In April….
The San Francisco 49ers schedule is fresh out of the oven. You knew this was coming. Is it silly to predict games before the draft in April? Of course. Will that stop us? Absolutely not. Fooch did this last year at this time and predicted the 49ers would go 10-6. To say the injury bug bit the team would be the understatement of the year.
After looking at the schedule, here’s how I would say things go:
Week 1: @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers WIN – Tampa Bay will have a new head coach and offense, so they will likely start slow. The Bucs also had one of the worst offensive lines in the NFL.
Week 2: @ Cincinnati Bengals WIN – The Bengals are expected to be one of the worst teams in the NFL. That is all.
Week 3: Pittsburgh Steelers LOSS – The Steelers open the season playing the New England Patriots and the Seattle Seahawks. After two brutal losses, they don’t drop to 0-3.
Week 4: Bye
Week 5: Cleveland Browns LOSS – Even coming off of a bye, the 49ers aren’t able to keep up with the new look high-flying Browns offense in a shootout.
Week 6: @ Los Angeles Rams LOSS – Jared Goff’s home/road splits.
Week 7: @ Washington WIN – Just what the doctor ordered, a rookie QB.
Week 8: vs. Carolina Panthers – WIN – The Panthers are the ultimate Jekyll and Hyde team, and they are even coming off of a bye week. I still don’t trust them on the road.
Week 9: @ Arizona Cardinals – WIN – In a primetime spot you know Kliff Kingsbury is going to pull out all of the tricks. Arizona is coming off two early eastern time zone games. They’re exhausted.
Week 10: vs. Seattle Seahawks – LOSS – After building some momentum, the 49ers fall flat on their face in a pivotal divisional game.
Week 11: vs. Arizona Cardinals – WIN – The good news is the Niners respond well and sweep a fun, yet undisciplined Cardinals team.
Week 12: vs. Green Bay Packers – LOSS – This is one of those all-world Aaron Rodgers games where there’s just nothing you can do. He’s on.
Week 13: @ Baltimore Ravens – LOSS – The 49ers have never scored more than six points against the Ravens.
Week 14: @ New Orleans Saints – LOSS – The rollercoaster season continues. This game is full of explosive plays, but Drew Brees gets the last laugh.
Week 15: vs. Atlanta Falcons – WIN – I don’t think the Falcons are going to be very good.
Week 16: vs. Los Angeles Rams – LOSS – This would be the spot to beat the Rams, but I still think they’ll be too much here.
Week 17: @ Seattle Seahawks – WIN – The 49ers miss out on the playoffs after an inconsistent season, but they prevent the Seahawks from making the playoffs.
Final record: 8-8
About the Author: Insidethe49
