While the NFC West isn’t quite the gauntlet it was a year ago, the 49ers will nevertheless face some stiff competition within their own division in 2022.
The AFC West has taken over as the league’s toughest division entering 2022. It’s no longer the NFC West.
For the San Francisco 49ers, this isn’t exactly a bad thing.
Sure, the reigning Super Bowl champion Los Angeles Rams are still out there within the division, and while they may not have gotten significantly stronger, they’ll still be a major force to be reckoned with. The Arizona Cardinals, meanwhile, have always given head coach Kyle Shanahan’s squad feisty fits.
And we won’t go into the Niners’ record against the Seattle Seahawks dating back to 2012, even though the Hawks are entering an entirely new era in the wake of quarterback Russell Wilson’s trade to the Denver Broncos.
For those relatively new to the NFL world, San Francisco will play each divisional rival twice during the regular season. A year ago, the 49ers went 2-4 within the NFC West, the only two wins coming against those Rams before a painful playoff loss in the NFC Championship game.
That overall record isn’t exactly a recipe for success, though, meaning Shanahan and Co. will have to display some sort of improvement if they want to climb out of last year’s third-place divisional standing.
So, as yet another preview piece to reinforce Niner Noise’s earlier game-by-game predictions (although with a different “predictor” now at the helm… me), let’s take another stab at just how the Niners fare against their NFC West foes in 2022.
Week 2: 49ers vs. Seahawks
San Francisco couldn’t have asked for a better time to play the Seahawks, Week 2.
For starters, Week 1 games are always a bit weird, so the 49ers avoid that potential pitfall. Yet whichever quarterback Seattle decides to deploy this season, Drew Lock or Geno Smith, is still going to be far off from finding a midseason-form rhythm.
Sure, Seattle might have crushed its 2022 NFL Draft class, particularly by upgrading what has long since been a lackluster offensive line.
But, is anyone to believe either Lock or Smith can effectively carry the Seahawks offense well enough to contend again within the division? Should the Hawks even be viewed as a potential .500 team this year?
No, probably not.
However, that isn’t the reason why the Niners wind up being 10-point winners here.
Seattle will be hosting Russell Wilson and the Broncos in a high-profile Monday Night Football matchup in Week 1. The short week, followed by travel aside, the Seahawks are going to be emotionally drained by whatever that matchup produces, meaning they’ll likely endure some sort of lackluster effort the following week in Santa Clara.
Good for San Francisco, which starts off its 2022 divisional record 1-0.
Week 4: 49ers vs. Rams
Ah, yes. The grudge match stems from the NFC Championship game last February.
It took a late fourth-quarter collapse by the 49ers to ensure that game panned out the way it did, and Kyle Shanahan would love nothing more than to reignite the historical dominance he has over his friend and rival, Rams head coach Sean McVay.
In fact, prior to that NFC Championship loss, the Niners had won six in a row over their Southern California rivals, and one could make the argument San Francisco’s offseason additions at cornerback, namely Charvarius Ward, were intended to address the primary weakness Los Angeles’ offense took advantage of in all three matchups last season.
This all sounds nice, but it’s important to note we’re still going to be early in the football year, and second-year quarterback Trey Lance is still a long way off from being able to prove he can go toe-to-toe against LA quarterback Matthew Stafford, who’ll look to re-spark the 2021 magic with All-Pro wide receiver Cooper Kupp.
If you were indeed a non-biased voter and had to choose between Lance and Stafford, you’d go with the latter every time.
Stafford proves to be the difference in this Week 4 contest, meaning the 49ers start their NFC West campaign 1-1.
Week 8: 49ers @ Rams
A grudge match for the grudge match, so you say?
If there was one thing evident about the Niners’ two trips to SoFI Stadium last season, it was the fact the Faithful had no difficulty invading “who’s house?”
That proved pivotal in San Francisco’s memorable and necessary Week 18 overtime win just to get into the playoffs, and it’s also vital here in Week 8.
