The time for optimism and hope is over.
It’s time for the cold, harsh reality of another NFL regular season.
This isn’t just a game for tough guys. It’s for the toughest guys. And hopefully tough fans, too.
The 49ers could go in any direction this season, but I fully expect one thing to permeate every week of the season: uncertainty.
The Niners’ 2025 campaign is going to require frequent gut checks, with sky-high peaks that always seem countered with sad-sack lows.
It’s going to be painful, folks.
And it’s going to end in the most painful of ways.
Let me tell you how I came to that conclusion, week by week.
And if you don’t like what I’m seeing in my crystal ball, you’re more than welcome to send me what you see in yours — dkurtenbach@bayareanewsgroup.com:
Week 1 at Seattle Seahawks
Loss [0-1] | The Niners, who might start five rookies on defense, can’t stop the run, but they also can’t run against five-and-six-man Seattle fronts. The Seattle crowd rattles the kids, the pass game is out of sync after, effectively, never practicing together this August, and Riq Woolen and Devon Witherspoon have Ricky Pearsall locked down.
Week 2 at New Orleans Saints
Win [1-1] | But like every visit to New Orleans, no one feels good the next morning.
Week 3 vs. Arizona Cardinals
Loss [1-2] | We saw it last year. Early-season Kyler Murray will run and James Conner will bulldoze this Niners’ defense. Also, don’t sleep on the Cardinals’ defense — it’s stout and runs a lot of those wide fronts the Niners couldn’t match in Seattle. A tight one, but Arizona wins it with the better run game.
Week 4 vs. Jacksonville Jaguars
Win [2-2] | The Niners’ pass game explodes while McCaffrey goes wild through the air and on the ground. Meanwhile, Renardo Green locks up Brian Thomas, and first-time head coach Liam Coen panics as the game slips away from him.
Week 5 at Los Angeles Rams (Thursday Night Football)
Win [3-2] | Matt Stafford needs his rest. He can’t go in this game, and the Niners relentlessly attack the questionable Rams secondary.
Week 6 at Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Win [4-2] | And it’ll be easier than last year, as Baker Mayfield has turned back into a pumpkin in time for Halloween. And we’re feeling pretty good, aren’t we?
Week 7 vs. Atlanta Falcons (Sunday Night Football)
Loss [4-3] | This is a good ol’ fashioned shootout, with Brock Purdy and Michael Penix landing haymaker after haymaker against questionable defenses. The difference? Kyle Pitts has a great game, and the Falcons make their kicks.
Week 8 at Houston Texans
Loss [4-4] | Soon-to-be Defensive Player of the Year Will Anderson has a field day in Houston, as the Texans’ hard-hitting defense leaves the Niners looking for answers just a week after putting up big points.
Week 9 at New York Giants
Win [5-4] | A low-scoring affair where rookie Jaxson Dart finds a way to mess it up late. (It’s what he did at Ole Miss, after all.)
Week 10 vs. Los Angeles Rams
Loss [5-5] | Stafford plays, and Rams coach Sean McVay always adjusts. Kyle Shanahan, on the other hand…
Week 11 at Arizona Cardinals
Win [6-5] | This is late-season Kyler — the one who doesn’t want to be hit. The new Call of Duty came out just days before. Shanahan, meanwhile, bounces back after the Rams debacle. It’s also a de facto home game.
Week 12 vs. Carolina Panthers (Monday Night Football)
Loss [6-6] | Do the 49ers have a prime-time problem? Battered and bruised, the Niners lose another shootout.
Week 13 at Cleveland Browns
Win [7-6] | I might be a pessimist, but that doesn’t mean I’m crazy.
Week 14 BYE
Week 15 vs. Tennessee Titans
Loss [7-7] | The NFL’s shock team takes advantage of a Niners team that comes out rusty. Cam Ward does his best vintage Russell Wilson impression as Tennessee’s defensive interior makes life hell for Purdy in the most critical moments of the game.
Week 16 at Indianapolis Colts (Monday Night Football)
Win [8-7] | It’s go time for San Francisco, and they have the nation lunging for the remote as Jeff Saturday’s second stint as interim head coach leaves the Colts down three touchdowns at half.
Week 17 vs. Chicago Bears (Sunday Night Football)
Win [9-7] | It comes down to the wire, but the young defense shows serious spark and the more physical team wins on a nasty, rainy night in Santa Clara.
Week 18 vs. Seattle Seahawks
Loss [9-8] | It all comes down to this. One game for the division (and the division’s one playoff spot)… And Seattle exacts revenge for 2019.