After Part 2 of my schedule predictions, I had the San Francisco 49ers’ record at 10-2. Let’s get right into the final stretch of the schedule, Weeks 14-18 to see what my overall schedule predictions will look like!
Week 14: San Francisco 49ers @ Cincinnati Bengals
The 49ers last played Cincinnati in 2019, the year they went to the Super Bowl. In that matchup, the 49ers came out on top with a dominating performance, winning the contest by a score of 41-17. Many of the 49ers starters who played in that blowout are still on the team in 2021. They have a significant coaching advantage against the Bengals, as well as a significant talent advantage. The core players for the 49ers should lead them to a relatively easy victory against the Bengals in Week 14. This puts the 49ers’ record after Week 14 at 11-2.
Week 15: Atlanta Falcons @ San Francisco 49ers
Like the Bengals, the 49ers last played the Atlanta Falcons in 2019, the year they went to the Super Bowl. Atlanta came out on top in that game, outscoring the 49ers 19-9 in the fourth quarter and winning on a last second touchdown catch by former Falcon Julio Jones. Every year, there is always a game that you expect a team to win (because of more talent and better coaching), which that team ends up losing. The Falcons loss in 2019 was this game for the 49ers, and I predict that history will repeat itself. The Falcons have a new, promising head coach in Arthur Smith. They have an all around tight end, Kyle Pitts, who they drafted at 4 overall in 2021, and Matt Ryan is still a very experienced quarterback. I predict that the 49ers will suffer an unexpected loss in Week 15, moving their overall record to 11-3.
Week 16: San Francisco 49ers @ Tennessee Titans
This will be one of the toughest games for the 49ers this year, for many reasons. First of all, they are playing on a short week, with this game being a Thursday Night Football matchup. Second of all, the 49ers need to travel all the way from Santa Clara to the East Coast (a 5 to 6 h0ur flight) to play a road game. Lastly, they are playing a good, physical football team. The Tennessee Titans have one of the best wide receiver duos in the NFL, consisting of Julio Jones and A.J. Brown. They have arguably the best running back in the NFL in Derrick Henry, who rushed for over 2,000 yards last season. While their quarterback Ryan Tannehill isn’t the flashiest of quarterbacks, he has led Tennessee to the playoffs the last two years, including an AFC Championship appearance in 2019. While I believe that the 49ers have more talent than the Titans on paper, as well as better coaching, I also believe they have too many factors going against them in this game. For this reason, I predict that the Titans will beat the 49ers in a very physical matchup, moving the 49ers’ overall record to 11-4 and putting them on their first two game losing streak of the season.
Week 17: Houston Texans @ San Francisco 49ers
Not much to be said here. The 49ers are playing at home, and are a significantly better team than the Texans in terms of talent and coaching. The Texans have a first year head coach in David Culley, and lost two of their most prolific players this offseason (J.J. Watt to the Cardinals and Deshaun Watson to legal trouble). Hence, like most people, I predict that the 49ers will comfortably win this game, and move their record to 12-4.
Week 18: San Francisco 49ers @ Los Angeles Rams
Here we are. Week 18. Like the last game of the season in 2019 (49ers @ Seahawks), this game could have major implications when determining the division and conference seeding. I predicted that the 49ers would beat the Rams in Week 10, meaning that they will be high on confidence in this game, going up against the same opposition. However, the Rams will also be high on confidence, playing the 49ers with a better roster than last year at their new stadium WITH fans. With two very talented offenses running the same system, I expect this to be a high scoring game, similar to the Rams @ 49ers game in 2019. While this might be hard to swallow if you’re a 49er fan, I predict that the 49ers’ dominance over the Rams over the past two seasons will come to an end this week, with the Rams beating the 49ers in a close game that comes down to the wire. This means the 49ers finish the season with an overall record of 12-5.
The San Francisco 49ers, while having a very positive first and second quarter of the season, compiling a record of 10-2, finish the last quarter off in a less convincing manner. They lose 3 out of their last 5 games, and finish the season with a 12-5 overall record. A 12-5 record demonstrates that the team was competitive all year and also made the playoffs. I don’t think that it will be enough to secure the #1 seed in the conference, but I believe that 12-5 should win them the conference and give them at least one home playoff game. Let me know what you think of my schedule predictions down in the comments!
My Schedule Prediction: Parts 1 and 2
Part 1: http://www.sportophy.com/?p=129
Part 2: http://www.sportophy.com/?p=134