By that point, the hope will be for Trey Lance and Co. to finally find some sort of quality rhythm together, potentially pointing to all the signs of the 49ers being fully justified in aggressively trading up for the quarterback during the 2021 draft.
There are, however, some elements working in the Rams’ favor, though, as they’ll be coming off their bye week in Week 7, meaning Sean McVay’s squad will have the extra week of rest and preparation.
However, the Niners host quarterback Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs the week before, which promises to be an enticing showdown, one which the Niners probably lose.
If that Week 7 game between KC and San Francisco is a close loss, cases like this often result in the losing team being extra dangerous the following week, and the 49ers would love nothing more but to take out that anger on a division rival.
The Niners improve to 2-1 in the division with a quality 31-24 “road” win at Levi’s South.
Week 11: 49ers @ Cardinals (Mexico City)
San Francisco is going to partake in the NFL International Series this season, heading off to Mexico City, Mexico, to face off against the Arizona Cardinals in Week 11.
Technically, this is a road game for the 49ers. But since it’s being played at a neutral site, one might figure the home crowd at Estadio Azteca would be in favor of the team with the slightly bigger profile.
Hint: That’s not the Red Birds.
The Cardinals are going through their own weirdness entering 2022, too, especially with quarterback Kyler Murray demanding his own lofty contract extension and threatening a holdout if he doesn’t receive it. And while wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins will have returned from his six-game PED-related suspension by this point, it’s still hard to look at Arizona as a bona fide favorite for this Monday Night Football showdown.
Yes, the altitude in Mexico City will make things tough for both teams. No questioning that. And both the Niners and Cardinals will have slugfests the prior weeks, too, against the Los Angeles Chargers and the Rams, respectively.
Let’s give the edge to San Francisco in this one, though, as it pulls off a decisive win over Murray and Co. to gain a solid 3-1 edge within the division.
Week 15: 49ers @ Seahawks
The 49ers were thankful they got to host the Seahawks in Week 2, which was a great time to do so.
The Niners should be less thrilled about having to travel to Seattle on a short week for Thursday Night Football so late in the regular season. Especially after having to host quarterback Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers the week before.
The Hawks’ road to Week 15 is much more favorable.
For starters, Seattle is at home the previous week, meaning it won’t be impacted by having to travel back to the Pacific Northwest on a short week, instead just enjoying the luxury of staying home.
Second, the Seahawks host the lowly Carolina Panthers for that Week 14 showdown, which might be a trap game above anything else but certainly doesn’t figure to be the high-caliber showdown like the one San Francisco engages in with the Bucs that prior Sunday.
Had all this transpired on a regular week’s worth of rest, we’d give Week 15 to the 49ers.
Since short-week road games are always a massive challenge, even if it’s against what should be a sub-par Hawks team in 2022, the Niners fail to pull this one off and wind up falling in sloppy fashion, 23-14.
Week 18: 49ers vs. Cardinals
While this season’s Week 18 matchup carries hardly any the weight of the same week’s showdown between San Francisco and Los Angeles a year ago, it still might be a crucial game.
Hopefully, the 49ers have locked up a playoff berth by this point and are only jockeying for better home-field advantage and seeding within the NFC playoff picture. And if there’s a chance to further thwart Arizona’s own playoff hopes, one better believe that Trey Lance, Kyle Shanahan and Co. are going to take full advantage of it.
There are a few reasons why the Niners come out swinging in this one and engineer a decisive victory.
For starters, let’s go ahead and predict Trey Lance has long since found his groove by this point in the year. That’d be a big plus.
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On top of that, the Cardinals will be traveling back from an East Coast road trip to visit the Atlanta Falcons in Week 17. While the Falcons aren’t exactly predicting a playoff-caliber finish this year, road trips that far stink.
And for the icing on the cake? Just take into account Arizona head coach Kliff Kingsbury’s late-season collapses the last two years. Is anyone out there convinced things will be notably different in 2022?
Didn’t think so.
Look for San Francisco to turn this regular-season finale into a laugher, ultimately finishing 4-2 within the NFC West and reversing last year’s record.