49ers vs. Steelers Livestream: How to Watch NFL Week 1 Online Today - CNET
The Pittsburgh Steelers and San Francisco 49ers are following similar scripts of assembling a strong defense led by an elite edge rusher — T.J. Watt for the Steelers and Nick Bosa for the 49ers — and surrounding a second-year quarterback with weapons.
Brock Purdy begins the year under center for the 49ers and has dual-threat running back Christian McCaffrey and dual-threat receiver Deebo Samual to keep defenses guessing.
For the Steelers, wideouts Diontae Johnson and George Pickens will be running routes for QB Kenny Pickett.
The 49ers and Steelers kick off in Pittsburgh at 1 p.m. ET (10 a.m. PT) on Fox. Here is how you can watch, even if the game isn’t available on your local Fox channel.
The game will be shown on TV in the San Francisco and Pittsburgh areas (according to 506 Sports) on live TV streaming services, but there may be cases where you’re blocked because of an internet location glitch or just want an added layer of privacy for streaming. There is 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, or VPN.
Here’s how you can watch the game from anywhere in the US with a VPN.
Read more: NFL 2023: How to Watch and Stream Games and RedZone With or Without Cable
The Niners’ Nick Bosa agreed to a contract extension last week that is set to make him the NFL’s richest defensive player ever.
Michael Owens/Getty Images
49ers vs. Steelers: When and where?
For the opening weekend of the NFL season, the Steelers host the 49ers at 1 p.m. ET (10 a.m. PT) on Sunday. The game is set to take place at Acrisure Stadium in Pittsburgh, home of the Pittsburgh Steelers.
How to watch the 49ers vs. Steelers game online from anywhere using a VPN
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.
Looking for other options? Be sure to check out some of the other great VPN deals taking place right now.
<div data-id="" data-cy="shortcodeListicle" data-location="LIST" data-position="1" edition="us" superlative="Best VPN for streaming" imagegroup="{"alt":"Express VPN","caption":"
","credits":"Sarah Tew/CNET","imageData":{"id":"042df10d-2946-4c39-8bb3-a3be8620867a","title":"express-vpn-logo-2022-191","filename":"express-vpn-logo-2022-191.jpg","path":"https://www.cnet.com/a/img/hub/2022/04/15/042df10d-2946-4c39-8bb3-a3be8620867a/express-vpn-logo-2022-191.jpg","caption":"
","size":783343,"width":4000,"height":2667,"dateCreated":{"date":"2022-04-15 00:59:22","timezone":"UTC","timezone_type":3},"dateUpdated":{"date":"2022-04-15 01:01:20","timezone":"UTC","timezone_type":3},"needsModeration":false,"mimeType":"image/jpeg","deleted":false,"credits":"Sarah Tew/CNET","alt":"Express VPN","restricted":false,"startDate":null,"endDate":null,"preferred":false,"watermark":false,"doNotCrop":false,"doNotResize":false,"primaryCollection":null,"vanityUrl":null,"notes":null,"crop":null,"cropGravity":0,"preservedRegion":null,"isNew":false,"keywords":[],"primeColor":null,"hasWarning":false,"typeName":"content_image"},"uuid":"042df10d-2946-4c39-8bb3-a3be8620867a","imageAltText":"Express VPN","imageCaption":"
","imageCredit":"Sarah Tew/CNET","imageDoNotCrop":false,"imageDoNotResize":false,"imageWatermark":false,"imageFilename":"express-vpn-logo-2022-191.jpg","imageDateCreated":"2022/04/15","imageWidth":4000,"imageHeight":2667,"imageParallax":"","imageCrop":"","imageEnlarge":false}” overridecaption=”
” overridecredit=”Sarah Tew/CNET” usepricing=”false” data-key=”cnetlisticle__7c9dfc14-cc58-4852-bbdb-99a4edbcb05b” position=”1″ contenttype=”How to Watch” pagelayout=”Best List – Precap” showdetails=”true” class=”c-shortcodeListicle g-border-thin-light-top g-inner-spacing-bottom-medium g-inner-spacing-left-large g-inner-spacing-right-large g-inner-spacing-bottom-xlarge g-outer-spacing-bottom-large g-border-thin-light-bottom g-border-thin-light-right g-border-thin-light-left”>
ExpressVPN is our current best VPN pick for people who want a reliable and safe VPN, and it works on a variety of devices. It’s normally $13 per month, and you can sign up for ExpressVPN and save 49% plus get three months of access for free — the equivalent of $6.67 per month — if you get an annual subscription.
