When to watch the Bears vs. 49ers
- Sunday, Dec. 8 at 1:25 p.m. PT (4:25 p.m. ET).
Where to watch
- The Bears-49ers game will air on Fox.
The season has not gone as planned for Chicago or San Francisco. The 49ers had aspirations to return to the Super Bowl, but their season has been derailed by injury. The team's star running back, Christian McCaffrey, missed the first two months of the season as he recovered from an Achilles injury and was just lost for the season after injuring his knee in last week's loss in Buffalo. The Niners' season isn't lost, but is teetering on the edge as the team has lost three straight to fall to 5-7.
The Bears drafted Caleb Williams with the first overall pick in this year's draft and surrounded him with talent, including veteran wideouts DJ Moore and Keenan Allen to go with fellow first-round rookie Rome Odunze at receiver. It has not worked. The Bears are in the midst of a six-game losing streak that has dropped them to 4-8 and cost their head coach his job.
The Bears and 49ers kick off in Santa Clara at 1:25 p.m. PT (4:25 p.m. ET ) on Fox. Here's how you can watch, even if the game isn't available on your local Fox channel.
San Francisco head coach Kyle Shanahan has been dogged by injuries to key players throughout this season.
Bears vs. 49ers game today: When and where?
This matchup sees the 49ers host the Bears at 1:25 p.m. PT (4:25 p.m. ET) on Sunday. The game will take place at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, California, home of the 49ers.
How to watch the Bears vs. 49ers 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 it. 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, as VPNs encrypt your traffic. Plus, using a VPN is also a great idea for when you're traveling and find yourself connected to a Wi-Fi network and wanting 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, non-blackout area. Most VPNs, like our Editors' Choice, ExpressVPN, are very easy to use.
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.
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ExpressVPN has servers in San Francisco and Chicago, where this game is being shown. The service 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 a month, but if you sign up for an annual subscription for $100 you'll get three months free and save 49%. That's the equivalent of $6.67 a month.
Note that ExpressVPN offers a 30-day money-back guarantee.
How to watch Bears vs. 49ers in the US
Sunday's Bears vs. 49ers game is on Fox nationally. The good news for football fans is that Fox is available on most of the major live TV streaming services. The least expensive such service is Sling TV Blue.
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 a 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 a 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 a 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.
Numerous other live TV streaming services carry local Fox stations as well, namely YouTube TV, Hulu Plus Live TV, DirecTV Stream and Fubo. They all cost far more than Sling, but they also carry a full complement of live channels, including football broadcasting channels like CBS and ESPN. Check out our live TV streaming services guide for details.
For $73 a month, you'll get all the major football channels with YouTube TV. Plus, RedZone is available 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.
Fubo costs at least $92 per month when you factor in the RSN fees it charges, which you don't need for NFL games but must pay for anyway. Fubo's base plan costs $80 but it charges an extra $12 a month if you get one RSN or $15 a month if you have two or more in your area. RedZone is available for an extra $11 per month, and you can get 4K broadcasts with its $90-a-month Elite plan. It's worth noting that Fubo has recently introduced a new $30 off for the first month offer for its Pro, Elite With Sports Plus and Deluxe plans. Click here to see which local channels you get in your region with Fubo. Read our Fubo review.
All the live TV streaming services above offer free trials, 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.
Quick tips for streaming the Bears vs. 49ers game using a VPN
- With four variables at play -- your ISP, browser, video streaming provider and VPN -- experience and success may vary.
- If you don't see your desired location as a default option for ExpressVPN, try using the "search for city or country" option.
- If you're having trouble getting the game after you've turned on your VPN and set it to the correct viewing area, there are two things you can try for a quick fix. First, log into your streaming service subscription account and make sure the address registered for the account is an address in the correct viewing area. If not, you may need to change the physical address on file with your account. Second, some smart TVs -- like Roku -- don't have VPN apps you can install directly on the device itself. Instead, you'll have to install the VPN on your router or the mobile hotspot you're using (like your phone) so that any device on its Wi-Fi network now appears in the correct viewing location.
- All of the VPN providers we recommend have helpful instructions on their main site for quickly installing the VPN on your router. In some cases with smart TV services, after you install a cable network's sports app, you'll be asked to verify a numeric code or click a link sent to your email address on file for your smart TV. This is where having a VPN on your router will also help, since both devices will appear to be in the correct location.
- And remember, browsers can often give away a location despite using a VPN, so be sure you're using a privacy-first browser to log into your services. We normally recommend Brave.