The full NFL schedule is set to be released Thursday with a handful of special games to be announced in the days before.
We know the 49ers’ opponents for the 2023 season, but we don’t know exactly when they’ll face each team. One thing we can glean is that San Francisco should be featured prominently in the various primetime slates.
Teams are allowed a maximum of five scheduled primetime games. That number can fluctuate during the year based on games being flexed in or out, but the 49ers should wind up with five on their initial schedule.
Part of that is because they’re one of the favorites to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl. They also have a number of high-profile opponents on their schedule this season.
We took a look through the games and figured out which ones should be on Thursday, Sunday or Monday Night Football:
Seattle Seahawks
This feels like a layup as the two teams rekindle the rivalry that rose to prominence in the early part of the 2010s. San Francisco won all three matchups last year, including a 41-23 win in the wild card game. This could also be one the league schedules late in the year as a non-primetime game with the potential it gets flexed into a primetime slot.
Dallas Cowboys
Speaking of rekindled rivalries, the 49ers have knocked the Cowboys out of the postseason two years in a row. A rematch at Levi’s Stadium feels like an excellent Sunday night game.
Philadelphia Eagles
Why not just complete the 49ers’ playoff rematch motif here? Of all the postseason rematches, the NFC championship game feels like one that’ll hit the Sunday or Monday night slate. San Francisco has done enough in the aftermath about not having a real shot at the Eagles because of Brock Purdy’s injury, it’d behoove the NFL to let them try to back it up on a primetime stage.
Jacksonville Jaguars
This screams Thursday Night Football, and not just because it features the Jaguars – which is the Thursday Night Football of NFL teams. These are two clubs who went to the playoffs last year, and Trevor Lawrence is an ascending superstar at quarterback. Putting him against a very good 49ers defense should make for a fun mid-week game, although cross-country travel for San Francisco could be brutal. Perhaps putting this one on the back end of a two-game East Coast swing would make sense since the 49ers can stay on that coast between games.
Cincinnati Bengals
A possible Super Bowl matchup? Yes please! These two teams have faced off twice in the Super Bowl, and their last meeting in 2021 in Cincinnati was an overtime thriller. Cincinnati and Philadelphia are the two most obvious choices on this list.
Honorable mention: Pittsburgh Steelers
The 49ers and Steelers are two legacy franchises for the NFL and they don’t face each other often. Both teams should be in the playoff race this year and Mike Tomlin vs. Kyle Shanahan is a really fun coaching matchup that should help the storyline going in.
Honorable mention: New York Giants
Giants-49ers is another showdown that could make sense as a primetime game on San Francisco’s schedule. We removed them from the list since the NFC East is going to have a ton of primetime games this year and three of them coming against the 49ers feels like a lot. However, the Giants made the postseason a year ago and pitting Brian Daboll’s offense against Kyle Shanahan’s could make for fun viewing.
