Stream NFL 2018: How to Avoid Blackouts, Bypass Geo-blocks and Watch All 256 Games

The National Football League (NFL) is one of the most exciting sports events on the American calendar. The 2018 NFL season is the 99th season of the National Football League. The season began on September 6, 2018, with the NFL Kickoff Game with the defending Super Bowl LII champion Philadelphia Eagles defeated the Atlanta Falcons 18–12. The season will conclude with Super Bowl LIII, the league’s championship game, on February 3, 2019, at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia.

Apart from conventional broadcasting channels like cable TV, fans can now stream it with NFL Game Passes online. If you’re in the U.S., you’ll likely be heading over to the domestic page for a US$99 subscription. Not so fast. Read on to understand the restrictions of the U.S pass to see if it’s really for you, and if not, learn how to bypass blackouts and access all 256 games of the season live or on-demand.

A Pass with a Catch – U.S. Game Pass Restrictions

As counterintuitive as it sounds, the U.S. NFL Game Pass is a lot more restrictive than the International one. Here’s what you’ll be missing with the domestic counterpart:

• Preseason games that can only be streamed within the Game Pass if it’s not aired on local television
• No access to regular and postseason games live stream, replays only
• Restrictive trial pass: games will only be available 72 hours after they are aired on the NFL Network

In view of the content restrictions, you’ll want to get a VPN, connect to an external locale, and get the international ‘Season Plus’ Game Pass instead.

The International Season Plus Game Pass

Yes, confusingly enough, there are different rates for the same pass depending on where you purchase it from, and here are our top country picks:

Which server location should I go for?

Among these 2 top pricing options are 8 different country options, here’s how to choose the one that is right for you. Bear with me, we’re almost there.

You must be mindful of which virtual location you choose before subscribing to an International Season Plus Game Pass, because once you sign up from that locale, NFL recognizes you as a static user from the area, and you’ll be stuck with it until the pass expires. Here are the things to consider before jumping in:

1. Connection reliability

Connect to that VPN location, stream something in HD to test it out

2. Presence of server bans

Ask customer service if a server works for your content platform of choice or try it out with a trial pass yourself. Certain VPN servers can be blocked occasionally.

3. Server load

A high server load can affect your streaming speed. If you’re experiencing a lot of logs, try to connect to a different server of the same location. If that’s unavailable, consider choosing another virtual location to connect to.

How do I stream the NFL International Game Pass Using a VPN?

Without further ado, here’s how to stream the NFL International Game Pass (Season Plus):

• Sign up for a trusted, paid VPN and download the app
• Connect to a non-US server of choice (Our picks listed above)
• Visit https://gamepass.nfl.com/ and sign up for Season Plus for complete access
• Stream the game live or on replays!

Tip: Remember to always set your VPN server location to the one you registered for a Game Pass on.

How do I choose my VPN?

When choosing a VPN to support NFL Game Pass streaming, always choose one that offers unlimited bandwidth and blazing speeds. Nothing spoils the mood more than a laggy, low-resolution stream. At this point, you might be tempted to look for free services online. Before you do a google search for ‘the fastest free VPN’, know this – when the service is free, you are the commodity, which means you’ll likely be bombarded with ads, infested with malware or have your internet data and footprint tracked and sold. Don’t risk all of that just for a bit of entertainment.

With it comes to investing in a VPN, security, and privacy are definitely an important weighing factor. Advanced VPNs on the market now provide 256-bit AES (Advanced Encryption Standard), while routing you halfway across the globe to your virtual destination in top speed. This way, data transmission within the encryption tunnel is leak-proof, meaning that third parties like the DNS server, ISPs, hackers, or government intelligence will not be able to identify you, intercept or tamper with your internet traffic. If you ever worry about the legality of geo-unblocking and bypassing firewalls, especially in countries with heavy censorship, this should lay your mind to rest.

Next up, how do you tell if your VPN company is trustworthy? The good news is, you don’t have to – if the company is responsible, they would adopt a zero-knowledge proof system at their servers, which guarantees that they themselves do not have to learn about what goes on in them to ensure things work the way they should. In short, look for VPN providers with a legitimate ‘no log policy’.

Regardless of which server location you choose to get your NFL International ‘Season Plus’ Game Pass from, you will need a VPN. So, it’s best to take a few moments to research on service providers that best suit your needs!

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