49ers face early, late challenges in hopes of making playoffs

Handicapping the 49ers’ schedule can’t be any harder than their projecting their draft plans, right? Here are 10 aspects to weigh before unveiling my 2021 win-loss estimate:

1. Tea OuaNaR(S) >> The 49ers will try repeating their 2019 start with backto-back road wins, and this year’s are certainly attainable against fellow 2020 last-place finishers in Detroit and Philadelphia. The 49ers won at Tampa Bay and Cincinnati two years ago to launch an 8-0 run en route to Super Bowl LIV.

A better historical anecdote: the 49ers’

first two Super Bowl-winning seasons opened against the host Lions in 1981 and 1984. A notso-good reminder: Jimmy Garoppolo had three passes intercepted and one returned for a touchdown as the 49ers lost their last opener inside a NFC North dome (2018 Minnesota).

2. THE ONE TO CIRCLE >> NFC West action will be daunting but nothing looms larger than hosting the Green Bay Packers (and Aaron Rodgers?) in Levi’s Stadium’s grand re-opening Sept. 26 on NBC’s “Sunday Night Football.” Fans will be welcomed back for the first meaningful game there since the 49ers routed the Packers for the NFC Championship in January 2020.

3. THE GAUNTLET >> This December may be as imposing as December 2019, at least in terms of air miles. The 49ers are on the road for three games in a four-game span, including prime-time dates at Seattle (Dec. 5) and at Tennessee (Dec. 23) that are sandwiched around games at Cincinnati (Dec. 12) and vs. Atlanta (Dec. 19). A semi-gauntlet comes when the 49ers follow the Packers game with NFC West play, Oct. 3 against Seattle and Oct. 10 at Arizona.

4. PRIME TIME SPOTLIGHT >> The 49ers drew five prime-time kickoffs for a second straight year, although last season’s woes saw them go just 1-3 with a December trip to Dallas flexed into the daylight. The 49ers went 5-1 in 2019 prime time kickoffs.

This season’s prime timers: vs. the Packers (Sunday, Sept. 26), vs. the Colts (Sunday, Oct. 24), vs. the Rams (Monday, Nov. 15), at the Seahawks (Sunday, Dec. 5) and at the Titans (Thursday, Dec. 23).

5. THE DIVISION >> All four NFC West teams are legitimate playoff contenders. Like the 49ers, 10 a.m. road openers in Week 1 also await the Seahawks (at Colts) and Cardinals (at Titans). The 49ers will have faced the Cardinals twice before the season’s midway point. Hosting the Seahawks in Week 4 will be a statement game, and Seattle has an extremely tough first two months. By the time the 49ers finish the regular season at the Rams on Jan. 9, the division still could be up for grabs.

6. THE BYE >> Sitting idle after five games seems a bit premature for the first 17-game regular-season schedule, but the 2019 schedule worked just fine for the 49ers with a Week 4 bye. Later byes were afforded the Seahawks (Week 9), the Rams (Week 11) and the Cardinals (Week 12).

7. THE REUNION >> Should we reserve Oct. 24 as DeForest Buckner Appreciation Day? Maybe not if the 49ers get a breakout game from defensive tackle Javon Kinlaw, their top pick last year with the first-rounder they got by trading Buckner to the Colts last year. Buckner was the 49ers’ top pick in 2016.

8. THE LAYOVER >> Where will the 49ers bunk between their opening road games at Detroit and Philadelphia. It’s more likely The Greenbrier in West Virginia (last year’s Week 3 hostel) than Youngstown, Ohio, where the 49ers have stayed three times since 2011 but didn’t like the turf practice field in 2019. Unlike some preseasons, the 49ers will stay in California, with only a visit to the Chargers between home exhibitions against the Chiefs and the Raiders.

9. EARLY STARTS >> The 49ers have just as many 10 a.m. kickoffs as prime-time games. The 49ers are 7-7 under Kyle Shanahan with those early starts, but 6-2 since 2019. This season’s 10 a.m. kickoffs await at Detroit, Philadelphia, Chicago, Jacksonville and Cincinnati; only the Bears made last season’s playoffs from that group.

10. THE PREDICTION >> A 4-0 start will be soured by a Week 5 return to Arizona (last season’s bad karma), compounded by a post-bye loss at home to the Colts. A five-game win streak will stop in the Dec. 5 visit to Seattle, and even though the 49ers also lose Dec. 23 in Nashville, they’ll already have clinched the NFC West before a regular-season finale defeat at the Rams for a 12-5 record.

Not bad after going 6-10 last season. By the way, the 49ers are 7 1/2-point favorites to beat the Lions, who went 5-11 last year, according to odds posted by DraftKings Sportsbook. That makes the 49ers the biggest favorite for Week 1.