecting Jackson’s legs and respecting the deep shot. On the other side, the Bills leaned into tempo and spacing, letting Allen buy time and push the ball to mismatches. Both coordinators kept counters ready—edge contain and spy looks for Buffalo, crowd-the-box disguises and delayed pressure for Baltimore.
The fourth quarter turned into a test of poise. Field position and clock management became the hidden battle, and special teams took center stage in the closing minutes. Buffalo stitched together the late drive it needed, setting up a walk-off field goal that capped a comeback and sent the home crowd into September with a jolt.
No one’s season is made or broken in Week 1, but an opener like this stamps early identity. For the Bills, it’s resilience under pressure and a reminder that Allen’s ability to extend plays still tilts games. For the Ravens, it’s confirmation that Jackson remains a nightmare to defend when the field is spread and the pace quickens. Both rosters showed the kind of depth and adaptability you need for a long AFC race.
If you missed it live, postgame breakdowns rolled across TV and digital channels, with highlights and analysis repackaging the key sequences from the fourth quarter. Expect plenty of film-room talk this week about how each defense adjusted to quarterback runs, how offenses manipulated formations to isolate defenders, and how situational play-calling set up that final kick.
The league gave Sunday Night Football a heavyweight opener on purpose—star quarterbacks, playoff expectations, and a primetime stage. The broadcast answered the viewing question with a simple NBC-and-Peacock setup, and the game delivered the drama fans hoped for: a shootout, a late surge, and a decisive kick as the clock hit zero.