49ers schedule: Quick-take win/loss predictions for 2019
Week 9, Thursday, October 31: at Arizona
The team’s second of three primetime games doesn’t exactly scream high-profile match up. Sure, it’s a divisional opponent, and the two squads always fight to beat each other up as much as possible, but given the state of the franchises, it is no guarantee that a good game will break out.
The Cardinals finished with the worst record in football last year, but it should be noted that two of their three wins came against a Jimmy Garoppolo-less 49ers squad in two of the ugliest games of football I’ve ever seen. The Cardinals, however, were well deserving of that top overall pick, finishing dead last in offensive ranking according to Pro Football Reference and featuring a defense that, in spite of its defensive-minded head coach, didn’t fare much better, ranking in the bottom half of the league in points and yards allowed.
Steve Wilks was shipped out after one year in favor of Kliff Kingsbury, who may have his eyes on Oklahoma QB Kyler Murray. But no matter what, it feels like a major rebuild is coming in the desert. The Niners should win this one handily, even on a short week.
Record: 6-2
Week 10, Monday, November 11: vs. Seattle
The Seattle-San Francisco rivalry as flamed out over the last few years, but the 49ers did get their first victory over the Seahawks after 10 consecutive losses last year, as Nick Mullens lead the team to an overtime victory in Week 15 of last year. This season, the team will be focused on not only beating their rivals, but doing so in Seattle, something they haven’t done since Christmas Eve 2011 (that season was also the last time the Niners won the season series against the Seahawks).
That doesn’t apply here, necessarily, other than I don’t believe the 49ers will beat Seattle twice this year. So while I do expect a win against the Seahawks, I think it will be this Monday night showdown at home, extending the losing streak at CenturyLink Field to nine games (including playoffs); but more on that later.
As for this game, while Russell Wilson is solidified as the starting QB in Seattle for the foreseeable future, much of the rest of the team that was so integral to the team’s success during that mid-decade run is gone. The defense, once one of the most dominant in league history, is now serviceable, but likely not dominant. The offense has decent players, but no spectacular skill guys to help Wilson out. The season for the Seahawks, then, will rest square on their quarterback’s struggles, which will lead to many moments of greatness, but also lots of opportunities for the team to struggle. This visit to Levi’s Stadium should end badly for them.
Record: 7-2
More from Niner Noise
- 49ers 2023 NFL Draft tracker: Pick-by-pick news and analysis
- Predicting 49ers NFL Draft picks by looking at final mocks
- DraftKings NFL Draft Promo – Win $150 Guaranteed on Any $5 Bet
- 2023 NFL Draft: EDGE Byron Young could be impact player for 49ers
- 5 low-key NFL Draft options for 49ers who are flying under the radar
Week 11, Sunday, November 17: vs. Arizona
For the second straight year, the 49ers and Cardinals will match up twice in a relatively short time span (last year they played in Week 5 and then again in Week 8). As mentioned previously, I fully expect the Cardinals to be among the league’s worst again, and fully believe the 49ers will sweep the season series for the first time since 2013.
Record: 8-2
Week 12, Sunday, November 24: vs. Green Bay
Man, it feels like we’ve played the Packers every year for the past decade (note: it’s actually been six times since 2009, seven if you include the 2012 season where they played in both the season opener and the divisional playoff game).
Last year’s game was one of the surprises of the Monday Night Football calendar, with quarterback C.J. Beathard leading the Niners to a 24-20 halftime lead, only to give up 13 second-half points, including a final drive by Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers to set up the game-winning Mason Crosby field goal as time expired.
The game is set up perfectly to be Fox’s Game of the Week, and I expect a good game from both sides. The problem is that the Packers still have Rodgers and they actually might have an above-average defense for the first time in a long time. It might be another close one, but the Niners suffer their first defeat since back-to-back losses earlier in the season.
Record: 8-3
Week 13, Sunday, December 1: at Baltimore
One of the stranger quirks of the 49ers schedule is the way the road games are bunched into pairs almost exclusively (two to start the year, Weeks 6 and 7, and now Weeks 13 and 14). While this means that home games often end up the same, it does make for an interesting bunch of games.
The start of this couplet of road games starts with the ultimate “zig while everyone else is zagging” team, the Baltimore Ravens, or as I like to call them, the 2012 49ers rebuilt in 2019, but on the East Coast (I’ll work on that name). The similarities are eerie, though. A ballhawking, relentless defense with talent on all three levels. A strong armed but wildly athletic quarterback, who will just as soon tuck and run as chuck the ball deep downfield. Greg Roman. A Harbaugh brother.
It’s just weird.
That said, I think another off season getting quarterback Lamar Jackson acclimated to the pro game and figuring out how to make Roman’s system best suit his skill set will only make the offense coalesce more, even if the pieces around Jackson at the current moment leave a lot to be desired. This feels like a low-scoring affair, where the Niners struggle to deal with the cross-country trip and end up disappointed.
Record: 8-4