The 49ers open their regular season schedule Sept. 13 at home against the Arizona Cardinals.
To get a feel for what opponents are thinking about San Francisco heading into 2020, we hit up writers and editors from each of the NFL Wire sites to get a quick prediction about their team’s game(s) against the 49ers.
It did not go well for San Francisco.
Week 1: 49ers vs. Cardinals
The Cardinals were one stop from beating the 49ers once last year and one stop from having a chance to beat them, too. The defense is improved. They have multiple guys who can cover George Kittle, while the Niners lack receivers. The Cardinals shock the Niners in Week 1. Cardinals 34, 49ers 30.
– Jess Root, Cardinals Wire
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Niners Wire: The Cardinals played the 49ers tough last year and got better this offseason. An early-season loss to Arizona would not be a huge surprise.
Record: (0-1)
Week 2: 49ers vs. Jets
This is an interesting matchup because the 49ers had the second-best rushing attack in 2019, while the Jets had the second-best run defense. But the 49ers offense has other ways to beat teams, and it’s not clear if the Jets offense has any. 49ers 23, Jets 14
– Gary Phillips, Jets Wire
***
NW: Narrator: “It is actually clear the Jets offense does not have any.”
Record: (1-1)
Week 3: 49ers at Giants
Let’s be honest — the Giants are just turning the corner in their rebuild, have a first-time head coach, a second-year quarterback, new schemes for the third time in five years, are dangerously thin at cornerback and didn’t have any preseason to work with. What the 2020 Giants look like at the end will differ greatly from what they look like at the start, so it will be rough sledding for a while. 49ers in Week 3? That’s not a good matchup for New York. 49ers 27, Giants 17
– Dan Benton, Giants Wire
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NW: Staying on the East Coast between the two New York games should be helpful. Expect a cleaner performance from the 49ers. If they win 27-17, it may be a game that’s not as close as the score indicates.
Record: (2-1)
Week 4: 49ers vs. Eagles
The 49ers play two winnable games after opening the season up against the Arizona Cardinals and they’ll have a tough early-season test when the visiting Philadelphia Eagles fly west to visit San Francisco after a trap game at home against the Bengals a week prior. Look for the Eagles to pressure Jimmy Garoppolo up the middle with Fletcher Cox and Javon Hargrave, while banking on Darius Slay and Nickell Robey-Coleman holding up in coverage against the Niners Deebo Samuel and rookie Brandon Aiyuk. The Eagles win if they can hold up on the edges against the lethal pass-rushing duo of Nick Bosa and Arik Armstead. Eagles 24, 49ers 21
– Glenn Erby, Eagles Wire
NW: The Eagles’ interior pressure could be a problem for San Francisco if they’re still dealing with injuries on the interior of their offensive line. However, if that group is healthy, they should be able to swing a win at home.
Record: (2-2)
Week 5: 49ers vs Dolphins
The 49ers will have the advantage of not having to travel across the country for this game. If the 49ers can get to the edges against Miami’s defense, they should be able to control the pace of the game. From there, the 49ers’ pass rush can keep Miami bottled up on offense. 49ers 28, Dolphins 17
– Kyle Crabbs, Dolphins Wire
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NW: Miami should be improved this year and head coach Brian Flores has done a really nice job. They’re probably not at the level where they knock off a Super Bowl contender.
Record: (3-2)
Week 6: 49ers vs. Rams
It’s hard to imagine the 49ers regressing much from last season with that dominant defensive front, and I think they’ll do a good job holding the Rams offense in check – especially if Los Angeles is as run-heavy as it’s expected to be. I think the 49ers will win this one at home, assuming their receiving corps is at least somewhat healthy. 49ers 24, Rams 21
– Cam DaSilva, Rams Wire
***
NW: These matchups are always fun, and a close game that could go either way depending on one or two bounces makes a lot of sense.
Record: (4-2)
Week 7: 49ers at Patriots
By Week 6, the Patriots should have their act together. It’s likely their first few weeks of the season, with so much turnover. Cam Newton will make New England competitive — but probably not victorious. Jimmy Garoppolo may just get his first win over Bill Belichick. 49ers 27, Patriots 24
– Henry McKenna, Patriots Wire
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NW: This seemed like a relatively easy game when the schedule came out. And then the Patriots signed Cam Newton. The 49ers had trouble last year with mobile quarterbacks. This one should be a fun, close contest.
Record: (5-2)
Week 8: 49ers at Seahawks
The Seahawks will be looking to avenge last season’s Week 17 home loss to the 49ers at the goal line. The Niners will likely be in the midst of a Super Bowl hangover, just like all the other teams in recent memory who lost the Super Bowl in humiliating fashion the year prior, but are still a formidable challenge. However, the Seahawks have an improved secondary and a certified George Kittle “slower-downer” in Jamal Adams, whereas the Niners receiving corps will be without Emmanual Sanders. We all saw last year how much of a difference he makes when he is out of the lineup. It should be another tough fight, but I’ll trust Russell Wilson over Jimmy G(ame Manager) any day of the week. Seahawks 21, 49ers 17
– Kole Musgrove, Seahawks Wire
***
NW: It appears Kole does not think Jimmy Garoppolo will be better this year.
