The NFL has already made life hard on the San Francisco 49ers for the upcoming 2026 season by scheduling them not just one, but two international games, kicking off by a first-ever trip to Melbourne, Australia, where head coach Kyle Shanahan's squad will play the "road" team against their NFC West rivals, the Los Angeles Rams.
Then, in Week 11, the Niners play their second out-of-the-country bout in Mexico City, Mexico.
One might hope the league would go easy on San Francisco after asking so much already, but commissioner Roger Goodell didn't exactly suggest such when he responded to Shanahan's snarky remarks about the Australia game.
In fact, if Goodell and Co. wanted to truly make life hell for the 49ers at the start of the season, there's one game his schedule makers could put on the Niners' docket.
A Week 2 showdown against the Seattle Seahawks, especially if it's at Lumen Field.
NFL could screw 49ers with a Week 2 road game at Seahawks
San Francisco is already playing a division rival, L.A., in Week 1. And the league doesn't usually schedule back-to-back in-division games early in the year. Those typically get saved for November and December when the playoff push is in full force.
That said, the 49ers and Hawks are back to being must-watch television, and there'd be few better ways to reignite league interest (and money) than by scheduling another NFC West bout in Week 2 between these two hated rivals.
And it'd be diabolically evil if the NFL did such a thing.
True, the Niners' trip down under is scheduled for Thursday, Sept. 10, at 8:35 p.m. ET in the U.S. So there's a bit extra cushion to get reacclimated to the time zone after such extensive travel—a must ahead of Week 2, which would almost certainly be played on a Sunday.
Read more: 49ers 2026 schedule release dates, opponents, news, leaks and more
But, Seattle opens up the regular season on Wednesday, Sept. 9 and doesn't have to travel.
If the NFL wanted to brutalize San Francisco, the schedule makers would have Shanahan's team visit the Seahawks in Week 2 after the longest travel trip in NFL history and in light of the Hawks having an extended rest period in between games, already one-upping the 49ers' own rest differential regardless of the travel.
It'd be sadistic for the league to schedule anything like this for the Niners.
If it makes a lot of money, though, don't rule it out.
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