The 2017 NFL schedule for the San Francisco 49ers is now out, and fans know when and where each contest this season will be played. Even though it’s way to early, Niner Noise tries anyway to predict wins and losses for each bout the Niners have this year.
San Francisco 49ers fans can now start planning their fall calendars, since the NFL has now released its 2017 schedule for the upcoming season.
The Niners get only one prime-time game — a Thursday Night Football contest against the Los Angeles Rams in Week 3.
But that’s what happens when you’re coming off a 2-14 season.
San Francisco 49ers
For reference, here’s the list of 49ers games in 2017:
- Week 1 — Sunday, September 10 vs. Carolina Panthers at 4:25 p.m.
- Week 2 — Sunday, September 17 @ Seattle Seahawks at 4:25 p.m.
- Week 3 — Thursday, September 21 vs. Los Angeles Rams at 8:25 p.m.*
- Week 4 — Sunday, October 1 @ Arizona Cardinals at 4:05 p.m.
- Week 5 — Sunday, October 8 @ Indianapolis Colts at 1 p.m.
- Week 6 — Sunday, October 15 @ Washington Redskins at 1 p.m.
- Week 7 — Sunday, October 22 vs. Dallas Cowboys at 1:05 p.m.
- Week 8 — Sunday, October 29 @ Philadelphia Eagles at 1:00 p.m.
- Week 9 — Sunday, November 5 vs. Arizona Cardinals at 4:05 p.m.
- Week 10 — Sunday, November 12 vs. New York Giants at 4:25 p.m.
- Week 11 — BYE
- Week 12 — Sunday, November 26 vs. Seattle Seahawks at 4:05 p.m.
- Week 13 — Sunday, December 3 @ Chicago Bears at 1:00 p.m.
- Week 14 — Sunday, December 10 @ Houston Texans at 1:00 p.m.
- Week 15 — Sunday, December 17 vs. Tennessee Titans at 4:25 p.m.
- Week 16 — Sunday, December 24 vs. Jacksonville Jaguars at 4:05 p.m.
- Week 17 — Sunday, December 31 @ Los Angeles Rams at 4:25 p.m.
A year ago, the Niners were tied with the Atlanta Falcons for the league’s toughest strength of schedule. This year, San Francisco’s opponents combine for a 2016 winning percentage of .475, according to CBS Sports’ John Breech, which is down from the .555 mark a year ago at this time.
This could bode well for the 49ers, as they try to right the ship after what has otherwise been a forgettable two years.
It’s still early, but let’s try to make predictions for each regular-season game on the upcoming schedule.
And yes, we know factors like the NFL Draft and injuries can play a major role between now and Week 1.
Whatever. Predictions are fun. Let’s start off with the first week.
Week 1 versus Carolina Panthers
The Carolina Panthers surely underwent a post-Super Bowl hangover in 2017.
Finishing with a 6-10 record, the Panthers couldn’t find any headway in a weak NFC South, which led to the NFC Champion Atlanta Falcons running away with the division.
Quarterback Cam Newton was under constant fire, and injuries to key players like linebacker Luke Kuechly didn’t help matters at all.
The once-mighty Panthers defense allowed 402 points last year, which ranked 26th most in the NFL. And even Newton had a down year, finishing the season with a below-average 75.8 passer rating.
Carolina needs a running back, help within the secondary and some protection up front. Doing this via the NFL Draft will help, but there’s a solid possibility the Panthers aren’t vastly improved from a year ago.
Still, Carolina has exceedingly more talent than anything the 49ers will be able to offer. Even after the draft.
While the Niners have a nice home-opener winning streak going, it’s not likely Week 1 kicks off with a victory over head coach Ron Rivera’s squad.
Prediction: Loss
Week 2 at Seattle Seahawks
The 49ers haven’t won at CenturyLink Field in Seattle since the year was 2011 and Alex Smith was quarterback.
That’s a long time, especially when the Niners are up north once a year.
The Seahawks might not be quite the intimidating team they were back in 2012, 2013 and 2014. But that doesn’t mean San Francisco has the firepower to overcome them on the road.
Seattle’s defense is still dominant. And while the Seahawks offensive line makes the Niners’ same unit look like that of the Dallas Cowboys, quarterback Russell Wilson and Co. still managed to finish in the middle of the pack on offense.
If there’s any consolation, Seattle has lost each of its first NFC West division contests over the last three years.
