Almost nothing went right for the San Francisco 49ers in 2024.
The 49ers entered last season among the favorites to win the Super Bowl, but instead found themselves at the bottom of the NFC West standings due to a rash of injuries.
Such a disappointing season had many people wondering if the 49ers missed their championship window, but the schedule makers have given San Francisco a new lease on life.
The National Football League released its entire 2025 schedule on Wednesday, and the 49ers got the most favorable draw of them all.
Of all the 32 teams, the 49ers have the easiest strength of schedule at .415, based on their opponents’ combined records from last season.
San Francisco has the luxury of only facing three teams that made the playoffs in 2024. To put it in perspective, the 49ers have more matchups against teams that finished last in their divisions (five) than they do against playoff teams.
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The only setback for the 49ers is that they have nine road games compared to eight home games. But on the bright side, six of the eight teams that are visiting Levi’s Stadium this season had a losing record in 2024.
Having such an advantageous schedule could make the 49ers a candidate to go from worst to first in the division, especially since their roster is still loaded with star players.
With Christian McCaffrey, Brandon Aiyuk and Trent Williams back in the fold, the 49ers have the opportunity to make last season look more like an anomaly than a sign of decline, and a soft schedule only strengthens the chances of a bounce-back season in San Francisco.
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