Niner Noise
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49ers 2020 NFL schedule: Too-soon win/loss predictions

By Robert Morrison

SANTA CLARA, CA - DECEMBER 21: George Kittle #85 of the San Francisco 49ers runs after making a reception during the game against the Los Angeles Rams at Levi's Stadium on December 21, 2019 in Santa Clara, California. The 49ers defeated the Rams 34-31. (Photo by Michael Zagaris/San Francisco 49ers/Getty Images)
SANTA CLARA, CA - DECEMBER 21: George Kittle #85 of the San Francisco 49ers runs after making a reception during the game against the Los Angeles Rams at Levi's Stadium on December 21, 2019 in Santa Clara, California. The 49ers defeated the Rams 34-31. (Photo by Michael Zagaris/San Francisco 49ers/Getty Images) /
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49ers, Raheem Mostert, Packers
Raheem Mostert #31 San Francisco 49ers (Photo by Michael Zagaris/San Francisco 49ers/Getty Images) /

Weeks 9-13

Week 9: Nov. 5 vs. Packers (Thursday Night Football), 8:20/5:20 PM

Last season, the 49ers faced a run of opponents that was commonly referred to as their “gauntlet,” a stretch that included a home game against the Packers on Sunday Night Football, followed by trips to Baltimore and New Orleans.

Jump ahead to the 2020 schedule, and the 49ers find themselves in a similar stretch, although where this season’s “gauntlet” starts is up for debate.

Many have gone back as far as the Week 7 trip to New England, and although the travel won’t make the game an easy one, the Patriots are vulnerable for the first time in a long time.

More likely, then, it starts in Seattle the following week, a game that will feature a second road trip in as many weeks and that may prove difficult for the 49ers to overcome at this point in the season.

That means that the Green Bay Packers are again part of the Niners’ most difficult run of the year, this time in the middle of it and in the form of a Thursday Night Football contest in Santa Clara.

The 49ers handled the Packers pretty easily in their two games last season, outscoring them by a combined 74-28 in both contests. The weirdest part was how the two games mirrored one another, with the 49ers leaping out to a 20-plus point halftime lead the Niners never looked back from.

For the Packers, the troubling part of the offseason is how little attention they paid to improving their weaknesses. In one of the deepest wide receiver drafts in years, Green Bay took Utah State quarterback Jordan Love in the first round and no receivers.

And after getting gashed by the 49ers for 285 yards on the ground in the NFC Championship Game, the Packers did little to make that part of their defense better either.

All this to say, that while the schedule doesn’t stack up well for the 49ers (this TNF game coming after two straight road games, one of which being a cross-country flight), it still feels like the 49ers are going to be the better team in 2020.

Record: W, 8-1

Week 10: Nov. 15 at Saints, 4:25/1:25 PM

Ah, another year, another trip to New Orleans to play the Saints in their dome.

Since the Saints left the NFC West for the 2002 season, the 49ers and Saints have played each other 11 times in the regular season (and once in the playoffs). Eight of them have been in the Big Easy and 2020 will make nine out of 12.

Granted, last season’s trip to the Mercedes Benz Superdome was both an insanely good game and a sign the 49ers were a major threat in the NFC. The Niners won the thriller 48-46 on a last-second Robbie Gould field goal and after tight end George Kittle did this:

https://twitter.com/49ers/status/1203807545602633729

That win was instrumental in helping the 49ers earn the No. 1 seed last year, but the Saints are now even stronger on offense, having added former Niner wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders in free agency over the offseason.

This is a grueling stretch for the Niners, and while I think this is a massively important game, they might be limping into their bye week at this point.

Hopefully, it’ll mean another thriller that the Niners win. But at this point, I’m calling a loss.

Record: L, 8-2

Week 11: BYE

Last year the bye came too early; this year, it’s a little later than you might like. But after the run of games, the 49ers will only have six contests remaining and this could be a key time to rest up and get rolling for the stretch run and the playoffs.

Week 12: Nov. 29 at Rams, 4:05/1:05 PM

The Rams are going to be the NFC West’s cellar dwellers this year. I expect it’ll be a competitive last-place finish, as this might be the best division in football now, but last place nonetheless.

That said, I expect the 49ers to christen their first trip to Los Angeles’ new SoFi Stadium with a victory, running their division to record to 3-1, with a trip to the desert and the Seahawks at home yet to come.

Record: W, 9-2

Week 13: Dec. 7 vs. Bills (Monday Night Football), 8:15/5:15 PM

For their only Monday Night Football matchup of 2020, the 49ers drew a team that will be looking to prove that their 2019 playoff berth and 10-6 record was not a fluke.

The Buffalo Bills are a lot like the New England Patriots in many ways. They have a strong defense that finished sixth in defensive DVOA in 2019 (minus-11.5 percent). And they also have a quarterback with some questions.

Josh Allen will head into his third season as the starter in Buffalo, and while he is often spectacular, he also has shown he has some maturation left to do as a NFL starter.

The defense was a major reason why the Bills had so much success in 2019, and they will look to build on that heading into 2020. But a lot of how good this team will be this year will depend on Allen’s ability to get better this year as he did between his rookie season and last season.

This MNF contest should be a good one, with two of the NFL’s top defenses facing off in prime time.

It’ll come down to which offense can overcome the opposing defense, and in that regard, my money would be on the Niners head coach, Kyle Shanahan.

The 49ers will complete the sweep of the AFC East by sending the Bills back to Buffalo with a loss.

Record: W, 10-2