Record: (5-3)
Week 9: 49ers vs. Packers
Third time’s the charm? Nope. The 49ers can still stress the Packers in all the ways they did so well last season, when Kyle Shanahan’s team beat up on them twice in Santa Clara. New year, (mostly) same result. 49ers 27, Packers 17
– Zach Kruse, Packers Wire
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NW: This makes sense. The 49ers won their two matchups vs. the Packers by a combined 46 points last year.
Record: (6-3)
Week 10: 49ers at Saints
The Saints dropped nearly 50 points on the 49ers last year, and this time Emmanuel Sanders is playing for the right team. San Francisco won’t have enough juice to keep up without him. Saints 38, 49ers 30
– John Sigler, Saints Wire
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NW: For what it’s worth, Sanders was also playing for the right team in last year’s meeting. It would’ve been weird if he suited up for the Saints while on the 49ers roster. People would’ve literally said, “Sanders is playing for the wrong team.”
Record: (6-4)
Week 11: Bye Week
Going into the Bye at 6-4 would be pretty rough for San Francisco. With three games against division opponents and two more against potential division winners in the Bills and Cowboys – a 6-4 record at the break would make the climb to a playoff spot very steep.
Week 12: 49ers at Rams
The Rams offense should hit its stride by this point in the season, likely with Cam Akers leading the backfield as RB1. Their young defenders should also find their footing in the second half of the year, helping limit the 49ers offense in this second meeting. Rams 27, 49ers 21
– Cam DaSilva, Rams Wire
***
NW: For fantasy football purposes, we’ll swap out Cam Akers and put second-year RB Darrell Henderson in his place.
Record: (6-5)
Week 13: 49ers vs. Bills
Couple good defenses here and heck, I can see the Bills unit even scoring on that side of the ball to keep this one close. But here’s the thing, the Bills had a terrible offensive line in 2018, last year they upgraded a bit but the year prior was so bad that some Bills fans think Buffalo has a premiere O-line on their hands by comparing those two. This defensive line group in San Fran is going to expose this as an average offensive line, so unless there’s some Josh Allen magic… 49ers in this one. 49ers 24, Bills 14
– Nick Wojton, Bills Wire
***
NW: “Josh Allen magic” sounds like an Indie band that features a lot of psychedelic funk samples. Anyway, the Bills should be really good this year. This will be a fun showdown on Monday Night Football with possible playoff implications in both conferences.
Record: (7-5)
Week 14: 49ers vs. Washington
Washington and San Francisco have been linked through several people lately (Trent Williams, Kyle Shanahan, Vernon Davis, etc.) but the levels of success are nowhere near each other. With Washington looking to turn things around under Ron Rivera, they stand little chance against the defending NFC Champs. 49ers 24, Washington 10.
– Zachary Neel, Washington Football Team Wire
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NW: The stone cold lock of the year is that the 49ers will score more than nine points vs. Washington this time. It’s less of a lock that Washington will score more than zero.
Record: (8-5)
Week 15: 49ers at Cowboys
By the time Week 15 rolls around, the Cowboys should be humming under the direction of head coach Mike McCarthy. Losing the offseason due to the pandemic hurt new staffs more than anyone, but that loss will be overcome by the December schedule. Too many weapons and one of only a handful of offensive lines who can hold their own against the 49ers insane defensive front, the Cowboys and MVP candidate Dak Prescott come down from their steady diet of 40 burgers, but flirt with 30 and get a Christmas miracle on the leg of Greg Zuerlein to win in the last two minutes. Cowboys 27, 49ers 24
– KD Drummond, Cowboys Wire
***
NW: The good news for the Cowboys is that they probably won’t have to play a road game in their home stadium against the 49ers again.
Record: (8-6)
Week 16: 49ers at Cardinals
Arizona takes the 49ers down at home in Week 16 to hand San Francisco another of their few losses in 2020. Cardinals 31, 49ers 23
– Jess Root, Cardinals Wire
***
NW: If the Cardinals beat the 49ers twice it probably means they’re winning the division and making the leap a lot of people are expecting them to make.
Record: (8-7)
Week 17: 49ers vs. Seahawks
Fun fact: Russell Wilson actually has the third most quarterback wins (5) at Levi’s stadium behind Colin Kaepernick and Jimmy G(ame Manager) since the stadium’s inception in 2014. Wilson also has a career 12-4 record against San Francisco, the most wins he has versus any single team. The Seahawks usually seem to fare better in Santa Clara, and by this time of year Seattle will be looking to lock up better playoff seeding while the 49ers will be looking to enter the offseason. Seahawks 26, 49ers 13
– Kole Musgrove, Seahawks Wire
***
NW: Kole’s thoughts re: Jimmy Garoppolo have been confirmed.
Final record: (8-8)
If this is how the 49ers’ season goes, it will be an unmitigated disaster.
