The NFL schedule has finally been released and we now know when the San Francisco (SF) 49ers will be facing each opponent in the 2024 regular season. I’ll be breaking down each matchup, including the major storylines within each game and how the 49ers matchup against each team.
Week 1: vs New York Jets
Monday, September 9th, Monday Night Football (MNF)
It seems harsh to put Aaron Rodgers back on MNF a year after tearing his achilles in their week 1 MNF game. If Rodgers makes it past 4 plays into this season their offense poses a massive threat to a new look 49ers defense. We’ll see if the additions of Maliek Collins, Yetur Gross-Matos, Leonard Floyd, and De’Vondre Campbell and new DC Nick Sorensen will lead to a better defense. Star pass rushers Nick Bosa and Javon Hargrave will be a big test for the Jets OL which features 3 new starters. Headlines for this game will definitely feature the former 49ers making their return to Levi’s Stadium. Robert Saleh brings Javon Kinlaw, Solomon Thomas, Isaiah Oliver, and DJ Reed Jr. back to Santa Clara. The Jets might have the best defense in the league, so even if offensive stars and returning niners are the story, expect a defensive battle.
Week 2: @ Minnesota Vikings
Sunday, September, 15th
The 49ers will be looking for revenge for last season’s regular season loss in Minnesota’s home opener. If Sam Darnold is the starter, expect stars Fred Warner and the returning Talanoa Hufanga to get their hands on the ball often. If rookie QB JJ McCarthy has already taken the starting job expect a conservative offensive approach featuring quick passes to Justin Jefferson as HC Kevin O’Connel will try to make it easy on the rookie. The 49ers will also likely rely on quick passes as they have to be prepared to take advantage of the ultra aggressive Brian Flores led defense.
Week 3: @ Los Angeles Rams
Sunday, September 22nd
The 49ers make it back-to-back weeks as visitors during home openers, this time in Los Angeles in the stadium dubbed as ‘Levi’s South.’ Without having to face HOFer Aaron Donald, and with Matt Stafford and Cooper Kupp most likely still healthy at this point of the season, we should expect a high scoring game. Kyle Shanahan’s overpowered offense should feast on this young Rams core, so even though it should be an exciting matchup, the Niners are likely to be heavy favorites.
Week 4: vs. New England Patriots
Sunday, September 29th
Defense will be back in style when the Patriots come to town. New England doesn’t have a single playmaker on the roster that Shanahan and Sorensen should be worried about, especially with 3rd overall pick Drake Maye expected to be sitting behind Jacoby Brissett this early into the season. Don’t sleep on the Patriots defense, though, as they still had a top 10 unit even while getting nothing from the offense last year. This could be one of the lowest scoring games of the 49ers season.
Week 5: vs. Arizona Cardinals
Sunday, October 6th
The Cardinals should be one of the most improved teams in the league, but still aren’t close to as talented as the Niners. Marvin Harrison Jr will probably have a huge game, especially if Mooney Ward doesn’t follow him, and 2nd round rookie CB Renardo Green is given the assignment. The 49ers offense shouldn’t have many problems though, as they scored 35 and 45 in the two 2023 matchups and have won 4 straight against Arizona. Even if Arizona is improved, we shouldn’t expect them to have enough firepower to beat the Niners at home.
Week 6: @ Seattle Seahawks
Thursday, October 10th, TNF
Visiting Seattle will feel quite a bit different without Pete Carrol running the team, but by all accounts Mike Macdonald seems like he could present similar problems. He ran the Ravens defense that the 49ers struggled so mightily with last season. Even though he might not have the personnel (specifically at linebackers and edge rusher) to run the scheme as well as he did, their defense should still be better. The crowd noise and quick turnaround in a big Thursday night game in Seattle should bring a boost to defense. Expect many sacks in Seattle, as their offensive line, while improved after bringing in Laken Tomlinson and Nick Harris, still shouldn’t be viewed as a strength.
