49ers schedule: Predicting wins and losses for final 9 games of 2023 season

Weeks 10-12

Week 10: Sunday, November 12 at Jacksonville, 1 PM ET/10 AM PT

The post-bye run doesn't exactly get off to the easiest start for the 49ers, who have to travel to Jacksonville to take on a 6-2 Jaguars squad that will also be coming off a bye week.

After having two of their last three opponents benefiting from the bye, the Niners will probably think themselves a bit hard done by the NFL schedulers for this little quirk, but you can only play the games on your schedule.

It doesn't help that the Jaguars, who made the playoffs in 2022, are off to quite a good start themselves and are winners of five straight after a 1-2 opening to the season.

The Jaguars sit at 10th in the NFL in both points scored and points allowed, suggesting a good balance to their team, although their passing defense has struggled, ranking 31st in yards allowed while strangely nabbing the second most interceptions heading into Week 9 with 11, which ties the 49ers' output so far.

The raw offensive numbers show a middle of the pack team, but they've been turning it on lately, led by quarterback Trevor Lawrence, wide receiver Calvin Ridley, and running back Travis Etienne.

All this to say that these teams match up pretty well, so it may come down to the 49ers need to get off the schneide and pull out what could be a hotly contested game.

Outcome: Niners win a close one to run their record to 6-3.

Week 11: Sunday, November 19 vs Tampa Bay, 4:05 PM ET/1:05 PM PT

Closing out the Florida portion of their schedule, the 49ers welcome the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to Levi's Stadium looking to keep the winning streak going.

Up until their loss to the Bengals in Week 8, the 49ers had won 11 straight games at home, a run they'll look to restart with the Bucs coming to town.

Tampa isn't a particularly good offensive team, although their major weakness is running the football, as they enter their Week 9 contest ranked 30th in total rushing yards (545) and rushing touchdowns (1) and 31st in yards per carry (3.2).

And while quarterback Baker Mayfield has played solid football so far, the Bucs haven't been able to score, averging just 17.3 points per game while having surpassed that total just three times.

That said, their defense continues to be stout, although in more of a bend but don't break style than they've been in recent years. They also struggle against the pass, allowing 6.5 yards per attempt so far, which ranks 24th in the league.

But a win in Jacksonville should have the 49ers feeling good and hopefully it'll be enough to get a winning streak against a Tampa team they should beat and do so handily.

Outcome: 49ers win by more than two touchdowns to run their record to 7-3.

Week 12: Thursday, November 23 at Seattle, 8:20 PM ET/5:20 PM PT

Another gem from the NFL scheduler makers comes in the form of a second Thursday night game for the 49ers, albeit one that will be on NBC and so will look and feel like Sunday Night Football just on Thursday.

Sure, it's cool that the 49ers are the primetime featured game on Thanksgiving, but given that they already had a short week leading up to their Week 3 home opener on Thursday Night Football against the Giants this season, it feels like overkill.

The 49ers haven't played on Thanksgiving since the Jim Harbaugh days, when they traveled to Baltimore in 2011 to take on John Harbaugh's Ravens and lost 16-6. San Francisco is 2-2-1 all time on Turkey Day.

Not to mention that this begins a three game stretch that may dictate the direction the 49ers' season goes, with this trip to Seattle followed by a cross country jaunt to play the Eagles in Philadelphia 10 days later, and finishing up with the Seahawks again the following week at home.

If San Francisco plays well and wins two or all three of those games, then they'll put themselves back into the conversation for the NFC's no.1 seed and cement their positions as favorites to represent the conference in the Super Bowl.

If they fail, losing two or three, then they'll be scraping and clawing to get into the dance via a wildcard berth and see if they can make some playoff noise that way.

Having said all that, I think the 49ers go up to Seattle and see their mini winning streak cut short at two, putting them in the position to need to win at home in two week's time.

Outcome: 49ers lose a heartbreaker to fall to 7-4.