When will the 49ers win their first game of 2017?
By Peter Panacy
The San Francisco 49ers are winless over the first three games of the 2017 NFL season, and they now head on a three-game road trip. So when do the Niners pull off their first victory?
While nowhere near as tough as last year, the 2017 San Francisco 49ers schedule is proving to be a pretty significant obstacle in head coach Kyle Shanahan’s first year at the helm.
Earlier this offseason, Niner Noise took a stab at predicting the wins and losses for San Francisco this year.
Well, we were only off by one game — Week 3 at home versus the Los Angeles Rams.
Related Story: 49ers' 2017 win and loss predictions
Few probably would have predicted the Rams, at 2-1, would be sitting atop the NFC West by this point. But that’s the nature of the NFL. And with a three-game road trip ahead for San Francisco, one has to wonder just when the Niners pick up their first victory of 2017.
The 49ers are entering a stretch where four of the next five games are on the road, including this three-game road trip.
Here’s the upcoming schedule breakdown itself:
| Week | Day | Date | Opp | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | Sun | October 1 | 4:05PM ET | preview | @ | Arizona Cardinals |
| 5 | Sun | October 8 | 1:00PM ET | preview | @ | Indianapolis Colts |
| 6 | Sun | October 15 | 1:00PM ET | preview | @ | Washington Redskins |
| 7 | Sun | October 22 | 4:05PM ET | preview | Dallas Cowboys | |
| 8 | Sun | October 29 | 1:00PM ET | preview | @ | Philadelphia Eagles |
Provided by Pro-Football-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 9/27/2017.
So can we expect the Niners to go 1-and-something anytime soon?
Week 4 at Arizona Cardinals
The Arizona Cardinals are coming off a 28-17 loss to the Dallas Cowboys on Monday Night Football.
Arizona’s short week plays into the Niners’ hands, especially considering San Francisco has a few extra days’ rest from playing last Thursday.
And if there’s a weakness to exploit, the Cardinals offensive line allowed quarterback Carson Palmer to be sacked six times and hit 11. Additionally, the Cardinals have been forced to rely heavily on the passing game after losing running back David Johnson for the season.
The Cardinals defense is vastly superior to that of San Francisco. So, unless things go terribly wrong for Arizona, it’s likely the 49ers don’t pull off the victory here.
San Francisco 49ers
Week 5 at Indianapolis Colts
The 1-2 Indianapolis Colts surely can’t expect fill-in quarterback Jacoby Brissett to carry the team like he did against the Cleveland Browns in Week 3.
Brissett, of course, is filling in for the injured Andrew Luck (shoulder), who has yet to take the field this season.
According to various reports, Luck isn’t likely to face San Francisco in Week 5. And with all the other issues plaguing Indianapolis right now, this contest might be the best for the Niners to pull off a victory.
Week 6 at Washington Redskins
If, for some reason, the Niners aren’t able to win at Indianapolis, the next challenge would be to face off against quarterback Kirk Cousins and the Washington Redskins.
The Redskins were one of a few teams predicted to have some issues this season. They lost their offensive coordinator, Sean McVay, to the Rams’ head-coaching job, as well as their top-two wide receivers, DeSean Jackson and Pierre Garçon, to free agency.
But this is a Redskins team that knocked off the now-impressive Rams and also soundly beat the Super Bowl-hopeful Oakland Raiders on a prime-time Sunday Night Football matchup.
A tailor-made 49ers victory? No.
Weeks 7 and 8
San Francisco comes home to face the Dallas Cowboys in Week 7. And if Dallas’ Week 3 victory over Arizona is any indication, the Cowboys should be getting things back on track after a sluggish start to 2017.
In all reality, the Niners still have no business winning this game.
And they probably don’t have any business going into Philadelphia and beating the 2-1 Eagles either, whose only loss this season came from a hard-fought road bout with the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 2.
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So what’s the conclusion?
After eight weeks of action, it’s very likely the Niners wind up 1-7. And the best shot for a win comes in Week 5 against the Colts.
The NFL is strange, though, and there could be a game or two where Shanahan and Co. pull off a serious upset.
Next: 49ers vs. Cardinals: 5 key matchups for San Francisco
But who would predict that?