49ERS GET 5 GAMES AIRING PRIME TIME
Things to love, hate about San Francisco's newly-released schedule
SANTA CLARA >> The road to Super Bowl LVII looks easy. Wait, no, this season is set up for a quick disaster.
Such are the polar extremes that come with a regular-season schedule reveal.
Here are reasons to love and hate the 49ers' 2022 agenda, followed by noteworthy games:
Reasons to Love It
1. SERVE EARLY NOTICE >> With the 49ers' transition to quarterback Trey Lance — or even if Jimmy Garoppolo is an immovable object from the lineup — the rebuilding Chicago Bears make for easy entry into 2022. After that is a home opener against a Russell Wilson-less Seattle team coming off a Monday night opener against Wilson's new team, the Broncos.
2. TAKE OUT RAMS FAST >> The 49ers get two quick shots to do their part in dethroning the Los Angeles Rams – the NFC West, NFC and Super Bowl champions. Before their midseason bye, the 49ers host the Rams on Monday Night Football in Week 4 (Oct. 3) and then visit SoFi (SouthFrisco) Stadium on Oct.
30. By then we'll know if Halloween offers tricks or treats.
3. MINIMIZED TRAVEL >> The 49ers should travel less than 20,000 miles, and that is less than last season, when their air miles reached nearly 32,000, though
that included the trio of playoff games to Dallas, Green Bay and L.A. This season's longest trips (Carolina, Atlanta) are backto-back in October, so the 49ers likely will stay back east for them. Then their only game outside the Pacific Time Zone is their Nov. 21 trip to Mexico City.
Reasons to Hate It
1. PRIME-TIME PLAYERS? >> Getting assigned five games with prime-time kickoffs reflects the NFL's belief that the 49ers should compete well but also draw well on television. That held true in 2019, when they went 6-0 in prime time. The other four years under Kyle Shanahan: 2-10 in prime time (0-1 in 2017, 1-2 in `18, 0-4 in 2020, 1-3 in `21).
2. ALTITUDE ADJUSTMENT >> Instead of playing in milehigh Denver just before taking off to Mexico City (elevation: 7,200 feet) for a Nov. 21 game against the Cardinals, the 49ers will have to adjust fast. They visit Denver
in Week 3 (“Sunday Night Football” vs. Wilson), and two months later they head to Mexico City. Most international contestants get a bye after returning from abroad. Not these 49ers.
3. DIVISIONAL FATE >> Let's say Lance struggles out the gate the first couple months. By then, the division could be lost. Of their final seven games, only two are against NFC West opponents: Dec. 15 at Seattle and the Week 18 finale against Arizona.
Honorable Mention
BEST HOME GAME >> Tom Brady better not retire again or head to the Fox broadcast booth before Dec. 11, when he and the Buccaneers visit Levi's Stadium (1:25 p.m., Fox). The Bucs will be flying cross country on a short week, after a Monday night game against NFC South rival New Orleans.
NEXT-BEST HOME GAME >> Hosting the Rams on “Monday Night Football” in Week 4 (Oct. 3) should be a doozy, and a chance at avenging last season's NFC Championship Game defeat. REVENGE TOUR REBOOT >> OK, so 2020 did not exactly live up to the “Super Bowl Revenge Tour” we were promised. But on Oct. 23 at Levi's Stadium, the 49ers will get their first shot at Kansas City since the Chiefs rallied in Super Bowl LIV.
TWIN BILL ROAD TRIPS >> Yep, gotta go with the opener if you're a San Francisco fan. Take in the Giants-Cubs game on Friday night and Saturday, then hit Soldier Field for Sunday's season opener between the 49ers and the Bears.
More MLB games await in other cities during the 49ers' preseason visits to Minnesota (August 18-22), and Houston (Aug. 25), as well as the Week 3 trip to Denver (Sept. 18).
HAPPY NEW YEAR >> Book your Las Vegas hotel room (and club entry) now for New Year's Eve. Then find a nice Bloody Mary the next morning, stumble down The Strip to Allegiant Stadium, one of two new stadiums on the 49ers' tour this season; Atlanta is the other, on Oct. 16.
HOME FOR HOLIDAYS >> OK, maybe you flee to Vegas for New Year's. But the 49ers will be home for Christmas Eve, hosting the Washington Comets and Cupids and Commanders and Blitzes. Also, after spending Halloween abroad in 2019 (Arizona) and 2021 (Chicago), they'll be at the Rams on Oct. 30, presumably leaving enough time for The Faithful to spill out of SoFi Stadium and get home for the next day's fun.
THE HOMESTAND >> After the 49ers play in Mexico, they'll host in succession the Saints (Nov. 27), the Miami Dolphins (Dec. 4) and then the Bucs (Dec. 11). At least those teams have quite a long way to travel. The 49ers have yet to sweep a three-game homestand under Shanahan, after trying in 2018, `19 and `20.
GRAND FINALE >> Closing with the Cardinals is a nice going-away present, wherever the 49ers may be going. The Cardinals have not won a regular-season finale since 2017, and they've annually struggled down the stretch (lost 4-of-5 before dropping playoff opener in 2021; lost 5-of-7 to end 2020; lost 7-of-9 to cap 2019; lost 7-of-8 exiting 2018).