When the San Francisco 49ers were completely healthy, everyone admitted the schedule makers over at the NFL were not doing them any favors. The first half of the 49ers’ schedule was absolutely brutal, opening with an away game against the Minnesota Vikings, later the Kansas City Chiefs, and the recent Monday Night Football game against the Green Bay Packers.
Oh and there’s Sunday’s loss against the Los Angeles Rams in there too. That is a brutal first half of a schedule and one that many (including myself) saw the 49ers with a potential record of 3-5 to end it at the halfway point. The current record of 1-6 is much worse, but the good news is, the worst is over.
Not that the 49ers can get a bye, or their season can end (like many would want), but the brutal road games against some of the NFL’s best are a bit easier now. Here’s the remaining schedule.
Week 8: @ Arizona Cardinals, 1:25 p.m., FOX, Sunday, October 28
Week 9: vs. Oakland Raiders, 5:20 p.m., NFL Network, Thursday, November 1
Week 10: vs. New York Giants, 5:15 p.m., ESPN, Monday, November 12
Week 11: BYE
Week 12: @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 10:00 a.m., FOX, Sunday, November 25
Week 13: @ Seattle Seahawks, 5:20 p.m., NBC, Sunday, December 2
Week 14: vs. Denver Broncos, 1:05 p.m., CBS, Sunday, December 9
Week 15: vs. Seattle Seahawks, 1:05 p.m., FOX, Sunday, December 16
Week 16: vs. Chicago Bears, 1:05 p.m., FOX, Sunday, December 23
Week 17: @ Los Angeles Rams, 1:25 p.m., FOX, Sunday, December 30
The only two road games with potential to get off the rails like Sunday’s loss to the Los Angeles Rams are the Week 13 away game against the Seattle Seahawks and the Week 17 game to close out the season in Los Angeles, against the aforementioned Rams, who got done laying a 39-10 beatdown Sunday (*gulp). The Tampa Bay Buccaneers could get bad, but they aren’t the Rams, and they went into overtime against the Cleveland Browns so there’s a chance they could win by a touchdown and won’t be as crippling. There also is the Broncos, but they have their own issues and it’s in Santa Clara, so I’m willing to think it’s another competitive game.
And that’s the whole idea here: competitive games. I’m not making any predictions for wins. The 49ers in their current form are a loose shadow of the team put together at the beginning of the season with the injuries and losses piling up, but as far as playing teams that outclass them in all areas, that part is pretty much over with.