The NFL preseason’s final week opens in Orchard Park. Steelers at Bills kicks off the 16-game Week 3 slate on Thursday, Aug. 27 at 7 p.m. ET – and it arrives with the kind of broadcast fine print that trips up viewers every August: NFL Network has the game, unless you live where the teams do.
The football intrigue is real for an exhibition. Pittsburgh’s strange new world – Aaron Rodgers at quarterback, his old Green Bay coach Mike McCarthy now running the sideline – gets its last rehearsal before the games count, while Buffalo closes a preseason that included a 31-7 dismantling of Cleveland. Neither side is expected to show much of its September hand; both have roster bottoms to sort before Sunday’s league-wide cut to 53.
The chart below has the complete viewing information, including exactly who sees the game on NFL Network and who needs a local station instead.
What Time Does Steelers vs. Bills Start?
Kickoff is 7 p.m. Eastern on Thursday, Aug. 27 at Highmark Stadium in Orchard Park, New York – 4 p.m. for Pacific viewers and for Arizona, which aligns with Pacific time in August. It’s the first kickoff of the entire preseason Week 3 schedule.
What Channel Is the Game On?
Depends where you are. Outside the Pittsburgh and Buffalo television markets, NFL Network carries the game live. Inside those two markets, NFL Network is blacked out and the game airs on each team’s local broadcast station – check your local listings for the station and channel in your area.
How to Stream It
NFL Network is available through TV providers and live-TV streaming services that carry the channel (YouTube TV, Fubo, Hulu + Live TV and others – confirm your plan includes NFLN). For fans outside the two home markets, NFL+ also streams the game live as an out-of-market preseason broadcast on supported devices. Inside Pittsburgh and Buffalo, the local telecast is the path.
Will the Starters Play?
Preseason finales rarely feature them, and neither team had committed to firm plans as of publication – participation is always subject to change. Rodgers sat out Pittsburgh’s opener entirely, which tells you how the Steelers view August risk. Assume backups and bubble players carry the night.
Roster Battles to Watch
With the 53-man deadline Sunday at 6 p.m. ET, watch the second halves closely: that’s where jobs are won. Pittsburgh’s depth at receiver and in the defensive backfield gets a final audit under a new staff still setting its hierarchy, while Buffalo’s annual special-teams and back-of-roster math tends to come down to exactly these snaps. Sunday’s waiver wire will be stocked from games like this one.
Quick Answers
Why is NFL Network blacked out in Pittsburgh and Buffalo?
Because preseason games belong to local broadcasters first. Each team sells its preseason telecast to a station in its own market, and the NFL Network feed serves everyone outside those markets.
Does NFL+ work if I’m in Pittsburgh or Buffalo?
NFL+ preseason streaming covers out-of-market games, so in-market fans should plan on the local broadcast instead.
What’s the rest of the week look like?
Sixteen games through Saturday, with national windows on Prime Video and CBS – the full lineup is in our NFL Preseason Week 3 schedule and TV guide.
The Bottom Line
Steelers vs. Bills kicks off Thursday, Aug. 27 at 7 p.m. ET from Highmark Stadium – on NFL Network everywhere except Pittsburgh and Buffalo, where local stations carry it, with NFL+ streaming it out of market. It’s the opening act of cutdown week, with the Rodgers-McCarthy experiment getting one last quiet rehearsal.