The bad news is all three of those games were against the Los Angeles Rams.
It means nothing in 2017. There’s no way the 49ers pull off what would be a major upset against the Seahawks.
Prediction: Loss
Week 3 versus Los Angeles Rams
Ah, yes. The lone team the Niners of 2016 could beat — the Los Angeles Rams.
These two underachievers in the NFC West won’t square off on Monday Night Football in Week 1 this year. No, instead they’ll get another prime-time game in Week 3 on Thursday Night Football.
This bodes poorly for both sides. Sure, the 49ers have home-field advantage — a critical element on any short week. And, defense aside, almost everything Los Angeles has going for it right now is a mess. Simply put, the Rams aren’t a good team.
Yet San Francisco is coming home after a tough road bout against Seattle — a team known for playing opponents hard and physical on its own turf.
The 49ers could easily be banged up, while the Rams get to host the likely declining Washington Redskins in Southern California.
If this was a regular week’s worth of rest, an edge could go to L.A. But let’s give this one to San Francisco, considering the short week and being at home.
Prediction: Win
Week 4 at Arizona Cardinals
The Arizona Cardinals are a team in flux right now.
Quarterback Carson Palmer is aging and one injury away from being forced to call it a career. And the defense, once viewed as one of the better ones in the league, wasn’t nearly as effective last season.
A hunch has Arizona taking a quarterback early — perhaps Texas Tech’s Patrick Mahomes — in the NFL Draft. He won’t be ready by Week 3 though, which means Palmer will be under center.
San Francisco hasn’t had much luck in Glendale as of late, although 49ers games here have been slightly more competitive when compared to those in Seattle.
In all likelihood though, the Niners still won’t be able to match up well enough to ensure a victory in the desert.
The 49ers start off the first quarter of the season 1-3.
Prediction: Loss
Week 5 at Indianapolis Colts
For the first time on the season, the 49ers will enjoy going up against a defense that isn’t very good.
A year ago, the Indianapolis Colts defense ranked 22nd in points allowed (392) and 30th in yards given up (6,126). Their pass rush was almost nonexistent, outside of linebacker Erik Walden, and he’s not even with the team anymore.
But the other side of the coin is much different.
Everyone remembers how bad and porous San Francisco’s defense was a year ago. And Colts quarterback Andrew Luck should have little trouble carving up a secondary lacking playmaking weapons.
If his offensive line can protect him. Indy’s O-line gave up a total of 44 sacks last year. Football Outsiders ranked this unit 28th in pass protection — just two spots ahead of the Niners.
Of course the real story will be former San Francisco great, running back Frank Gore, squaring off against his old squad.
But if the 49ers’ run-stopping woes from 2016 carry over into this year, Gore could wind up having a big day.
Prediction: Loss
Week 6 at Washington Redskins
Two years ago — heck, even last year — the 49ers wouldn’t have stood a chance taking on quarterback Kirk Cousins and his standout wide receiver corps.
This year, things are vastly different.
Washington is on the verge of an internal collapse, and this offseason’s dysfunction speaks to the direction the Redskins are going. Cousins is staying put on the franchise tag. But some of his best receiving weapons, wideouts DeSean Jackson and Pierre Garcon, are no longer at his disposal.
Garcon is now with San Francisco, and perhaps he provides some insight on how to beat the Redskins secondary. Both he and head coach Kyle Shanahan know Cousins’ tendencies too, so that should factor into play.
If Washington had a defense, this game would be a lock in the Redskins’ favor. But the 6,046 yards allowed last season ranked 28th in the NFL, and Washington won’t have the offense to bail it out.
Especially with former offensive coordinator Sean McVay skipping town for the Rams.
The 49ers pull off what seems to be an easy victory here.
Prediction: Win
Week 7 versus Dallas Cowboys
The Dallas Cowboys were one of the better surprises last season, and second-year pros Dak Prescott and Ezekiel Elliott will look to pick up right where they left off a year ago.
Dallas’ offense is electric. Its offensive line remains one of the best, if not tops overall, in the NFL heading into 2017. There should be no reason the Cowboys can’t put up a great deal of yards and points against a 49ers defense in total rebuild mode.
Yet questions remain within the Cowboys defense. They never got the production desired from defensive end Randy Gregory. And the secondary could be under pressure following the free-agent departures of defensive backs Brandon Carr, Barry Church and Morris Claiborne.
