Here’s how to watch 49ers vs. Colts for free on Monday Night Football

Week 16 of the 2025 NFL season wraps up tonight with a matchup between the Indianapolis Colts and the San Francisco 49ers.

The Colts haven’t recorded a win yet in December; their last win, in overtime, came Nov. 9 in Germany, so the team’s last home win was back in October. In Week 14, starting quarterback Daniel Jones tore his right Achilles and ended his season. For the second week in a row, 44-year-old QB Philip Rivers, who signed a one-year deal with the Colts after five seasons of retirement, will start in place of Jones.

The 49ers have won four straight heading into today’s game, and as a result of yesterday’s Detroit loss to Pittsburgh, they clinched an NFC playoff spot. There’s a clear path to the No. 1 seed in the NFC for the team, who have to win all three of its final games, starting with tonight’s, to clinch that spot and a first-round bye.

Here’s how to tune in to Monday Night Football without cable.

49ers vs. Colts start time:

49ers vs. Colts is scheduled to kick off at 8:15 p.m. ET tonight, Dec. 22, on ESPN and ABC.

How to watch 49ers vs. Colts for free:

If you don’t have cable, you’ll need a live TV streaming service to stream 49ers vs. Colts on Monday Night Football for free.

DIRECTV is our top pick for watching football live for free — its five-day free trial includes ESPN and ABC. When the trial is over, you’ll pay as low as $49.99/month and gain access to over 90 live channels.

If you aren’t ready to commit to a full-on subscription, you can try a Sling Orange 1-Day Pass. Priced at $4.99, you’ll get 24 hours of access to all Sling TV Orange has to offer, including ESPN. Sling also has longer passes for its Orange plan, which offer between three and seven days of access.

Is there a ManningCast tonight?

No, there will not be a ManningCast this week. Eli and Peyton Manning will finish out the regular season during Week 18’s Monday Night Football.

Monday Night Football schedule 2025:

All times below are listed in ET.

• Week 16: San Francisco 49ers at Indianapolis Colts – Dec. 22, 8:15 p.m.
• Week 17: Los Angeles Rams at Atlanta Falcons – Dec. 29, 8:15 p.m.
• Week 18: TBD

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This article was written by Angela Tricarico, Commerce Streaming Reporter for Post Wanted Shopping, Page Six, and Decider.com. Angela keeps readers up to date with cord-cutter-friendly deals, and information on how to watch your favorite sports teams, TV shows, and movies on every streaming service. Not only does Angela test and compare the streaming services she writes about to ensure readers are getting the best prices, but she’s also a superfan specializing in the intersection of shopping, tech, sports, and pop culture. When she’s not writing about TV, movies, and sports, she’s also keeping up on all of the best deals to shop at Bath & Body Works, and testing headphones. Prior to joining Decider and The New York Post in 2023, she wrote about streaming and consumer tech at Insider Reviews.