The San Francisco 49ers’ road to redemption will begin in Seattle. They hope it ends in their own backyard in February, at Super Bowl LX in Levi’s Stadium.
After an ugly season, the Niners were bypassed for international games or marquee matchups on Thanksgiving or Christmas. They are, however, scheduled for five marquee matchups: two appearances on Monday Night Football, two more on Sunday Night Football and one on Thursday Night Football.
Their season opener will be Sunday, Sept. 7 against the NFC West Seahawks at Lumen Field.
According to one analyst, the Niners have the easiest schedule this season. And they’ll need it as they hope for a big rebound after nosediving in 2024.
After making the playoffs for three consecutive seasons and coming as close to winning a Super Bowl as any team to lose a Super Bowl in 2023, they lost seven of their last eight to finish a disappointing 6-11. Injuries were the main culprit, as running back Christian McCaffrey, receiver Brandon Aiyuk, running back Jordan Mason, left tackle Trent Williams and punter Mitch Wishnowsky all finished the season on injured reserve.
The Niners were also atrocious on defense, finishing 29th in the league and allowing 25.6 points per game. Because of that performance defensive coordinator Nick Sorensen lost his job, and has been replaced by former New York Jets’ head coach Robert Saleh.
As head coach Kyle Shanahan enters his ninth season, most of the offseason was spent trying to bolster that unit. The Niners signed starting cornerback Tre Brown in free agency from the Seattle Seahawks and selected defensive players with their five draft picks. Their first-round pick (11th overall) is defensive tackle Mykel Williams from Georgia.
On the offensive side of the ball, San Francisco traded No. 1 receiver Deebo Samuel and Mason. They’ll count on Aiyuk to step into the lead role, and hope that Ricky Pearsall improves on his impressive rookie season. Quarterback Brock Purdy is back (though without a contract extension), now backed up by Mac Jones. Williams, 36, put off retirement another year and George Kittle got a new contract making him the NFL’s highest-paid tight end.
In free agency the Niners also added backup tight end Luke Farrell and receiver Demarcus Robinson.
Niners 2025 Schedule
WEEK 1 – at Seattle Seahawks, 1:25 p.m.
WEEK 2 – at New Orleans Saints, 10 a.m. p.m.
WEEK 3 – vs. Arizona Cardinals, 1:25 p.m.
WEEK 4 – vs. Jacksonville Jaguars, <> p.m.
WEEK 5 – at Los Angeles Rams (Thursday Night Football) 5:20 p.m.
WEEK 6 – at Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 10 a.m.
WEEK 7 – vs. Atlanta Falcons, 5:20 p.m. (Sunday Night Football)
WEEK 8 – at Houston Texans, 10 a.m.
WEEK 9 – at New York Giants, 10 a.m.
WEEK 10 – vs. Los Angeles Rams, 1:25 p.m.
WEEK 11 – at Arizona Cardinals, 1:25 p.m.
WEEK 12 – vs. Carolina Panthers 5:15 p.m. (Monday Night Football)
WEEK 13 – at Cleveland Browns, 10 a.m.
WEEK 14 – BYE
WEEK 15 – vs. Tennessee Titans, 1:25 p.m.
WEEK 16 – at Indianapolis Colts, 5:15 p.m. (Monday Night Football)
WEEK 17 – vs. Chicago Bears, 5:20 p.m. (Sunday Night Football)
WEEK 18 – vs. Seattle Seahawks, TBD
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