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USA Today Sports Media Group
USA Today Sports Media Group
Sport
Kyle Madson

Game-by-game predictions for 49ers new schedule

Okay, fine.

The 49ers’ schedule is out which means it is our duty to make predictions for each game despite the fact that it’s May and uncertainty reigns for every team.

A hard schedule in Week 1 could very easily look like a soft schedule by the time the season ends, and vice versa. Still, running through each game is a fun exercise.

We’ll try the prediction thing again closer to the season once San Francisco has eliminated some of the question marks about its club and we see the landscape of the league throughout camp and the preseason.

For now, here’s our knee jerk guesses:

Week 1 at Pittsburgh Steelers

Philip G. Pavely-USA TODAY Sports

49ers win a rock fight where their offensive talent takes over.

Record: 1-0

Week 2 at Los Angeles Rams

Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

The Rams couldn’t even beat the 49ers when they were contending for Super Bowls. Now they’re rebuilding.

Record: 2-0

Week 3 vs. New York Giants (TNF)

(AP Photo/Corey Sipkin)

Road games on Thursday night are rough, especially since this will be the back of consecutive West Coast road games for the G-men.

Record: 3-0

Week 4 vs. Arizona Cardinals

(Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)

Maybe Colt McCoy rekindles the magic he bottled up to thump the 49ers at Levi’s Stadium in 2021. But probably not.

Record: 4-0

(Editor’s note: the 49ers starting 4-0 would buck a trend in recent years where they start very slow. Don’t be shocked if they drop one or two of these in games we walk away from going, “they should have won that one.”)

Week 5 vs. Dallas Cowboys (SNF)

Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

Okay, the 49ers can’t win them all and Dallas is a good team.

Record: 4-1

Week 6 at Cleveland Browns

Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports

It’s a bounce-back game for the 49ers after a little wakeup call vs. the Cowboys.

Record: 5-1

Week 7 at Minnesota Vikings

Brace Hemmelgarn-USA TODAY Sports

Kirk Cousins beating Kyle Shanahan on Monday Night Football to stoke the “Cousins to the 49ers” flames feels like a thing that is bound to happen.

Record: 5-2

Week 8 vs. Cincinnati Bengals

Kareem Elgazzar/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK

Tough spot for the 49ers. Heading into their bye and coming off a short week where they played on the road Monday night, and they face one of the AFC’s best teams? Yeesh.

Record: 5-3

(Editor’s note: EVERYBODY PANIC!!!)

Week 9 Bye

(Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)

Cue the stories about how badly the 49ers needed the bye week after losing two straight.

Week 10 at Jacksonville Jaguars

(AP Photo/Gary McCullough)

The bye week does the 49ers a lot of good and they show the Jags there are levels to contenderdom.

Record: 6-3

(Editor’s note: Okay, we can stop panicking now.)

Week 11 vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers

(Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)

The Bucs got thumped by the 49ers with Tom Brady at quarterback last year. Every year is different, but that felt like a trend.

Record: 7-3

Week 12 at Seattle Seahawks (TNF)

(Photo by Christopher Mast/Getty Images)

It feels inconceivable that the 49ers would win two games in a row in Seattle.

Record: 7-4

Week 13 at Philadelphia Eagles

(Photo by Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images)

The 49ers over/under is 11.5 and this feels like the swing game. Philly might be the best team in the NFL, but we’ll say complacency sets in combined with a bit of extra motivation for San Francisco and the Niners swing an upset.

Record: 8-4

Week 14 vs. Seattle Seahawks

Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

The win over Philly breathes new life into a 49ers club looking to exact revenge for their Week 12 loss in Seattle and get back to the top of the NFC West.

Record: 9-4

Week 15 at Arizona Cardinals

(Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)

Maybe Kyler Murray is back by now? But probably not. Arizona’s packed it in by this point.

Record: 10-4

Week 16 vs. Baltimore Ravens

Evan Habeeb-USA TODAY Sports

San Francisco sneaks out a close one at home in a game they need to have to stay in front of the hard-charging Seahawks.

Record: 11-4

Week 17 at Washington Commanders

Sergio Estrada-USA TODAY Sports

Washington’s not that guy, pal.

Record: 12-4

Week 18 vs. Los Angeles Rams

(Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)

With the division and seeding wrapped up, the 49ers rest some guys and the Rams get their long-awaited regular-season win over San Francisco.

Record: 12-5

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