The San Francisco 49ers hit 2026 with a twinge of unique, specific longing. No other NFL franchise has been so consistently close to catharsis across the 21st century.<\/p>\n
Since 2010, San Francisco has endured three tough Super Bowl losses and four others in the NFC Championship Game. But the 2026 roster is certainly talented enough to break through, even in the formidable NFC West.<\/p>\n
Brock Purdy is under center as one of football\u2019s steadier quarterbacks. Christian McCaffrey resumes his role as a three-down bellwether. While the tough-as-nails George Kittle recovers from an Achilles tear, Purdy\u2019s other targets include perennial Pro Bowler Mike Evans, promising rookie De\u2019Zhaun Stribling and the versatile Deebo Samuel Sr. in his return to the team.<\/p>\n
On the other side, the defense is paced by all-world linebacker Fred Warner. New 49ers defensive coordinator Raheem Morris leads a high-upside group, so long as pass rushers Nick Bosa and Mykel Williams can bounce back from injuries.<\/p>\n
Kyle Shanahan continues to prove himself as an innovative play caller. \u201cBang Bang Niner Gang<\/a>\u201d is always one of the loudest home crowds in American sports. The NFL\u2019s schedule makers clearly consider San Francisco to be a must-see team, from its unprecedented Australian feature in Week 1 against the rival Los Angeles Rams, to a \u201cSunday Night Football\u201d trip to Mexico City in Week 11 against the Minnesota Vikings.<\/p>\n Follow the team<\/a> on\u00a0The Athletic, and keep up with our beat reporters. Matt Barrows<\/a> and Vic Tafur<\/a> are Joe Montana and Steve Young with the pen.<\/p>\n All times listed below are ET.<\/p>\n The full 2026 San Francisco 49ers schedule<\/p>\n \t Wk.MatchupDateTimeNetwork1@ Thursday, Sept. 10 <\/p>\n Melbourne, Australia<\/p>\n 8:35\u00a0p.m. Netflix 2 Sunday, Sept. 20 4:25\u00a0p.m. Fox 3 Sunday, Sept. 27 4:05\u00a0p.m. Fox 4 Sunday, Oct. 4 4:25\u00a0p.m. CBS 5@ Sunday, Oct. 11 4:25\u00a0p.m. Fox 6 Monday, Oct. 19 8:15\u00a0p.m. ESPN\/ABC 7@ Sunday, Oct. 25 1:00\u00a0p.m. Fox 8 BYE 9 Sunday, Nov. 8 4:05\u00a0p.m. CBS 10@ Sunday, Nov. 15 4:25\u00a0p.m. Fox 11 Sunday, Nov. 22 <\/p>\n Mexico City<\/p>\n 8:20\u00a0p.m. NBC 12 Sunday, Nov. 29 4:25\u00a0p.m. Fox 13@ Sunday, Dec. 6 1:00\u00a0p.m. Fox 14 Sunday, Dec. 13 4:25\u00a0p.m. Fox 15@ Thursday, Dec. 17 8:15\u00a0p.m. Prime 16@ Sunday, Dec. 27 4:25\u00a0p.m. CBS 17 Sunday, Jan. 3 8:20\u00a0p.m. NBC 18@ <\/p>\n TBA<\/p>\n \t\tCable\/satellite\/streaming base<\/p>\n The most expansive option for live game coverage is a multichannel plan. That includes streamers like Fubo, Sling TV and YouTube TV, or more traditional providers like DirecTV, Dish and Xfinity. We lay out cord-cutting alternatives for each NFL media partner down below, but there\u2019s a certain peace of mind to the consolidation of pay television.<\/p>\n Is the electrical substation near the 49ers’ facility injuring players?<\/p>\n CBS<\/p>\n Main window: Sunday afternoon (in-market fans)<\/p>\n Playoffs: 1 wild-card game, 1 divisional game, AFC Championship Game<\/p>\n Each week, CBS carries games across two Sunday kickoff slots: one at 1 p.m., and another at 4:05 p.m. or the national window at 4:25 p.m. There will be 10 nationwide Sunday doubleheaders this year on CBS. Broadcasts are set by region when there are multiple offerings in a spot.<\/p>\n It\u2019s not a clean split, but CBS is known as the primary home of the AFC. The network\u2019s theme music<\/a> is a certified slapper.<\/p>\n Its main pregame show, \u201cThe NFL Today,\u201d adds recent retirees Russell Wilson and Kyle Long to its studio crew. CBS announcers include Jim Nantz and Ian Eagle, while the color commentary rotation stars JJ Watt.<\/p>\n What you\u2019ll need to watch: A pay TV package, or an indoor TV antenna<\/a> for free over-the-air viewing. Local CBS games also stream on Paramount+.<\/p>\n Fox<\/p>\n Main window: Sunday afternoon (in-market fans)<\/p>\n Playoffs: 1 wild-card game, 1 divisional game, NFC Championship Game<\/p>\n Like CBS, Fox splits Sunday afternoons between early 1 p.m. action and later 4:05\/4:25 p.m. matchups. Its centerpiece is branded as \u201cAmerica\u2019s Game of the Week.\u201d Unlike CBS, Fox has a dancing robot named Cleatus<\/a>. It\u2019s the nominal network for the NFC as well.<\/p>\n Kevin Burkhardt, Joe Davis and Adam Amin are the lead play-by-play voices. Burkhardt pairs with Tom Brady, while Davis calls games alongside Greg Olsen. Amin is partnered with newcomer Drew Brees, who is fresh off his Pro Football Hall of Fame induction. Some Spanish-language broadcasts are available on Fox Deportes.