The 49ers will face a laundry list of great quarterbacks on their 2022 NFL schedule, and here are the top five quarterbacks whom they will face.
The San Francisco 49ers have one of the toughest schedules in the 2022 NFL season based on their opponents’ 2021 finishes.
In addition to their own division, the NFC West, they play the NFC South and AFC West divisions. Their own division is stacked with talent, as three of the four teams made the playoffs last season.
The NFC South in past seasons has been a tough division as a whole, especially with quarterback talent. But with quarterback Drew Brees recently retiring, Matt Ryan having a statistically down year in 2021, and the Carolina Panthers on the QB market, there may actually be more questions at the quarterback position than answers in 2022.
The AFC West, on the other hand, just became even more of a powerhouse division of quarterback talent in the last week. This was, of course, due to Russell Wilson being traded to the Denver Broncos.
The Broncos were the weak link in the division in 2021, but the addition of Wilson gives them a shot at playoff contention.
The AFC West sent both the Kansas City Chiefs and Las Vegas Raiders to the playoffs last season, and the Los Angeles Chargers were a missed field goal away from also going to the playoffs.
2022 might prove another tight race to the finish.
That being said, the 49ers will be facing off against likely the two best divisions in pro football once again, their own and the AFC West (sorry, NFC South). With that, they will be battling some of the top quarterbacks in the league.
Let’s take a look at the top five quarterbacks the Niners will match up against in 2022.
49ers opponent No. 5: Derek Carr
Quarterback Derek Carr of the Raiders has been in a lot of trade rumors lately. However, if he remains with the Raiders, he is going to be a tough opponent for San Francisco in 2022.
Carr was a top quarterback in the league in 2021. He was top five in the league in passing yards with 4,804. He was also top five in completion percentage (out of qualified individuals) at 68.4 percent. He also happens to be the all-time passing leader in Raiders franchise history.
Most importantly. though, he took the Raiders to their first playoff appearance in the last five seasons, which was also their second in the last 19 seasons.
Although they lost to the eventual AFC champion Cincinnati Bengals, it was an impressive feat to clinch a playoff berth in such a tough division.
Carr currently has a 1-1 record against the 49ers all-time. That one loss came against undrafted rookie quarterback Nick Mullens back in 2018.
Carr however will prove a tough task for the 49ers in 2022, if he stays with his current team.
49ers opponent No. 4: Kyler Murray
Quarterback Kyler Murray of the Arizona Cardinals is up for a contract extension this offseason. Whether he gets one or not is another question.
Although Murray has not got his first playoff win yet, he has been excellent through his first three seasons.
In 2019, the No. 1 overall draft pick won the AP Offensive Rookie of the Year Award. In 2020, he followed that season up with a Pro Bowl selection. In 2021, his Cardinals were the No. 1 team in the league for a good portion of the season. Murray would end up leading them to their first playoff berth in the past six seasons and then would be selected to the Pro Bowl last year as well.
Murray also beat the 49ers in his one game against them in 2021 (he was injured for their second matchup).
Barring any injuries, Murray will be a handful for the Niners for two games in 2022.
49ers opponent No. 3: Russell Wilson
Sometimes you just can’t move past someone, they keep popping up in your life.
That’s basically what quarterback Russell Wilson is doing with San Francisco.
Wilson, previously the quarterback of the Seahawks, was an absolute thorn in the side of the 49ers since his rookie year in 2012. Seeing the 49ers twice a season, he has a regular-season record of 16-4 against them.
Wilson has also been a top performer in the league upon his arrival, making the Pro Bowl in nine out of his 10 seasons, and winning one Super Bowl along the way. Even in the years in which the Seahawks had a subpar defense, he kept them competitive.
With rumblings of Wilson’s displeasure with the Seahawks starting last season, many felt that 2021 would be his last season with the team.
That was absolutely the case, and he would agree to a trade on March 8, 2022, that sent him to the Broncos for a slew of draft picks and players.
Niners fans might’ve rejoiced a bit knowing that the nine-time Pro Bowler would no longer be in the NFC West, and thus not be playing San Francisco twice a season. But before that could fully sink in, a quick look at the schedule would show that he would still be an opponent in 2022.
So, while the trade signals a rebuild in the Seahawks’ organization, the 49ers will still have one final tough matchup with him in Denver before he goes away for another four seasons.
49ers opponent No. 2: Justin Herbert
The Chargers will travel to Levi’s Stadium in 2022 to do battle with the 49ers. This will be quarterback Justin Herbert‘s first career matchup against them, too.
Herbert was another player similar to Kyler Murray who was hot right out of the gates. The No. 6 overall pick out of Oregon in the 2020 NFL Draft won the 2020 AP NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year Award. He then followed a great rookie campaign up with an even better 2021 season. In his sophomore year, he was second in the league in passing yards with 5,014 and was just one of two players to throw for over 5,000 yards. He also was third in the league in passing touchdowns with 38.
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For his performance in 2021, he earned a Pro Bowl selection.
Herbert is one of the rising stars in the NFL and has one of the biggest arms in the league. He will be one of the best quarterbacks the Niners face in 2022, and he’s only 24 years old.
49ers opponent No. 1: Patrick Mahomes
You thought we would get through a whole top-five list of quarterbacks without mentioning Patrick Mahomes? Think again!
Since the 49ers will be playing the AFC West in 2022, we have to pay homage to the king of that division since 2018, and that is the quarterback of the Chiefs.
Since Mahomes took over as the Chiefs starting quarterback in 2018, the team has been to four straight AFC Championship games and won one Super Bowl.
The two games, though, in which Mahomes has played against the Niners have been horrific for the team and its fans.
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In a 2018 regular-season game at Arrowhead Stadium, 49ers starting quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo ended up tearing his ACL. The team would go on to finish the season 4-12 due to inconsistent quarterback play.
In Super Bowl LIV, Mahomes would lead the Chiefs to a fourth-quarter comeback against San Francisco, which in all reality, most fans have not gotten over as yet.
2022 will be a chance for redemption, and for the 49ers to get their first victory against Mahomes. It will, in all likelihood be their most difficult quarterback matchup of 2022.