Note that ExpressVPN offers a 30-day money-back guarantee.
Livestream the 49ers vs. Steelers game in the US
This week’s 49ers-Steelers game is on Fox, so in addition to a VPN set to an area carrying the game (see tips below) you’ll need a live TV streaming service that carries a local Fox affiliate that’s broadcasting the game. The least expensive such service is Sling TV Blue.
<div data-id="" data-cy="shortcodeListicle" data-location="LIST" data-position="2" edition="us" superlative="Carries Fox in Washington, DC (WTTG)" imagegroup="{"alt":"A cellphone displays the Sling TV logo.","caption":"
","credits":"Sling/CNET","imageData":{"id":"4e9a5ad9-9663-4e8c-adb4-bbe6205c7638","title":"sling-trial","filename":"sling-trial.jpg","path":"https://www.cnet.com/a/img/hub/2022/08/02/4e9a5ad9-9663-4e8c-adb4-bbe6205c7638/sling-trial.jpg","caption":"
","size":146876,"width":1600,"height":900,"dateCreated":{"date":"2022-08-02 14:33:00","timezone":"UTC","timezone_type":3},"dateUpdated":{"date":"2022-08-02 14:59:17","timezone":"UTC","timezone_type":3},"needsModeration":false,"mimeType":"image/jpeg","deleted":false,"credits":"Sling/CNET","alt":"A cellphone displays the Sling TV logo.","restricted":false,"startDate":null,"endDate":null,"preferred":false,"watermark":false,"doNotCrop":false,"doNotResize":false,"primaryCollection":null,"vanityUrl":null,"notes":null,"crop":null,"cropGravity":0,"preservedRegion":null,"isNew":false,"keywords":[],"primeColor":null,"hasWarning":false,"typeName":"content_image"},"uuid":"4e9a5ad9-9663-4e8c-adb4-bbe6205c7638","imageAltText":"A cellphone displays the Sling TV logo.","imageCaption":"
","imageCredit":"Sling/CNET","imageDoNotCrop":false,"imageDoNotResize":false,"imageWatermark":false,"imageFilename":"sling-trial.jpg","imageDateCreated":"2022/08/02","imageWidth":1600,"imageHeight":900,"imageParallax":"","imageCrop":"","imageEnlarge":false}” overridecaption=”
” overridecredit=”Sling/CNET” usepricing=”true” data-key=”cross_content_listicle__8634bc4b-98c3-4047-95a2-75178f5d9f1f” contenttype=”How to Watch” pagelayout=”Best List – Precap” showdetails=”true” class=”c-shortcodeListicle g-border-thin-light-top g-inner-spacing-bottom-medium g-inner-spacing-left-large g-inner-spacing-right-large g-inner-spacing-bottom-xlarge g-outer-spacing-bottom-large g-border-thin-light-bottom g-border-thin-light-right g-border-thin-light-left”>
Sling TV’s Blue plan includes NBC, Fox and the NFL Network, though it does not have CBS, ABC or ESPN. Enter your address here to see which local channels are available where you live. NFL RedZone is also available for an extra $11 per month.
Note that to get ABC and ESPN, you’ll need to switch to the similarly priced Orange plan (which drops Fox, NBC and NFL Network) or go for the combined $60 per month Orange and Blue bundle that includes channels from both packages. With the combined plan, the Sports Extra add-on, which has RedZone, is an extra $15 per month.
One important caveat: In our experience, Fox local affiliates will only be available if your billing address is in one of the 18 metropolitan areas covered in Sling’s agreement. If you’re outside of one of these areas, you’re probably better off going with one of the alternate services listed below.