Week 7: vs. Kansas City Chiefs
Sunday, October 20th
Easily the biggest game on the schedule is the Super Bowl rematch. SF got somewhat unlucky here with the Chiefs coming off their week 6 bye week, and Andy Reid led teams are 27-4 coming off a bye. Luckily, the Niners will be coming off their own ‘mini-bye’ after playing on Thursday Night Football so both teams will be well prepared for this game. We’ll quickly see if the improvements the 49ers made this offseason were enough to get them over the hump against the reigning champs. For the Chiefs Rashee Rice might be back from his inevitable suspension at this point, and their offense led by the best player in the league, Patrick Mahomes, will probably be playing better than last year. We’ll also probably have a good idea on whether they did enough to replace L’Jarius Sneed. Ricky Pearsall and Brandon Aiyuk will need to beat the smothering man defense that the Chiefs use, which should be easier without Sneed. Every 49ers player will have this game circled on their calendars, so expect a heated matchup and probably some scuffles and one of the best games of the season.
Week 8: vs. Dallas Cowboys
Sunday, October 27th, SNF
The blowout victory against the Cowboys last year was one of the most exciting games of last season. The major flaws on Dallas’ roster that led to the blowout and eventual collapse, specifically their lack of size at linebacker and poor run defense, have not really been addressed during the offseason. The Cowboys will be coming off a bye, which should help them prepare, but Mike McCarthy is somehow still the Cowboys’ HC. Expect another huge game for the 49ers offense, probably a blowout led by a Christian McCaffrey masterclass.
Week 9: Bye Week
A perfect time for the bye week, the Niners lucked out by not having their bye too early or too late in the season. Players will be getting much needed rest right in the middle of the season. They also get the benefit of playing two huge games against Dallas and Kansas City right before the trade deadline, which will give them a good view of how the roster matches up with some of the top teams in the league. John Lynch and company have never been shy of making a deadline deal so if those games don’t go well or there is an obvious hole on the roster, expect an aggressive move, similar to the Christian McCaffrey and Chase Young deals. If something has gone horribly wrong and they are in the midst of some kind of unforeseeable failure of a season, then expect Deebo Samuel and other aging veterans to get traded here, but it’s hard to envision that happening. This is also the first week where a Dre Greenlaw return seems plausible, so at this point in the season, fans should start looking for the star LB to start ramping up his rehab as he turns from his torn Achilles.
Week 10: @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Sunday, November 10th
In a game I will hopefully be attending, the 49ers will be facing the reigning NFC South champs in Tampa Bay. The 49ers faced the Buccaneers during Brock Purdy's first ever start, so there will be a lot of talk heading into this game about how much has changed from then to now, which is quite a bit. Purdy might be an MVP candidate at this point of the season, and at the time of his first start he was just another random backup 7th round pick thrust into a great starting lineup. This will also be the first game to see trade deadline acquisitions in action, and against an average team, it’ll be a great chance for SF to show off their shiny new toys. Baker Mayfield, Mike Evans, Chris Godwin and Tristan Wirfs will keep this offense from ever being worse than a top 20 unit, so expect a good offensive battle.
Week 11: vs. Seattle Seahawks
Sunday, November 17th
Back in SF, the 49ers should have a chance to build some momentum. New HC Mike Macdonald might have Seattle playing well defensively and fully adapted to his scheme, but I still think they don’t have enough talent at linebacker, a spot Shanahan consistently targets with tremendous success. The Seahawks will be coming off a bye week and probably be battling for a wild card spot at this point in the season, so expect a heated division battle, that will probably lead to some kind of fight, as these teams have never liked each other.
Week 12: @ Green Bay Packers
Sunday, November 24th
The Packers get a chance for revenge, as they came so close to knocking off the Niners in last year’s divisional round of the playoffs. They were the youngest team in the NFL last year, so improvement seems inevitable for Green Bay. Their offense was firing on all cylinders during the last month of the season, and if they are playing at that level, GB could have a top 10 offense behind Jordan Love and an assortment of young star skill position players. The Packers defense should also be better after finally finding a new DC. While talented, Green Bay’s defense became annually underwhelming. If they’re better and the offense continues their ascent this could be a game between the two best teams in the NFC. If the DC change doesn’t fix their defense, it’ll be another shootout, featuring huge games from Brandon Aiyuk, Brock Purdy, and the rest of the passing game.
