INGLEWOOD, Calif. — The Los Angeles Rams face the San Francisco 49ers in a NFL Week 5 matchup on Thursday.
Our two team reporters — Sarah Barshop for the Rams and Nick Wagoner for the 49ers — are at SoFi Stadium, and they’re keeping you updated on all the biggest plays and highlights.
When to watch San Francisco 49ers vs. New Orleans Saints
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The 49ers started the season with a win, but lost quarterback Brock Purdy in the process. With Purdy unlikely to play, backup Mac Jones is in line to start in New Orleans. Second-year QB Spencer Rattler is the Saints’ starter, and helped keep them in the game last week before a late rally came up short in Arizona. Rattler started six games last year for New Orleans and is still looking for his first NFL win.
The 49ers and Saints kick off at 1 p.m. ET (10 a.m. PT) on Fox. Here’s how you can watch or stream it live, even if the game isn’t available on your local Fox channel.
The game will be shown on TV in the San Francisco and New Orleans areas (according to 506 Sports) and on live TV streaming services, but there may be cases where you’re blocked because of an internet location glitch. But there’s an option that doesn’t require subscribing to something like NFL Sunday Ticket or NFL Plus or searching the internet for a sketchy website: You can use a virtual private network.
Here’s how you can watch the game from anywhere in the US with a VPN.
Read more: How to Watch NFL Games Without Cable in 2025
Mac Jones is set to make his 50th career start on Sunday as he fills in for the 49ers’ first-choice QB Brock Purdy.
If you find yourself unable to view the game locally due to incorrectly applied blackout restrictions, you may need a different way to watch the game and that’s where using a VPN can come in handy. A VPN is also the best way to stop your ISP from throttling your speeds on game day by encrypting your traffic, plus it’s a great idea for when you’re traveling and find yourself connected to a Wi-Fi network, and you want to add an extra layer of privacy for your devices and logins.
With a VPN, you’re able to virtually change your location on your phone, tablet or laptop to get access to the game. So if your internet provider or mobile carrier has stuck you with an IP address that incorrectly shows your location in a blackout zone, a VPN can correct that problem by giving you an IP address in your correct, nonblackout area. Most VPNs, like our Editors’ Choice, ExpressVPN, make it really easy to do this.
Using a VPN to watch or stream sports is legal in any country where VPNs are legal, including the US and Canada, as long as you’ve got a legitimate subscription to the service you’re streaming. You should be sure your VPN is set up correctly to prevent leaks: Even where VPNs are legal, the streaming service may terminate the account of anyone it deems to be circumventing correctly applied blackout restrictions.
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ExpressVPN is our current best VPN pick for people who want a reliable and safe VPN, and it works on a variety of devices. Prices start at $3.49 a month on a two-year plan for the service’s Basic tier.
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Sunday’s 49ers vs. Saints game is on Fox. The good news for football fans is that Fox is available on all five major live TV streaming services, but not every service carries every local network, so check each one using the links below to make sure it carries Fox in your area. You can also stream games broadcast on Fox with the new Fox One streaming app.
Fox’s new direct-to-consumer streaming service launched in August. Fox One costs $20 a month or $200 a year and lets NFL fans watch their local Sunday afternoon games on Fox. You’ll also get access to Fox’s complete TV portfolio, including sports-related channels such as Fox Sports, B1G, FS1, FS2 and local Fox stations.
Sling’s new skinny bundle costs $20 and includes local Fox, ABC and NBC stations in select markets. It does not, however, offer CBS in any of its plans. It’s also worth noting that Sling Select charges an extra fee of $5 or $10 in select markets for Fox in addition to the $20 base fee.
Sling also offers a Day Pass for $5 or a Weekend Pass for $10. If you also wanted to get ESPN in addition to the local networks, you would need to get the $61-a-month Sling Orange and Blue plan. Read our Sling TV review.
