Some may argue the 49ers schedule in the second half of 2022 is easier than the first eight games, but the Niners still better win these three tilts.
In an ideal world, the San Francisco 49ers schedule over the first eight weeks of the 2022 season would have produced a record better than the 4-4 mark where head coach Kyle Shanahan’s squad found itself entering the bye.
Looking at the four losses, it’s probably fair to say the Niners should have beaten inferior teams like the Chicago Bears, Denver Broncos and Atlanta Falcons, although Atlanta has been feisty this season despite critics thinking it boasted one of the worst rosters in the NFL entering the year.
Regardless, San Francisco is at .500 with nine games remaining, and there are certainly some challenges left on the 49ers schedule from here on out. Road games against the Seattle Seahawks have been tough for well over 10 years now, even though quarterback Russell Wilson is out of the NFC West, while welcoming quarterback Tom Brady and a suddenly resurging Tampa Bay Buccaneers team to Levi’s Stadium will present challenges in itself.
Especially Brady facing off against his boyhood team back in California.
But, thinking about those three could-have-been-win losses the Niners coughed up in the first half of the season (we’re looking at you, Weeks 1 and 3, especially), what games remaining on the calendar need to be classified as “must win” games?
Here are three contests in the second half of 2022 that San Francisco better have no business losing.
49ers schedule must-win game No. 3: Week 15 @ Seahawks
OK, technically, there’s no such thing as a must-win game until it’s an elimination game, and we’re far from those.
But, if the 49ers want to win the NFC West, they better knock off the Seahawks on Thursday Night Football in Week 15.
Yes, it’s weird to see the Hawks riding a first-place berth within the division in the post-Russell Wilson era, but that’s the reality with now-resurgent quarterback Geno Smith and a 6-3 Seattle squad.
If we’re being honest, though, the Seahawks don’t have the same talent level as that of the Niners, and San Francisco holds that crucial Week 2 victory over the Hawks anyway.
Sweeping this season series probably decides the NFC West winner, and the 49ers would love to come away with that, given it would guarantee Kyle Shanahan and Co. at least one home game in the playoffs.
Unless the Niners are comfortable with the Hawks continuing to stockpile divisional crowns after Wilson’s departure.
49ers schedule must-win game No. 2: Week 10 vs. Chargers
Let’s get the No 2 must-win game on San Francisco’s remaining schedule out of the way this weekend: Week 10 against the 5-3-1 Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday Night Football.
True, this prime-time bout will be a challenge for the 49ers if for no other reason than the Bolts’ quarterback, Justin Herbert, is rapidly solidifying himself among the ranks of the league’s young and elite passers.
Too bad Chargers head coach Brandon Staley has completely mismanaged everything the Bolts have wanted to do to regain relevancy in the AFC, and Staley’s defense-first mindset certainly hasn’t traveled over.
Putting it simply, Los Angeles has a terrible defense, particularly against the No. 1 way the Niners want to win games: the run.
Here’s what the Chargers have given up on the ground in the last 6 weeks:
— Akash Anavarathan (@akashanav) November 7, 2022
36 carries, 151 yards
14 carries, 131 yards
31 carries, 213 yards
23 carries, 98 yards
34 carries, 213 yards
35 carries, 201 yards
Only team that didn’t gain 100 yards rushing was Denver.
Beyond that, San Francisco is coming off a bye week and should be getting a slew of now-healthy players back from injuries.
If the 49ers can’t win Week 10 in a relatively decisive fashion, it’ll spell plenty of problems moving forward.
49ers schedule must-win game No. 1: Week 17 @ Raiders
The Las Vegas Raiders should fire head coach Josh McDaniels and his entire staff if the Raiders end up losing to newly named Indianapolis Colts interim head coach Jeff Saturday in Week 10.
Seriously, things have gotten that bad for the 2-6 Raiders, who only have wins in the book over the lowly Broncos and Houston Texans. Even against modest “middle of the pack” teams, it appears as if McDaniels and Co. have been completely outclassed on every level.
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That outclassment (if that’s even a word… it should be) plays right into what the Niners will want to do on this New Year’s Day showdown out in Las Vegas. For whatever complaints he receives from the fanbase, Kyle Shanahan is vastly superior a coach to McDaniels, and the fact the Raiders defense lacks any substance behind EDGE Maxx Crosby will open up the door for Shanahan’s offense to run circles around Las Vegas’ defense.
The Raiders are likely to be long eliminated by Week 17, and San Francisco will need to come out and make a statement not long before the playoffs begin.
Doing so on the first day of 2023 would be awfully wise.