The San Francisco 49ers aren’t just traveling around the NFL in 2026. They’re traveling around the world. San Francisco opens the regular season against the Rams in Melbourne, Australia, returns home to Levi’s Stadium, and then heads to Mexico City later in the year for Sunday Night Football against Minnesota. Add trips to Dallas, Kansas City and Los Angeles plus five primetime games, and 49ers fans have one of the NFL’s more unusual viewing schedules this season.
That also makes this an interesting year for fans who travel themselves. If you’re away from home when the 49ers play, a VPN can help you access the streaming services you already use while traveling. ExpressVPN even offers a San Francisco server location, which we’ll get into later. But before worrying about VPNs, Sunday Ticket or streaming subscriptions, there’s one game every 49ers fan needs to know about.
The 49ers Season Starts in Australia
Week 1 won’t look anything like a normal NFL opener. The 49ers and Los Angeles Rams will meet at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne, Australia on Thursday, September 10. The game is scheduled for 5:35 p.m. PT and will stream on Netflix. It’s an historic opener for San Francisco. The 49ers will become the first NFL team to play two international games in non-consecutive weeks during the same regular season. They’ll also become only the second NFL team to play in two different countries during a single season. And Australia is only half the story. San Francisco returns overseas in November for a game against Minnesota in Mexico City. For fans, there’s a much simpler takeaway: Make sure you have Netflix before Week 1.
Your 49ers Viewing Checklist for 2026
Instead of starting with every game on the schedule, here’s the short version of what you’ll need this season.
- FOX — This is the most important traditional network for 49ers fans. It carries a large portion of San Francisco’s Sunday schedule.
- CBS — A handful of games move to CBS, including Denver, Las Vegas and Kansas City.
- NBC — Mexico City against Minnesota and the late-season Philadelphia game are both Sunday Night Football matchups.
- ESPN/ABC — Washington visits Levi’s Stadium for Monday Night Football in Week 6.
- Prime Video — The 49ers visit the Chargers for Thursday Night Football in December.
- Netflix — You’ll need it immediately. Rams-49ers from Melbourne opens San Francisco’s season.
- NFL Sunday Ticket — This is relevant for eligible Sunday afternoon games if you live outside the 49ers television market and your local FOX or CBS station is carrying another matchup.
You don’t necessarily need every service for the entire season. Look at which 49ers games fall outside what you already receive and build from there.
Going Somewhere? Take Your 49ers Streaming Setup With You
This year feels particularly appropriate to talk about travel. The 49ers themselves are going from California to Australia, Mexico, New York, Kansas City and several other stops. Plenty of fans will be traveling during those 18 weeks too. If you’re normally able to watch through streaming services at home but you’re somewhere else when San Francisco kicks off, a VPN can help you access the streaming services you already use while you’re traveling.
That’s where we recommend ExpressVPN.
ExpressVPN offers a San Francisco VPN server location, along with additional California locations in Los Angeles and Santa Monica. Its U.S. network also extends across all 50 states.
- For football, we also want a VPN that is fast, simple to connect and available across the devices you’re actually likely to take on a trip.
- Then there’s public Wi-Fi. If you’re watching from a hotel, airport or another network you don’t control, ExpressVPN encrypts your connection while you’re online.
- You’ll still need access to the streaming service carrying the game, but the VPN gives you a secure way to take the services you already use with you.
Affiliate Disclosure: VPNForSports may earn a commission if you purchase through links on this page, at no additional cost to you.
The Complete 49ers 2026 Schedule
San Francisco has an early Week 8 bye, followed by a stretch that includes Dallas, Mexico City, Seattle, New York, the Rams, Chargers, Chiefs and Eagles.
| Week | Date | Opponent | Time (PT) | TV/Streaming |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sept. 10 | at Los Angeles Rams — Melbourne | 5:35 PM | Netflix |
| 2 | Sept. 20 | vs. Miami Dolphins | 1:25 PM | FOX |
| 3 | Sept. 27 | vs. Arizona Cardinals | 1:05 PM | FOX |
| 4 | Oct. 4 | vs. Denver Broncos | 1:25 PM | CBS |
| 5 | Oct. 11 | at Seattle Seahawks | 1:25 PM | FOX |
| 6 | Oct. 19 | vs. Washington Commanders | 5:15 PM | ESPN/ABC |
| 7 | Oct. 25 | at Atlanta Falcons | 10:00 AM | FOX |
| 8 | — | BYE | — | — |
| 9 | Nov. 8 | vs. Las Vegas Raiders | 1:05 PM | CBS |
| 10 | Nov. 15 | at Dallas Cowboys | 1:25 PM | FOX |
| 11 | Nov. 22 | vs. Minnesota Vikings — Mexico City | 5:20 PM | NBC |
| 12 | Nov. 29 | vs. Seattle Seahawks | 1:25 PM | FOX |
| 13 | Dec. 6 | at New York Giants | 10:00 AM | FOX |
| 14 | Dec. 13 | vs. Los Angeles Rams | 1:25 PM | FOX |
| 15 | Dec. 17 | at Los Angeles Chargers | 5:15 PM | Prime Video |
| 16 | Dec. 27 | at Kansas City Chiefs | 1:25 PM | CBS |
| 17 | Jan. 3 | vs. Philadelphia Eagles | 5:20 PM | NBC |
| 18 | TBD | at Arizona Cardinals | TBD | TBD |
The Week 18 date, kickoff time and network will be determined later. Other games can also be affected by flexible scheduling.