<\/p>\n What you\u2019ll need to watch: A pay TV package, or an antenna for free over-the-air viewing. Local Fox games also stream on Fox One.<\/p>\n NFL Sunday Ticket and NFL RedZone<\/p>\n Main window: Sunday afternoon (out-of-market fans)<\/p>\n These two are the access points for all non-national matchups that aren\u2019t on regional CBS or Fox.<\/p>\n NFL Sunday Ticket has full games. It\u2019s exclusive to YouTube and YouTube TV. Those without a YouTube TV plan can still get NFL Sunday Ticket as a primetime channel through the standard YouTube app.<\/p>\n RedZone is the whip-around program that jumps around the slate to cover scoring drives. This is the place for Scott Hanson<\/a>, \u201cthe witching hour\u201d and chaotic octobox split screens. It can be added to NFL Sunday Ticket, and it\u2019s included on some high-end pay TV sports plans.<\/p>\n RedZone also lives on NFL+ Premium, which can be bundled with the ESPN Unlimited plan.<\/p>\n What you\u2019ll need to watch: An NFL Sunday Ticket subscription through YouTube TV or the YouTube app; NFL RedZone access through select pay TV packages, ESPN Unlimited or NFL+ Premium.<\/p>\n NBC and Peacock<\/p>\n Main window: Sunday night<\/p>\n Playoffs: 2 wild-card games, 1 divisional game<\/p>\n This is the faithful home of \u201cSunday Night Football\u201d each weekend. And because everything has to be confusing, the NBC lineup opens with a Wednesday night season premiere. At least SNF has a consistent 8:20 p.m. start time.<\/p>\n Mike Tirico and Cris Collinsworth are in the booth, with Melissa Stark reporting from the sidelines. Carrie Underwood sings about waiting all day for Sunday night<\/a>. NBC\u2019s \u201cFootball Night in America\u201d pregame show brings on longtime head coach Mike Tomlin. Telemundo has the telecasts in Spanish.<\/p>\n The network has two extra Saturday offerings for Week 17. One is exclusive to Peacock, and both matchups will be announced later in the season. The same goes for NBC\u2019s Week 18 regular-season finale.<\/p>\n \u201cSunday Night Football\u201d is subject to flex scheduling \u2014 games can be swapped in and out of the window twice between Weeks 5-10 and any time from Weeks 11-17. This allows executives to pick games with greater playoff implications, though it leaves the actual ticket holders in a bind.<\/p>\n What you\u2019ll need to watch: A pay TV package, or an antenna for free over-the-air viewing, or a Peacock account with the live sports plan.<\/p>\n ABC and ESPN<\/p>\n Main window: Monday night<\/p>\n Playoffs: 1 wild-card game, 1 divisional game, Super Bowl LXI<\/p>\n The Disney networks combine to cover 17 \u201cMonday Night Football\u201d games. Ten of those are on both ABC and ESPN, with another seven exclusive to the latter. The oft-maligned \u201cMonday Night Football\u201d doubleheader is now a thing of the past.<\/p>\n MNF kickoffs have 8:15 p.m. starts, and their schedule flexes can happen any time in Weeks 12-17.\u00a0 The two Saturday ABC\/ESPN matchups in Week 18 will be set as the postseason picture sharpens.<\/p>\n ESPN is preparing for its first Super Bowl broadcast ever on Feb. 14, 2027. It will be simulcast on ABC.<\/p>\n Joe Buck handles play-by-play for MNF. He\u2019s joined by analyst Troy Aikman, plus the sideline duo of Lisa Salters and Laura Rutledge. Spanish-language airings can be found on ESPN Deportes. For 12 regular-season games and the Super Bowl, ESPN2 offers an alternate \u201cManningCast,\u201d in which Eli and Peyton Manning watch the games with famous fans. Guests have ranged from Bill Belichick<\/a> to Lil Wayne<\/a>.<\/p>\n What you\u2019ll need to watch: A pay TV package, or an antenna for ABC, or an ESPN Unlimited account.<\/p>\n Prime Video<\/p>\n Main window: Thursday night<\/p>\n Playoffs: 1 wild-card game<\/p>\n Most weeks begin with \u201cThursday Night Football,\u201d which kicks off at 8:15 p.m. Those games are behind the Prime paywall, but they\u2019re free over the air in the participants\u2019 home markets. Flex rules around TNF are a bit less hectic, with two allotments between Weeks 13-17.<\/p>\n Thursdays are called by Al Michaels and Kirk Herbstreit, with Kaylee Hartung on sideline duty. Herbstreit loves dogs<\/a>; Michaels hates vegetables<\/a>. Prime has Spanish-language coverage and advanced stat broadcast options within its app. Former Niner Richard Sherman is one of the personalities for the pregame, halftime and postgame shows.<\/p>\n What you\u2019ll need to watch: Amazon Prime. TNF is also free on Twitch with a registered account.<\/p>\n NFL Network<\/p>\n