The San Francisco 49ers wrapped up their 2025-26 regular season with a 12-5 record and a wild card berth in the 2026 NFL Playoffs. They came up short in their bid for the No. 1 seed after losing to the Seattle Seahawks in Week 18. They’re a wild card team and will be the No. 6 seed in the NFC playoff bracket.
San Francisco 49ers opponents 2026: Who’s on the schedule, how easy or hard will their schedule be
The 49ers finished third in the NFC West this season. We already know their 2026 opponents and what it means for their playoff chances next year.
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While the playoffs are still to come, this season turned out better than expectations even before we see how they perform in the playoffs. The team unloaded Deebo Samuel and other veterans to clear roster space and try to reload now rather than rebuild later. They were expected to deal with some growing pains, but the young players on their roster came together quicker than expected. Considering they lost pass rusher Nick Bosa and linebacker Fred Warner, and never got back the services of wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk, this was a fairly successful season.
They’ll head into the 2026-27 season with growing expectations. They will get Bosa and Warner back, and given some of their salary cap savings this past year, they are likely to invest a fair amount in free agency this coming offseason.
San Francisco 49ers list of opponents
Home opponents
- Arizona Cardinals
- Los Angeles Rams
- Seattle Seahawks
- Philadelphia Eagles
- Washington Commanders
- Denver Broncos
- Las Vegas Raiders
- Minnesota Vikings
- Miami Dolphins
Road opponents
- Arizona Cardinals
- Los Angeles Rams
- Seattle Seahawks
- Dallas Cowboys
- Kansas City Chiefs
- Los Angeles Chargers
- New York Giants
- Atlanta Falcons
San Francisco 49ers schedule analysis
The 49ers will have nine home games and eight road games next season pending the announcement of the matchups for the 2026 international games. The rotation will include matchups against the entire NFC East and AFC West, along with their usual six divisional games within the NFC West. Since they finished third in the division, they will be matched up with the third place finishers of the NFC North (Vikings), AFC East (Dolphins), and NFC South (Falcons).
Two of the notable games on the slate are at home against the Commanders and on the road against the Chiefs. Commanders QB Jayden Daniels should be back for this game, but Patrick Mahomes is uncertain due to the late season ACL injury. The third place finish does offer up a fairly manageable schedule, with the Falcons, Giants, Vikings, and Dolphins all coming off poor seasons and with numerous questions moving forward. We know that some teams will be better than expected and some will be worse, but for now this feels like a decent schedule for the 49ers.
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