Fubo’s main package costs $85 per month, but it has a new skinny bundle that includes most of the channels you need for the NFL. This new Fubo Sports plan costs $56 per month ($46 for the first month) and includes Fox along with ABC and CBS (but not NBC) in addition to ESPN and NFL Network. It also includes access to ESPN’s new streaming app. Click here to see which local channels you get in your region with Fubo. Read our Fubo review.
For $83 a month, you’ll get all the major football channels with YouTube TV, including Fox. You can also add RedZone for an extra $11 per month. Plug in your ZIP code on YouTube TV’s welcome page to see which local networks are available in your area.
YouTube TV is also the exclusive home to NFL Sunday Ticket. But note that Sunday Ticket doesn’t include local games. You can only watch Sunday afternoon games that aren’t being broadcast on CBS or Fox in your area. If you want to watch all the football on Sundays you’ll need Sunday Ticket plus a YouTube TV subscription (or just get Sunday Ticket and then use an antenna for local games).
To get the full experience of your local games, NFL Sunday Ticket and NFL RedZone, you’ll need the YouTube TV base plan ($83 per month), Sunday Ticket ($276 for returning subscribers or $480 for new subscribers for the season) and the Sports Plus add-on ($11 per month).
All the live TV streaming services above allow you to cancel anytime and require a solid internet connection. Looking for more information? Check out our live TV streaming services guide.
An over-the-air antenna connected to your TV provides another option for Fox. The best part about antennas is that there are no streaming or monthly fees required, although you will need to make sure you have good reception.
ASHBURN, Va. — The Washington Commanders are trading running back Brian Robinson to the San Francisco 49ers for a 2026 sixth-round pick, sources told ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
Robinson did not play in Washington’s preseason game Monday vs. Cincinnati, signaling the end of his relationship with the franchise. The Commanders had planned to release him if they could not find a trade partner.
Washington had been shopping Robinson since earlier this month, in part because of the depth coaches say the team has at running back.
The Commanders will save $3.3 million in salary cap space thanks to this move.
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In adding Robinson, the 49ers add much-needed depth at a position that has been hit hard by injury.
San Francisco has been without rookie Jordan James for most of camp, placed Patrick Taylor Jr. on injured reserve with a shoulder injury and just got backup Isaac Guerendo back from a shoulder injury of his own.
Starter Christian McCaffrey has made it through camp without issue but Robinson should provide a power element the Niners backfield otherwise lacks.
Commanders coach Dan Quinn and offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury boasted of their improved depth at running back this summer, signaling the potential for parting ways with Robinson.
Their intentions became clear when Robinson did not play in — nor did he attend — Monday’s preseason game vs. Cincinnati.
Washington could end up using a running back by committee approach. The Commanders top two backs Monday were Chris Rodriguez and rookie Jacory Croskey-Merritt. Both managed long runs vs. the Bengals vs. the starting defense — Rodriguez gained 40 yards on one run; Croskey-Merritt scored from 27 yards out to cap the second series. They combined for 17 carries and 108 yards.
The Commanders also have veteran third-down back Austin Ekeler and Jeremy McNichols. “Going into training camp, we really thought this was a deep room,” Quinn said Monday night. “There would be real competition. We knew this was one of our strengths going into training camp.”
Robinson’s journey in the NFL started with a difficult situation. The third-round pick in the 2022 draft was shot on Aug. 28, 2022, in an attempted robbery in Washington, D.C. Despite undergoing surgery on his knee because of the shooting, he returned to play 12 games and rushed for 797 yards and two touchdowns.
Robinson has rushed for 2,329 yards in 41 games with Washington since being drafted by the organization. He rushed for a career-high 799 yards and eight touchdowns last season.
He has averaged 4.1 yards per carry in his career, which ranks 40th among running backs since he entered the league. He ranked 29th in yards after first contact and his percentage of 10-yard runs (9.8) ranked 86th. But he was 17th in rushing yards per game (56.8).
Information from ESPN’s Nick Wagoner was used in this report.