The NFL has never played a regular-season game in Rio de Janeiro, and the Baltimore Ravens and Dallas Cowboys are about to change that. The teams meet at the Maracanã Stadium on Sept. 27, a historic moment for international football. But the headline promise of a free livestream raises a question: can you actually watch it without paying?
The answer, according to the report, is yes — sort of. Ravens vs. Cowboys in the NFL is available to live stream for free on Channel 5, but the catch is that Channel 5 is geo-restricted to the UK. That means viewers outside Britain need a workaround, and the report points to one: a VPN subscription through ExpressVPN.
The Rio De Janeiro Fixture
The game kicks off at 4.25 p.m. ET on Sept. 27 at the Maracanã Stadium, the home ground of the Flamengo soccer team. Both the Ravens and Cowboys enter Week 3 with identical records: 1-1.
The Cowboys have the recent momentum after winning Week 2 against the Washington Commanders. The Ravens, meanwhile, took a loss to the New Orleans Saints. The report asks whether the Cowboys can extend their run or if the Ravens will respond with a bounce-back performance.
Either way, the setting is unusual. An NFL game in Rio de Janeiro has never happened before.
The Free Stream and Its Limitation
Channel 5 carries the broadcast, but the channel is locked to UK viewers. The report explains that a VPN can route around that restriction by hiding a viewer’s real IP address and connecting them to a secure server in the UK. That connection lets you watch the game from anywhere in the world.
The steps are straightforward:
- Subscribe to a streaming-friendly VPN, with ExpressVPN recommended.
- Download the app to your device of choice.
- Open the app and connect to a server in the UK.
- Visit Channel 5.
- Watch Ravens vs. Cowboys for free from anywhere in the world.
It sounds simple. It also requires a paid subscription.
What ExpressVPN Offers
ExpressVPN is the service the report recommends for this purpose. The company operates servers in 105 countries, including the UK, and its app is available across major devices: iPhone, Android, Windows, Mac, and more.
The service offers a strict no-logging policy, fast connection speeds without throttling, and support for up to 10 simultaneous connections. A 30-day money-back guarantee applies to subscriptions, though the report notes that the free window is a temporary fix, not a permanent solution.
A two-year subscription to ExpressVPN is currently on sale for $68.40, including an extra four months for free — a discount of 81%. That plan also includes a year of free unlimited cloud backup. A one-month plan costs $12.99.
The Free Strategy Limits
The report frames the VPN approach as a money-back strategy rather than a commitment. Viewers can watch this fixture and other NFL action before recovering their investment once the guarantee expires.
That is a fair warning. The free window exists, but it is not indefinite.
Comparing the Streaming Options
The report also lists several other streaming services, each with a distinct character:
| Service | Role |
|---|---|
| HBO Max | Top pick for premium content |
| Disney+ | Best for families |
| Hulu | Popular choice for originals |
| Peacock | Low-cost choice for live sport |
None of those services is described as the primary option for this particular game. The free stream lives on Channel 5, and the VPN route is the path to accessing it.
Matt Ford’s Role
Matt Ford is identified as a freelance contributor to Mashable.
The report is clearly pitched at a general audience, explaining the setup in plain terms. It does not assume prior knowledge of VPNs or NFL streaming arrangements.
Our Take on the Free Promise
The headline promises a free livestream of Ravens vs. Cowboys in the NFL online, and the body delivers it — but with a crucial caveat. Channel 5 is free to watch, but only if you happen to be in the UK. For everyone else, the free label is attached to a paid subscription elsewhere.
That is a common arrangement in streaming. Many channels are free within their native market but require a proxy to reach internationally. What is unusual here is that the report names the workaround explicitly: ExpressVPN.
The report does not hide the cost. It explains that the best VPNs are not free, that they offer money-back guarantees, and that the free window is temporary. That honesty matters, because the alternative — a headline that promises free access without mentioning the subscription requirement — would be misleading.
The deal itself looks reasonable. A two-year plan at $68.40 plus four months free is a discount, and the one-month plan at $12.99 is a low barrier to entry.
But the core question remains: is this a free livestream? The answer, as the report presents it, is that the stream is free, but the access to it is not. The VPN subscription is the cost of entry, and the report is upfront about that from the opening paragraph.
For casual viewers who only want one game, the one-month plan at $12.99 is a small commitment. For regular NFL watchers, the two-year plan with its extra months and cloud backup might offer better value over time. Either way, the route is clear: subscribe, connect, watch.
The game itself will settle the on-field question. Will the Cowboys keep their momentum, or will the Ravens bounce back? The answer arrives on Sept. 27 at 4.25 p.m. ET at the Maracanã Stadium.
Source material: “How to watch Ravens vs. Cowboys in the NFL online for free,” Mashable.
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