How to Unblock 49ers Games While Traveling
If you normally watch the 49ers through a particular streaming service but lose access while traveling, your temporary location may be the problem. Connect to an appropriate VPN server, reopen your normal streaming service and try the game again. Changing your IP location may help unblock your 49ers stream when a location restriction is responsible. If your local CBS or FOX station is simply showing another team, however, that’s usually an out-of-market issue. Check NFL Sunday Ticket for eligible regional Sunday afternoon games rather than treating every unavailable 49ers broadcast as a blackout.
Four Parts of the Schedule I’d Circle
Rather than running through another generic “best games” list, San Francisco’s season breaks naturally into four interesting moments.
The Australian Opener
Rams vs. 49ers — September 10 — Netflix. This is more than an international game. It’s the beginning of San Francisco’s season. The 49ers and Rams will play at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in the NFL’s first regular-season game in Melbourne. It’s also an NFC West game, meaning San Francisco begins the year with a divisional matchup thousands of miles from California.
The Old Rivalry: San Francisco at Dallas
49ers at Cowboys — November 15 — FOX. There aren’t many NFL matchups with more history behind them. San Francisco travels to Dallas in Week 10 for its first regular-season game there since 2020. The teams haven’t exactly been strangers since then, however: the 49ers beat Dallas in the NFC Wild Card round following the 2021 season. One week later, the 49ers are playing in Mexico.
Mexico City Under the Lights
Vikings vs. 49ers — November 22 — NBC. The international story returns in Week 11. San Francisco serves as the designated home team against Minnesota at Estadio Banorte in Mexico City, with kickoff scheduled for 5:20 p.m. PT on Sunday Night Football. Mexico is also an especially important international market for the franchise. The country has the NFL’s largest fanbase outside the United States, and San Francisco most recently played there in 2022. This time the game gets a national Sunday-night window.
Philadelphia Comes to Levi’s Stadium
Eagles vs. 49ers — January 3 — NBC. The final scheduled home game could be one of the biggest. Philadelphia visits Levi’s Stadium for Sunday Night Football in Week 17. It’s also the beginning of the final push: after Philadelphia, San Francisco closes the regular season on the road against Arizona. If playoff positioning is still in play, January 3 could carry considerably more weight than a typical late-season matchup.
What Happens If You Don’t Live in California?
Here’s where we need to separate being a 49ers fan somewhere else from simply traveling away from home. If you permanently live outside the San Francisco television market, your local FOX or CBS affiliate might show another team during a regional Sunday afternoon window.
That’s what NFL Sunday Ticket is designed for. It carries eligible out-of-market Sunday afternoon games. National games are different. The Australia game is on Netflix. Washington is Monday Night Football. Mexico City and Philadelphia are on NBC. The Chargers game is on Prime Video. Those games don’t depend on whether your local FOX affiliate decided to show San Francisco.
Travel creates another situation entirely. If you’re temporarily away from home internationally and want to access the streaming services you already use, that’s where we see a VPN fitting naturally into the 49ers viewing setup.
San Francisco 49ers VPN: Why ExpressVPN Fits This Season
San Francisco’s own schedule is international, and plenty of 49ers fans will spend at least one Sunday outside their normal home setup. ExpressVPN is our preferred San Francisco 49ers VPN because it combines the features we want for live sports with unusually relevant local server options. ExpressVPN currently offers servers in:
San Francisco
Los Angeles
Santa Monica
Its network also includes server locations across all 50 U.S. states. The San Francisco location is an obvious fit for Bay Area users, but the larger network is arguably more important when you’re traveling. We also like ExpressVPN because it supports popular phones, computers and compatible streaming devices. That means the device you use at home doesn’t have to be the device you take on the road. And because your connection is encrypted, you’re getting the privacy benefit of a VPN when you’re using hotel or public Wi-Fi even after the game ends.
No Cable? Build Around the Games You Need
You don’t need traditional cable just because the 49ers appear on several networks. If you’re in the local market, an antenna may provide FOX, CBS and NBC depending on reception in your area. Live-TV streaming services can fill in broadcast channels and ESPN. Then deal with the exceptions individually:
Week 1: Netflix
Week 15: Prime Video
Eligible out-of-market Sunday games: NFL Sunday Ticket
That’s a better approach than paying for every football-related service for five months regardless of whether you need it.
California Doesn’t Have Legal Online Sportsbooks
California remains one of the biggest U.S. states without legal sports wagering or state-authorized online sportsbooks. The California Gambling Control Commission states that sports wagering and online gambling are not legal in the state.
Fans interested in event-based prediction markets can learn about two different types of platforms through our Kalshi guide and Polymarket guide. Prediction markets aren’t the same product as traditional sportsbooks, so our guides explain how each platform works, availability and where a VPN may fit for privacy or travel.
From Melbourne to Mexico City
There might not be another NFL team with a 2026 travel story quite like San Francisco’s. The season starts against an NFC West rival on another continent. The 49ers later take Sunday Night Football to Mexico City. In between are Seattle, Dallas and Monday Night Football at Levi’s Stadium. After Mexico come the Rams, Chargers, Chiefs and Eagles. For 49ers fans, that means keeping track of FOX, CBS, NBC, ESPN, Netflix and Prime Video—and potentially NFL Sunday Ticket if you live out of market.
And when your own travels take you away from your normal setup, ExpressVPN can help you securely access the streaming services you already use while you’re on the road. The 49ers are traveling a long way in 2026. There’s no reason the Faithful can’t follow them.
