Whether you know it as Christmas weekend or Week 16 of the NFL season, the action on the field is the same: a busy holiday slate for the NFL kicks of today, Saturday, December 23rd on NBC and Peacock. First up it’s the Cincinnati Bengals against the Pittsburgh Steelers in a game with big implications for the AFC Wild Card race (the Bengals are currently in the playoff hunt but outside of the playoff picture as one of four AFC teams at 8-6).
After the first game of the doubleheader, the action can be found exclusively to Peacock as the AFC matchups continues with Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills seeking to jump back into the thick of the playoff picture against the Los Angeles Chargers. Tonight’s game will be streamed exclusively on Peacock beginning at 8pm ET, and will include the league’s first-ever commercial-free fourth quarter. Keep reading for all the information you need to find the Bills-Chargers matchup on Peacock, the full schedule for the day, and key storylines for this Christmas weekend of football.
2023 NFL Christmas Games: Schedule, teams, how to watch
How to watch Peacock’s exclusive NFL game - Bills vs Chargers
- Date: Tonight, Saturday, December 23rd
- Time: 8pm ET (pregame coverage available now on Peacock)
- Location: SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles, California
- Watch: Streaming exclusively on Peacock (click here to sign up)
Is this the first Peacock exclusive NFL game?
Saturday’s Bills-Chargers matchup is the first NFL game to air exclusively on Peacock, but it won’t be the last: On Saturday, January 13th, Peacock will air a Wild Card game, while will be the first-ever exclusive live streamed NFL Playoff game.
Saturday’s Peacock Holiday Exclusive will also make history with the league’s first-ever commercial-free fourth quarter. That means the Bills-Chargers game will have more than 12 minutes of additional game coverage and content.
READ MORE: Peacock will air a wild card playoff game exclusively
How do I sign up for Peacock?
On Saturday, December 23, you can stream the Bengals vs Steelers game on Peacock at 4:30pm ET, and Peacock will be the exclusive home of the Bills vs Chargers match up. Sign up here for all of the NFL action streaming on Peacock.
If you’ve already followed the steps to create your new Peacock account, and you added a password, you can now Sign In with that email and password on all your supported devices. If you never set your password, or don’t remember it, reset it now.
If you have a Peacock account but don’t have a Premium plan, Sign In and select Account in the upper right corner. Under Plans & Payment, you should see an option to Upgrade to Premium.
PFT’s Week 16 2023 NFL power rankings
What to Know: Buffalo Bills vs Los Angeles Chargers
Josh Allen and the Bills enter Saturday’s game on the upswing - after losing three of four before their Week 13 bye, they’ve put together huge wins in their last two games: Week 14 on the road against Kansas City and Week 15 in dominant, 31-10 fashion against the Cowboys. The team has rallied behind head coach Sean McDermott after he was the subject of an unflattering series published in early December that questioned his leadership and whether he’s the guy to finally get the Bills their Super Bowl win. But that question of Super Bowl viability for this team remains, and Saturday would be a key win to boost the Bills’ playoff shots in a crowded AFC Wild Card race.
The Bills fired offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey after Week 10 and have made strides under interim OC Joe Brady, particularly in the run game.RB James Cook has led the way on the ground and is coming off the biggest game of his career in Week 15’s win against Dallas, with career highs in carries (25), rush yards (179), scrimmage yards (221) and total TD (2). Emphasizing the run has helped Buffalo dominate in time of posession and manage the highs and lows of Allen’s performance — the franchise QB has 26 passing TD on the season, but has had massive struggles with turnovers through 2023.
NFL Playoff Picture 2023: Updated AFC and NFC Standings, Clinching Scenarios for Week 16
Meanwhile it’s chaos for the home team as this will be the first appearance for the Chargers since their blowout 63-21 loss to the Raiders on Thursday Night Football. Following that game, the Chargers fired head coach Brandon Staley and General Manager Tom Telesco. With QB Justin Herbert out for the season with a finger injury, Saturday presents a tall task for interim head coach Giff Smith.
Defensively, there’s a milestone watch out for the Chargers on Saturday: LB Khalil Mack, having a resurgent year in his 10th NFL season, is just 0.5 sacks away from 100 in his career. He leads the Chargers with 15 on the season, equaling his career high from back in 2015.
John Spanos: Chargers are committed to providing resources to new G.M., coach
Full Saturday NFL Schedule
Today’s action kicks off with Fantasy Football Pregame airing at a special time — 1 p.m. ET on Peacock and the NFL on NBC YouTube channel. Matthew Berry and Co. answer more questions than any other pregame show so use the #FFPregame or just comment on YouTube.
Football Night in America will lead into the first game, starting at 3 p.m. ET
Then the action on the field begins - here’s the full slate for Saturday’s doubleheader:
- Cincinnati Bengals vs Pittsburgh Steelers, 4:30 p.m. (NBC, Universo, and Peacock)
- Buffalo Bills vs LA Chargers, 8 p.m. (Peacock)
