The San Francisco 49ers finished with a 6-11 record during the 2024 NFL season, which was good enough for a last place finish in the NFC West. But they are the favorites to go from worst to first in the division for the coming season, thanks in large part to having the softest schedule in the league for 2025.
The 49ers Have The Easiest Schedule In The NFL In 2025
It was certainly a down year for Kyle Shanahan’s team. They were coming off of two straight NFC West titles in 2022 and 2023, a run that featured Super Bowl and Conference Title Game appearances. But due to injuries and overall regression at certain positions, San Francisco finished with their lowest win total since 2020 and missed the postseason entirely.
Almost there 🙌 pic.twitter.com/P8pGePit64
— San Francisco 49ers (@49ers) July 21, 2025
As disappointing as 2024 was for the 49ers, the struggles were a blessing in disguise moving forward. Due to finishing in fourth place in their division, San Francisco was given a last-place schedule for the upcoming campaign, and will have, by far, the easiest schedule of any team.
The teams that the 49ers are set to play against in 2025 had a total winning percentage of .414 last season. That is easily the lowest mark in the league, and they’re the first non-NFC South team to hold the title of softest schedule since 2022. They will play games against the Titans, Browns, Giants, Saints, and Panthers, all of whom finished in the bottom-8 in the league last year.
Outside of their divisional matchups, the toughest games on the schedule for the 49ers will come against the Texans and Buccaneers.
Health Will Be A Key Factor For San Francisco
Much of the potential success for the 49ers depends on their ability to remain healthy. They played significant portions of their 2024 season without some of their key players, which weighed heavily in the win column.
What was the best change the 49ers made this offseason?
Bringing back Robert Saleh, according to George Kittle #FTTB | 🎥: @UpAndAdamsShow
pic.twitter.com/2fv6qPz8AZ— Sleeper49ers (@SleeperSF49ers) July 15, 2025
Two of their biggest contributors from the prior season, Christian McCaffrey and Brandon Aiyuk, combined to play in just 11 games. Key offensive lineman Trent Williams appeared in 10 of 17 contests. Their running back depth was depleted by season’s end, and their rookie wide receiver missed games early on while recovering from a gun shot wound.
But if the team is able to get through at least most of the season with healthy pieces, there is little reason to believe they’ll finish anywhere except first place in their division. The oddsmakers at the sportsbooks have the 49ers listed as +150 favorites to take the NFC West, and a win total of 10.5 games. They have relatively short Super Bowl odds as well for a team that finished 6-11 last year, listed at +2000 behind only six other teams.
