The 49ers are hoping they’re a good team in 2022. They’re also hoping these five rival teams are bad in 2022. It truly is that simple.
The more bad teams out there, the easier it is for your own team to be good.
The San Francisco 49ers are supposed to be a good team in 2022. Yes, they’re making a major transition under center with quarterback Trey Lance now taking over, and there are some notable question marks here and there around the roster.
But, in a weakened NFC, the path to getting back into the postseason should be considerably easier than it was a year ago, especially with the NFC West weakened as a whole from its once-dominant standing as the NFL’s toughest division.
Some of the Niners’ chief rivals remain an obstacle to the 2022 postseason picture, while others have taken a notable fall from grace.
Either way and especially from the fanbase’s perspective, San Francisco would love nothing more but to see these five rival squads endure a forgettable season this year.
49ers rival No. 5: Green Bay Packers
The Green Bay Packers assuredly are going to be one of those obstacles to the 49ers making the postseason, and while any team with quarterback Aaron Rodgers is going to be in contention, there are nevertheless concerns about just how effective their offense will be in the wake of trading away Rodgers’ favorite target, All-Pro wide receiver Davante Adams, to the Las Vegas Raiders during the offseason and replacing him with 2022 rookie wideout Christian Watson.
Nevertheless, the Packers enjoyed a quality NFL Draft class, including Watson, but the offensive line could be in trouble after losing veteran center Corey Linsley and bidding farewell to pass-rusher Za’Darius Smith.
The Niners don’t have to play the Packers this season, at least not between Weeks 1 and 17, but they’ll be watching from afar nonetheless, hoping Green Bay doesn’t even get into the playoffs by some crazy outcome.
While it’s true, the Niners have had Rodgers’ number in the postseason over his career, it’d be more ideal if Green Bay suddenly crashed back to earth and slogged its way through the entirety of 2022 in a scenario where nothing seems to work right.
49ers rival No. 4: Arizona Cardinals
The Arizona Cardinals may not be overly high on the list of San Francisco rivals, but after being a tough thorn in head coach Kyle Shanahan’s side over the last few years, it’s rightful to put the Red Birds here.
Arizona might have had its small window close, though, in the wake of promising starts the last two seasons, followed by epic collapses in the second half under head coach Kliff Kingsbury. Following a 2022 offseason that saw more headaches than solutions, ESPN’s Bill Barnwell ranked Kingsbury’s squad third worst in league-wide offseason analysis by writing:
"The Cardinals just aren’t very good at valuing players within the context of the league, and they get too attached to the recent past,” he wrote. “Even if (Marquise) Brown does pan out, trading a first-round pick for the former Ravens wideout basically prices the Cardinals into extending their new receiver, meaning they’ll be investing more than $40 million between (DeAndre) Hopkins and Brown. That’s before getting into the second-round picks they’ve used on Andy Isabella, Rondale Moore and tight end Trey McBride — and the new deal the Cards gave Zach Ertz to keep the longtime Eagles tight end around."
49ers fans have to be laughing there.
And they may be laughing, too, at the standoff quarterback Kyler Murray is having with the Cardinals. Sure, the Niners are enduring their own with All-Pro wide receiver Deebo Samuel, but Murray’s frustrations amid his own extension talks are getting to a toxic level.
San Francisco would love nothing more than this NFC West rival to experience a massive drop this season.
49ers rival No. 3: Dallas Cowboys
Younger generations of 49ers fans may not appreciate the hated rivalry that once existed between the Niners and Dallas Cowboys, although the most recent installment certainly went in San Francisco’s favor with a Wild Card victory over quarterback Dak Prescott’s squad at AT&T Stadium that propelled the 49ers into another win over the Packers a week later.
While not quite as reminiscent of those playoff bouts of the 1980s and 1990s, it was an important chapter nonetheless and swiftly reminded NFL fans why the Cowboys weren’t exactly “for real” last season.
Things may have gotten worse for Prescott and Co. heading into 2022, too, particularly in the wake of losing standout offensive guard Connor Williams, wide receiver Amari Cooper, fellow up-and-coming wideout Cedrick Wilson and EDGE Randy Gregory.
Granted, these losses aren’t death blows to a team still poised to enjoy a relatively easy NFC East.
However, one can fairly estimate Dallas won’t be anywhere near as good as the 12-5 Cowboys squad we saw a year ago.
The Niners won’t face the Cowboys during the regular season. And while San Francisco would love a chance to end Dallas in the playoffs in back-to-back years, there’s a good chance the Cowboys won’t even get there if things go according to 49ers fans’ plans.
49ers rival No. 2: Los Angeles Rams
Sure, it didn’t sting as bad as the Niners’ losses in Super Bowls XLVII and XIV, nor did it hurt as much as the 2014 NFC Championship game loss to the Seattle Seahawks.
But falling to the Los Angeles Rams in the 2022 NFC Championship game last February sucked. Especially considering the fact San Francisco had won six games in a row over LA up to that point and held a lead in the fourth quarter of that particular game.
Made worse was the fact that head coach Sean McVay’s squad ended up pulling off a Super Bowl win of its own over the Cincinnati Bengals, meaning 49ers fans have to hear about it from the dozens of Rams fans out there for a full offseason.
Not fun.
Granted, Los Angeles is poised to be right back at the top of the NFC standings this year, and it’s likely going to have the best shot at winning the NFC West, too, even though McVay and Co. have the league’s toughest strength of schedule in 2022 based on last year’s win/loss totals.
However, there’s always one thing in play when evaluating Super Bowl teams from the previous season: the proverbial Super Bowl “hangover.”
Dynasty-type teams tend to avoid these, but we’re nowhere close to naming the Rams a dynasty.
That might assist the Niners’ hopes for watching LA struggle in 2022.
49ers rival No. 1: Seattle Seahawks
From one NFC West rival that’ll still probably be pretty good to another team that’ll likely stink, the Seahawks are ushering in an entirely new era in the wake of trading quarterback Russell Wilson to the Denver Broncos earlier this offseason.
San Francisco fans need no reminder of what the 49ers and Hawks’ rivalry was like over the last 10 years. Aside from some outliers, such as the final regular-season game of the 2019 season in which the Niners clinched the division, Seattle has been the dominant force and embarrassed San Francisco at times when the 49ers were both good and bad.
How the tide has turned.
Read More: Top 10 moments in heated rivalry between 49ers, Seahawks
Granted, one could make the argument the Seahawks had a productive offseason and a top-quality NFL Draft in the post-Wilson era. But those pieces won’t be making much of an impact right away, at least not to a level where the Hawks will remain a contender.
Particularly with the choices under center for head coach Pete Carroll, quarterbacks Drew Lock and Geno Smith.
Seriously? Please.
Yes, Seattle is going to be bad in 2022, and Niners fans will enjoy every minute of it after the otherwise lopsided rivalry from the previous decade.