Week 13: @ Buffalo Bills
Sunday, December 1st, SNF
Buffalo is the fourth (and final) team the 49ers will face coming off a bye week. By now we will have a good idea of whether the expected falloff of the Bills will have come to fruition or if Josh Allen has enough to carry a roster that lost Stefon Diggs, Tre’Davious White, Jordan Poyer, Gabe Davis and other key starters. The bye week is usually a good time for rookies to catch their breath, so expect Keon Coleman (Bills 2nd round rookie WR) to come out strong. Buffalo in December also sets the stage for a possible snow game, which is always fun to watch.
Week 14: vs. Chicago Bears
Sunday, December 8th
The Bears defense was playing amazing football at the end of the 2023 season and their offense should be so much better with Caleb Williams at QB and an improved skill position group. Will everything have come together perfectly to allow them to be in contention for a wild card spot? We’ll have an answer by this point in the season. My expectations are for their offense to be very good, but the defense to take a step back from their end of season level. They’ll probably rely on hero ball from Caleb, but their defense might not get enough pressure to stop Brock Purdy from having a great game.
Week 15: vs. Los Angeles Rams
Thursday, December 12th TNF
Another wild card hopeful, the Rams will likely be having Matthew Stafford throw the ball 50 times a game by this point in the season (if he’s healthy) as their defense is bound to struggle without Aaron Donald. The offense should be good enough to carry them to a competitive game in SF, but the Rams lack of talent defensively should allow for smooth sailing for Brock Purdy and Christian McCaffrey.
Week 16: @ Miami Dolphins
Sunday, December 22nd
The 49ers are lucky to be facing the Dolphins in December where the heat of southern Florida won’t be as much of a factor as it will be in September. Even without the temperature element, this game is going to be a major test for SF. The Dolphins top tier offense has a tendency to fizzle out by this point of the season, but this could be the year they keep it going into December and January. They have the fastest team in the league, which should challenge SF’s CB2, whoever that may be, possibly rookie second round pick, Renardo Green at this point. The Dolphins defense is going to be much worse without Christian Wilkins, though, so this should be another great offensive performance as they try to keep up with Miami. Expect much of the talk in this game to be about Mike McDaniel facing the Kyle Shanahan and Brock Purdy's last game against Miami, when he came in early after Jimmy G's broken foot for his first real NFL action.
Week 17: vs. Detroit Lions
Monday, December 30th MNF
In the last scheduled Monday Night Football game of the season we get a rematch of last year’s ladybug NFC Championship game. This could be a battle for the NFC’s #1 seed, and a potential preview for this year's NFC title game. If last year’s game was any indicator this will be a wildly entertaining battle. With OC Ben Johnson back, and most of the offensive roster returning, Detroit’s offense should be top five again. Jameson Williams will be asked to be a much bigger part of the offense this year, so the 49ers defensive backfield will have back to back weeks with a speed challenge in front of them. Detroit will be hoping their defense and their two rookie corners will do a better job stopping Brandon Aiyuk and the Niners explosive passing game. Expect a high scoring game and one of the most exciting games of the season.
Week 18: @ Arizona Cardinals
TBD (Week 18 times/dates aren't set)
If the 49ers take care of business this could be another game where key starters get to rest in preparation for the playoffs. Possibly a Joshua Dobbs revenge game on the way? If the Niners are still competing for the NFC West, then something will have gone wrong this season and expect Shanahan to come up with another creative gameplan to get players like George Kittle, Ricky Pearsall, and Christian McCaffrey involved. Hopefully we are seeing the passtronaut and other backups in action as we get prepared for another deep playoff run.
P.S. Happy 49th Birthday to my father, Mr. 49erDave, the biggest 49ers fan I know, and the reason I love the 49ers and football. I hope this is the year our Niners win it all, thank you for helping me find my passion and for all the great examples you've set for me! I had to do a 49ers article on your 49th! Love you Dad
Photos by Randy Vazquez (Bay Area News Group), Jevone Moore (Getty Images), Godofredo A. Vasquez (AP Photo), Michael Owens (Getty Images), Stephen Lam (The Chronicle), and Ronald Martinez (Getty Images)
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