The NFC West is not easy, of course. The Seattle Seahawks were the best team in the NFL last season on their way to winning a Super Bowl, but the second-best team was likely the Los Angeles Rams. The San Francisco 49ers, a shell of themselves due to so many injuries, weren't far behind.
Next season, the trio will once again be a force, which leaves the poor Arizona Cardinals to fend for themselves and likely lose a lot of games. But San Francisco might not have it easy, either, according to NFL analyst Eric Edholm, who listed the 49ers as his No. 1 loser in terms of how the schedule played out.
Edholm writes, "San Francisco rarely gets to take the easy road. While the Niners' schedule might have some advantages over those of the other three NFC West teams, the layout of the slate seems like it will slim those margins."
Seattle Seahawks' NFC West rival San Francisco 49ers pegged as losers
San Francisco starts the season by flying to Australia to play the Los Angeles Rams, a brutal game no matter where it is played. The positive part is that it is the first game of the season and not in Week 10 when the teams are already somewhat tired.
When the 49ers return home, they have arguably their easy stretch of games as they take on the Miami Dolphins and then the Cardinals. At worst, San Francisco should be 2-1 after three games. That's when the fun begins (at least for Seahawks fans watching San Francisco likely going through some strife).
San Fran plays the Denver Broncos at home, and then travels to play the Seahawks. After a few weeks of meh, the second half of the season kicks in, and the competition ticks up quite a bit. Between Weeks 10 and 17, the 49ers will play the Dallas Cowboys, Minnesota Vikings, Seahawks, the New York Giants, the Rams, the Los Angeles Chargers, the Kansas City Chiefs, and the Philadelphia Eagles.
That is quite the rough stretch. Even if the 49ers have better luck with health in 2026 (and being next to the substation, who really knows, right?), the scheduling decision-makers did them no favors. Thank goodness for it.
The truth is that even though the Seattle Seahawks dominated the San Francisco 49ers in their final two meetings last season, if both teams stay healthy, they are close in terms of talent and potential for success. Seattle will take all the breaks it can against its top-end NFC West rivals, the 49ers and Rams.
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