With the 2025 NFL regular season officially at an end, the San Francisco 49ers now know every team they'll face during the 2026 campaign.
While the week-to-week '26 schedule won't be released until the spring, usually in mid-May, the full list of the 14 opponents San Francisco will face was finalized once the '25 season concluded.
For those who may not be familiar with how a team's 17 regular-season games are determined, the following criteria are used:
- Six games against every other team within the division — two per team; one at home and one on the road
- Four games against teams from a specific division within its conference on a rotating, three-year cycle; two at home and two on the road
- Four games against teams from a specific division in the opposing conference on a rotating, four-year cycle; two at home and two on the road
- Two games against teams from the two remaining divisions within the same conference based on the previous season's standings; one at home and one on the road.
- One game against a team from a division from the opposing conference on a rotating, four-year cycle that the team isn't already scheduled to play based on the previous season's standings.
So, let's have a look at how things shake out for San Francisco in 2026.
49ers will play 7 games in 2026 against teams that made the playoffs
First, of course, the 49ers will play their typical two games each against their fellow franchises from the NFC West in the Arizona Cardinals, Los Angeles Rams, and Seattle Seahawks.
Next, with the three-year intraconference rotation dictating that all NFC West teams will play all NFC East teams in 2026, San Francisco will square off with the Dallas Cowboys, New York Giants, Philadelphia Eagles, and Washington Commanders.
Then, the four-year interconference cycle dictates that all NFC West teams will play all AFC West teams, meaning the Niners will take on the Denver Broncos, Kansas City Chiefs, Las Vegas Raiders, and Los Angeles Chargers.
As the 49ers finished third in the NFC West, they'll play the third-place teams from the other two NFC divisions they're not already scheduled to play, meaning they'll face the Minnesota Vikings and Atlanta Falcons.
Lastly, the rotating cycle dictates that every NFC West team will play the AFC East team that finished in the same position in 2025, meaning San Francisco will battle the Miami Dolphins.
As 2026 is an even year, each NFC team will have nine home games, which obviously means the 49ers will host nine games at Levi's Stadium—unless they're chosen to serve as the home team in one of the International Series games.
49ers 2026 home opponents
- Arizona Cardinals
- Los Angeles Rams
- Seattle Seahawks
- Philadelphia Eagles
- Washington Commanders
- Denver Broncos
- Las Vegas Raiders
- Minnesota Vikings
- Miami Dolphins
49ers 2026 road opponents
- Arizona Cardinals
- Los Angeles Rams
- Seattle Seahawks
- Dallas Cowboys
- New York Giants
- Kansas City Chiefs
- Los Angeles Chargers
- Atlanta Falcons
For those counting, San Francisco's 2026 schedule will feature just seven games against teams that made the playoffs, with two each against the Seahawks and Rams, plus matchups with the Eagles, Broncos, and Chargers.