If San Francisco expects to win this game, it will have to either be in a shootout or by establishing the running game early and often.
Keeping a quarterback like Prescott off the field is necessary for any prospects of victory. Oh, and that Elliott guy is pretty good too. The 49ers run defense isn’t.
Barring a miracle, or complete Dallas meltdown, this one goes the Cowboys’ way.
Prediction: Loss
Week 8 at Philadelphia Eagles
The Philadelphia Eagles added some wide receivers this offseason, including 49ers castoff Torrey Smith.
Smith might be a better fit in Philly’s offense. But quarterback Carson Wentz could easily undergo the “second-year blues” as the league starts to make its adjustments to his abilities under center.
Wentz’s passing numbers weren’t particularly great last year anyway. He did manage to complete 62.4 percent of his passes but tossed just 16 touchdowns against 14 interceptions — good for a 79.3 passer rating.
New receivers may help. But it’s going to take a bit more.
What should scare the 49ers is the Eagles ground attack, notably a dual-purpose weapon like running back Darren Sproles.
Sproles could wind up running wild over a permeable Niners defense in this contest, and they’d have almost no answer to stop him.
Expect that to be the difference here.
Prediction: Loss
Week 9 versus Arizona Cardinals
The 49ers cross over into the second half of the season with another NFC West bout — this time at home versus the Cardinals.
San Francisco has generally played Arizona better at Levi’s Stadium, so this is a matchup that could go in the Niners’ favor.
Plus, the Cardinals may wind up being a bit banged up by this point in the season. Not wishing injuries on anyone here — it’s just the reality of football — but Arizona’s chances for a playoff berth hinge almost entirely on key playmakers like Carson Palmer and Larry Fitzgerald staying healthy.
There’s another X-factor in the mix for the Cardinals though — running back David Johnson.
San Francisco couldn’t stop him at all when these two teams met in Santa Clara a year ago. Johnson racked up 157 yards on the ground and two touchdowns.
Perhaps this year’s 49ers defense will be much better. We can hope so. Still, stopping Johnson will be a tall order.
However, let’s predict Arizona will be dealing with some major injuries by this point in the season. Those give the edge to the Niners for their second divisional win on the year.
Prediction: Win
Week 10 versus New York Giants
The New York Giants stole the hearts out of 49ers fans everywhere the last time these two teams met back in 2015.
New York has continued trending up, while the Niners… well, we know.
The Giants finished last year with an 11-5 record, and they’re not going anywhere. Not anytime soon. Quarterback Eli Manning is playing at a high enough level. And San Francisco has nothing to contain wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. either.
One can only hope Beckham disappears, like he did at various points a season ago.
But the major problem, despite all of New York’s offensive firepower, will be the Giants defense.
General manager Jerry Reese’s lucrative free-agent spending prior to 2016 paid huge dividends, as New York finished the year with the league’s second-best scoring defense.
Simply put, this will be too much for San Francisco to overcome. Any hopes of a winning streak will be put to rest quickly in Week 10.
Prediction: Loss
Week 11: BYE
San Francisco gets its bye week in Week 11.
At least the team won’t have to travel and can stay home for another NFC West showdown at Levi’s Stadium.
Week 12 versus Seattle Seahawks
What the 49ers should hope for is a spirited competition with an NFC West rival — much like last year’s 25-23 loss in Week 17 at home to the Seahawks.
It’s still highly unlikely San Francisco has enough clout to knock off Seattle. Even at home. But one could argue last year’s Niners squad was much, much worse. And even that group managed to keep things close.
Remember, the Seahawks don’t have a running game — not yet, at least — and their offensive line is going to need a major overhaul before its effective again.
With 11 weeks under the team’s belt, perhaps the 49ers’ crop of pass-rushers has been groomed well enough to put quarterback Russell Wilson on the spot.
Wilson is good enough to do damage despite pressure though, so the onus will also be on San Francisco’s secondary.
Perhaps this group has learned a thing, or two, about Seattle’s Cover 3-like defense.
Still, don’t expect the Niners to pull off an upset. The Seahawks still own this now-quiet rivalry.
Prediction: Loss
Week 13 at Chicago Bears
Vic Fangio may still be the defensive coordinator for the Chicago Bears, and that might have given some insight into what the 49ers can do on offense.
