The 49ers 2022 schedule has officially been released. We no longer have to verify rumors or wonder if leaks are accurate. During the last two seasons, the 49ers had five primetime games. Off another successful year in 2021, the Niners are once again featured in the maximum number of primetime games.
The 49ers finish the season with six of their final nine games at home, and none of them are outside of the Pacific time zone, with the exception of Week 11 in Mexico City.
Here’s the full schedule with times, dates, and TV channels. All times listed are Pacific.
Preseason Week 1: vs. packers
Preseason Week 2: @ Vikings
Preseason Week 3: @ Texans
Week 1: @ Chicago Bears, Sunday, September 18, 10:00 AM PDT
- Fields vs. Throw
- A favorable opener for a quarterback starting in his first full season.
- DeMeco Ryans and the Niners’ defense couldn’t have asked for a better opener.
Week 2: vs. Seattle Seahawks, Sunday, September 25, 1:05 PM PDT
- Seattle faces Denver in Week 1, so the 49ers get their rivals on a short week
- This makes two games in a row where San Francisco won’t face a prominent pass rush
- Rookie first-round LT Charles Cross against Nick Bosa. Poor fella.
Week 3: @ Denver Broncos, Sunday, October 2, 5:20 PM PT
- It wouldn’t be a 49er season without Russell Wilson standing in the way.
- This will be the first “test” of the season, but the Niners may catch a break with Jerry Jeudy facing a second-degree tampering charge.
- Denver has familiar faces in DJ Jones, K’Waun Williams, and Tom Compton on its roster.
Week 4 vs. Los Angeles Rams, Monday, October 10, 5:20 PM PT
- These next two games are the opposite of the first two as far as strength of schedule goes. Will the 49ers’ regular-season dominance continue against the team that bounced them in the NFC Championship last year?
- I think we see the Rams’ defense take a step back in 2022.
- I think we see the Rams offense even better in Year 2 with Matthew Stafford and Sean McVay.
Week 5: @ Carolina Panthers, Sunday, October 16, 1:05 PM PT
- Another weak early-season opponent for the 49ers.
- The Panthers’ over/under on regular-season wins is currently set at 6.5, marking the Niners’ third opponent in their first five games that betting lines expect to finish worse than 7-10.
- While their selection of Matt Corral in the draft probably closed the door on any move, it’s still not out of the question that Jimmy Garoppolo could be under center for Carolina.
Week 6: @ Atlanta Falcons, Sunday, October 23, 10:00 AM PT
- The schedule sets up nicely for the 49ers to start 4-2. Many believe the Falcons have the worst roster in the NFL.
- Teams that give the Niners issues on defense generally have firepower on offense that overwhelms their defense. That’s not Atlanta.
- This should be around the time when Trey Lance and the offense begin to hit their stride.
- This will be the last game of the regular season that the 49ers play in the Eastern Time Zone.
Week 7: vs. Kansas City Chiefs, Sunday, October 30, 1:25 PM PT
- A Super Bowl rematch. The overreactions to this game will be fun, especially if Lance outduels Mahomes.
- We’ve seen two “bad” teams followed by two good teams, and that cycle repeats itself to round out the first half of the season.
- The Charvarius Ward revenge game
Week 8: @ Los Angeles Rams, November 6, 1:25 PM PT
- Playing the Rams twice in the span of a month is a change. We’re used to seeing the Rams earlier in the season, then not until one of the final weeks.
- Even though this game isn’t later in the season, it’ll hold significance in the standings as both teams are expected to compete for the divisional crown.
Week 9: BYE
- The Niners have had some bad luck with early-season BYEs in recent years. Most teams usually view a midseason BYE as preferable.
Week 10: vs. Los Angeles Chargers, 1:25 PM PT, NBC
- The Chargers might be the most exciting team in the NFL next year. The 49ers will cherish that BYE week as Kyle Shanahan and DeMeco Ryans try to scheme up ways to attack one of the most talented teams in the NFL.
- The Niners will get a break, then travel to Los Angeles and Mexico City.
Week 11: @ Arizona Cardinals (Mexico City), Monday, November 21, 5:15 PM PST
- The 49ers and Cardinals are returning to Mexico City for the first time since 2005.
- San Francisco has to be happy that the international matchup is costing their division rival a home game.
Week 12: vs. New Orleans Saints, Sunday, November 27, 1:25 PM PT
- Returning home instead of having to travel to New Orleans after playing in the elevation of Mexico City is a break for the 49ers.
- Who knows what to expect from the Saints in 2022, but if the 49ers are going to be a playoff team, they can’t fall.
Week 13: vs. Miami Dolphins, Sunday, December 4, 1:05 PM PT
- Mike McDaniel and Raheem Mostert return to the Bay Area.
- Will the Niners be able to contain the speed of Mostert, Tyreek Hill, and Jaylen Waddle?
- The offense should score enough points where it doesn’t matter.
Week 14: vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers, December 11, 1:25 PM PT
- Tom Brady. Enough said.
- This could be a potential playoff matchup.
Week 15: @ Seattle Seahawks, Thursday, December 15, 5:15 PM PST
- The short week is not going to do either team any favors, but both will be playing off a short week.
- Barring arguably the greatest performance of Pete Carroll’s head coaching career, Seattle will be far removed from playoff contention by this point in the season.
- If Drew Lock is the Seahawks’ starter in Week 1, I’d expect Geno Smith to be their starter by this point in the season. If Smith is under center Week 1, I’d expect to see Lock for this matchup.
- The Seahawks should still have an impressive home-field advantage at Lumen Field, but it’s hard to imagine it will play as well this year.
Week 16: vs. Washington Commanders, Saturday, December 24, 1:05 PM PST
- Carson Wentz is one of the most inconsistent quarterbacks in the NFL, but that has not done much for the 49ers in their three face-offs against the former number one overall pick (Wentz is 3-0 in his career against SF).
- This could be a unique matchup between two starting quarterbacks from the same college (both Lance and Wentz attended North Dakota State).
Week 17: @ Las Vegas Raiders, Sunday, January 1, 1:05 PM PST
- The former Bay Area rivalry heads to the City of Sin for the first time.
- The Raiders made some big additions this offseason (eg, Davante Adams and Chandler Jones) but are also projected to be in the bottom half of the AFC West.
- They could still be playing for a Wild-Card spot, but the Niners could benefit from a late-season matchup when Vegas might already be eliminated from the postseason in a stacked AFC.
Week 18: vs. Arizona Cardinals, Saturday/Sunday, January 7/8, TBD
- The 49ers will have to wait a little longer to know their specific matchup for Week 18 as the NFL waits to see how the early season plays out before finalizing these schedules.
- I’m comfortable speculating that Kliff Kingsbury will not be the Cardinals’ head coach if they do not reach the postseason this season.
- No division rival has given Kyle Shanahan more trouble than Arizona; we’ll see if he can shake that trend this season.
Superbowl: +1600
NFC: +750
NFC West: +190