SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- The San Francisco 49ers' 2025 schedule was released along with the rest of the NFL slate Wednesday.
The 49ers will open the campaign against the NFC West rival Seattle Seahawks. Based on last season's results, the Niners are projected to have the easiest schedule in the league, according to ESPN Research. And despite a 6-11 finish last season and a schedule with few big-time out-of-division matchups, the 49ers have five prime-time games in 2025. That includes two Monday night games, two Sunday night contests and one Thursday night tilt. San Francisco also has the latest bye possible, not getting a week off until Week 14.
Here's what's in store for the 49ers:
49ers 2025 regular-season schedule
Week 1: Sept. 7 at Seattle Seahawks
Week 2: Sept. 14 at New Orleans Saints
Week 3: Sept. 21 vs. Arizona Cardinals
Week 4: Sept. 28 vs. Jacksonville Jaguars
Week 5: Oct. 2 at Los Angeles Rams (TNF)
Week 6: Oct. 12 at Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Week 7: Oct. 19 vs. Atlanta Falcons (SNF)
Week 8: Oct. 26 at Houston Texans
Week 9: Nov. 2 at New York Giants
Week 10: Nov. 9 vs. Los Angeles Rams
Week 11: Nov. 16 at Arizona Cardinals
Week 12: Nov. 24 vs. Carolina Panthers (MNF)
Week 13: Nov. 30 at Cleveland Browns
Week 14: BYE
Week 15: Dec. 14 vs. Tennessee Titans
Week 16: Dec. 22 at Indianapolis Colts (MNF)
Week 17: Dec. 28 vs. Chicago Bears (SNF)
Week 18: Jan. 3 or 4 vs. Seattle Seahawks*
*Date for Weeks 18 is to be determined
Strength of schedule: The 49ers have the easiest schedule in the league (opponents had a .415 winning percentage in 2024).
Over/Under: 10.5 wins
Biggest takeaway
Despite the 49ers' fall from Super Bowl runner-up following the 2023 season to out of the playoffs for the 2024 campaign, the schedule makers clearly think that was more of an aberration than the new normal. San Francisco doesn't have many enticing matchups outside of their division but still managed to get five prime-time games. What's more, three of those will come in the Niners' final six games. That leaves some room to be flexed out if they aren't in contention but also suggests a belief that those contests will carry postseason weight.
Circle this date: Oct. 2 vs. Rams
The 49ers will head to Los Angeles for their first prime-time game, on a Thursday night. A matchup with the reigning NFC West-champion Rams should offer early evidence of whether the Niners can contend for the divisional crown and also should reveal who the 2025 49ers are going to be.
Key stretch
While a strong start is necessary, San Francisco has a daunting six-game stretch in the middle of the season. Beginning with that Week 5 Rams game, the Niners will go on the road four of five weeks, with trips to Tampa, Houston and the Giants sandwiched between their two games against the Rams. The 49ers have avoided weeklong stays away from home the past couple of campaigns, but it's possible they could stay somewhere out East between the Texans and Giants games.
Bold prediction
The 49ers open the season 4-0. There has been a lot of change in San Francisco over the offseason, but if the Niners can win at Seattle in Week 1, they could jump into early playoff conversations. Having a full offseason of rest seems to have reenergized some of the team's older stars, and many of them have been around for the offseason program. The 49ers also more likely to be healthy early in the season, which should lend itself to a hot start even as some of their younger players are getting their feet wet.
Will the 49ers rebound with the "easiest" NFL schedule?
The Niners' 2025 schedule will be the easiest in NFL since the Falcons' 2015 sked. The 49ers' opponents had a .415 winning percentage in 2024, the lowest since the Falcons faced a slate coming off a .410 winning percentage.
The reality, however, is that some teams improve over the course of an offseason, outplay their previous season's record and are a better team than the projection gives them credit for.
Over the past 10 seasons, there have been 11 teams that have had the projected easiest schedule in the preseason based on the prior season's strength of schedule (including ties). Of those teams, five made the playoffs and six did not, while the combined records of the team with the "easiest" schedule came in at 88-93.
From those 10 seasons, only the 2023 Falcons entered the season with the easiest schedule (.417) then actually had it based on results (tied with the Saints at .453). Those Falcons went 7-10.
On the other end of the spectrum, the 2020 Baltimore Ravens projected to have the easiest schedule in the league (.438 entering the season) and ended with the second-toughest slate (.563). Those Ravens went 11-5 and made the postseason.
The lesson, as always, is that projecting the future based on past results is tricky, and the 49ers' ability to bounce back will be based on whether they can stay healthy and how the new players come together rather than who is lining up opposite them.