But San Francisco is almost an entirely different group under head coach Kyle Shanahan, compared to the days when Fangio was running Niners practices underneath then-head coach Jim Harbaugh.
Chicago finally let go of embattled quarterback Jay Cutler but replaced him with Mike Glennon, who hasn’t even started a game since 2014.
He’s not good. Neither is the Bears receiving corps, especially with wide receiver Alshon Jeffery departing via free agency.
And while San Francisco’s ground defense was putrid a year ago, Chicago’s wasn’t much better. With 1,950 yards allowed to runners last season, this unit ranked 28th in the league.
This is a very winnable game for the red and gold, and let’s expect the Niners to pull one off here.
Prediction: Win
Week 14 at Houston Texans
The Houston Texans are just one player shy of having a legitimate playoff team (yes, I know they were in the playoffs last year… with a 9-7 record).
Their defense is superb. Houston has a great crop of young wide receivers too. All the Texans need is a quarterback.
San Francisco will still have a major hurdle to overcome if the Niners want to somehow pull off a victory here. Houston’s defense is good enough to force the 49ers into making one too many mistakes.
Those mistakes turn into points, which gives the Texans a notable edge.
Yet Houston’s quarterbacking dilemma — one not likely solved by Week 14 — could wind up haunting this team all season long.
If the 49ers win, expect it to be a low-scoring game where the Niners manage to pull off an upset on something like a game-winning, last-second field goal.
But that’s not likely.
Prediction: Loss
Week 15 versus Tennessee Titans
Tennessee Titans quarterback Marcus Mariota would be one of the more talked-about stars in the NFL if he played in a bigger market.
That said, the Titans could wind up being very good in 2017. They own two first-round picks in the NFL Draft this year — Nos. 5 and 18 — and could make some substantial upgrades by grabbing both an elite wide receiver prospect and someone to help out within the secondary.
Running back DeMarco Murray presents another major problem for San Francisco’s defense.
Mariota might not have to worry about delivering the ball to a rookie receiver. Based off last year’s results, all he has to do is hand the ball off to Murray to ensure the 49ers lose here.
Yet the Titans will be on the second week of a two-game road trip — Week 14 is at Arizona.
One can hope the Cardinals’ imposing front seven does enough to tire out this up-and-coming Titans team out on the road for far-away stretch.
This task might be doable for the 49ers if Murray wasn’t a factor. Since he is, this goes down as another Niners loss.
Prediction: Loss
Week 16 versus Jacksonville Jaguars
Like the 49ers, the Jacksonville Jaguars are a terrible team. And all that free-agent spending prior to 2016 hasn’t done nearly the amount of good one would have thought.
And as long as quarterback Blake Bortles is under center, this team is likely going to continue to struggle.
Sorry, Blake. You’re not that good.
Jacksonville can’t move the ball through the air. The Jaguars running game isn’t very good. And that “reinforced” defense? It allowed 400 points a season ago — 25th in the NFL.
Maybe the Jaguars make some strides this NFL Draft and add some talent. But until the numbers start to show, Jacksonville is going to perennially remain a terrible team.
San Francisco can beat the Jags without much issue. Especially at home.
Prediction: Win
Week 17 at Los Angeles Rams
The 49ers close out their regular season with a New Year’s Eve contest against the Rams in Southern California.
Last year, former Niners quarterback Colin Kaepernick had to put the offense on his back to ensure San Francisco’s second win of 2016.
This year, one should expect a slightly more well-rounded offense under head coach Kyle Shanahan. And while the Rams defense remains a notable force, nothing on offense suggests Los Angeles will start turning things around this season.
That makes for a very winnable matchup.
Even though the Rams defense makes some plays, the Niners hold second-year quarterback Jared Goff in check and prevent running back Todd Gurley from doing damage. Much like last season.
Prediction: Win
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Unless my advanced math is wrong, San Francisco pulls off six wins this season and even finishes the year on a two-game winning streak.
That’s a pretty good feeling for a team going through a complete rebuild and overhauling almost the entire roster.
Plus, these kinds of results will indicate both Shanahan and general manager John Lynch are steering the Niners in the right direction. By the end of 2017, hopefully enough identifiable cornerstones are in place to start molding a solid group around.
We can hope so. We should.
Next: 10 Current 49ers Who Won't Be on the 2018 Roster
And after 2017 is over, 49ers fans may actually feel pretty good about what’s on the table for the following year.