Predicting the 49ers 2020 Win-Loss Record
The 49ers released their schedule for 2020. Here is my best attempt to predict the wins and losses. And before you get worked up about my picks, just remember I predicted the 49ers would go 6-10 last season. So what do I know?
Week 1: Home against the Arizona Cardinals.
The 49ers are better than the Cardinals, but the 49ers lost to an inferior team last season -- the Falcons. And the Falcons had two things going for them -- an MVP quarterback (Matt Ryan) who doesn’t crumble when he faces a great pass rush, and an MVP-caliber wide receiver (Julio Jones) who can pick on Emmanuel Moseley or Ahkello Witherspoon.
The Cardinals have both of those things. Their quarterback, Kyle Murray, is extremely poised and elusive. He put up a quarterback rating of 114 in two games against the 49ers last season. And he didn’t have great receivers. Now he has DeAndre Hopkins, arguably the best wide receiver in the NFL.
This will be a close game, but the Cardinals will find a way to pull off the upset on the road.
Result: Loss.
Week 2: Away against the New York Jets.
This could be a tough game, because it’s on the East Coast and it starts at 10:00 a.m. Pacific Time. Plus, the Jets have running back Le’Veon Bell, who’s good, and the 49ers have a suspect run defense which may have gotten worse when they traded DeForest Buckner.
But the 49ers will not start the season 0-2. And they will not lose to a mediocre quarterback such as Sam Darnold. The only quarterbacks who beat the 49ers last season were Russell Wilson, Lamar Jackson, Matt Ryan and Patrick Mahomes. Teams need elite quarterbacks to beat the 49ers.
Result: Win.
Week 3: Away against the New York Giants.
Fortunately for the 49ers, they get to play their two New Jersey road games back to back. Meaning they don’t have to return to Santa Clara. They can stay in Youngstown, Ohio between games, and adjust to East Coast Time.
The Giants have a great running back -- Saquon Barkley. But he can’t beat the 49ers by himself. And the Giants quarterback, Daniel Jones, is a glorified Christian Ponder. The 49ers will make Jones look sick.
Result: Win.
Week 4: Home against the Philadelphia Eagles.
Carson Wentz certainly is an MVP-caliber quarterback -- he came close to winning the award in 2017 before he tore his ACL.
But the rest of his team is overrated. The wide receivers and the offensive linemen are old, and the running game doesn’t scare anyone. Wentz is the entire team. And his head coach, Doug Pederson, runs a gimmick RPO system which the league figured out two years ago.
Result: Win.
Week 5: Home against the Miami Dolphins.
The Dolphins are tough. They had a rookie head coach last season, Brian Flores, who performed well despite his front office trading most of his good players. The Dolphins still won five of their final nine games.
Their quarterback next season will be rookie Tua Tagovailoa, who has talent. But he won’t have OTAs or minicamp to learn his offense.
The 49ers should not lose to a rookie quarterback next season.
Result: Win.
Week 6: Home against the Los Angeles Rams.
Jared Goff is not an MVP-caliber quarterback. He wilts under pressure.
But Goff isn’t the Rams’ biggest problem. The Rams have a run-first offense and their running game stinks. It ranked 26th out of 32 teams last season. Big problem.
Unless the Rams figure out how to run the ball like they did two years ago, they will finish last in the NFC West.
Result: Win.
Week 7: Away against the New England Patriots.
It’s always difficult to win in Foxborough, and the Partiots will be coming off a bye week. But the 49ers won’t have to face Tom Brady. Instead, they’ll face Jared Stidham, who will be making his sixth-career start.
Tough task for the young quarterback.
Result: Win.
Week 8: Away against the Seattle Seahawks.
It’s hard enough to win in Seattle. It’s almost impossible to win there one week after traveling cross country.
The last time the 49ers played in Seattle just a week after playing in New England, the Seahawks beat the Niners 42-13. This was 2012. The Niners were exhausted. But they would bounce back and go to the Super Bowl a couple months later.
The 49ers lost every game in Seattle from 2012 to 2018. Last season, they won in Seattle by an inch, when Dre Greenlaw stopped Jacob Hollister at the goal line.
Next season, the Seahawks will win by two inches.
Result: Loss.
Week 9: Home against the Green Bay Packers.
A Thursday night game following back-to-back road games. Meaning the 49ers will be dog tired. And the Packers have Aaron Rodgers, a future Hall of Famer.
But Rodgers has no help. He has one quality wide receiver -- Davante Adams, who’s good but not great. Not an MVP-caliber player. And the rest of the offense is sub par. Plus the defense can’t stop the run. And the head coach is way over his head. The league will expose him big time next season. Rodgers carried the Packers in 2019.
Result: Win.
Week 10: Away against the New Orleans Saints.
The 49ers caught a break, because this game will start at 1:25 p.m. Pacific Time. Plus, they beat the Saints in New Orleans last season.
But that game came down to the end -- the Saints easily could have won it. Drew Brees was great, and so was his tight end, Jared Cook, who scored two touchdowns before leaving the game in the second quarter with a concussion. That concussion changed the game.
The Saints have improved since then -- they signed Emmanuel Sanders. And the 49ers have gotten younger. This is the toughest game on the 49ers schedule.
Result: Loss.
Week 11: Bye.
Week 12: Away against the Los Angeles Rams.
The 49ers should not lose to the Rams next season. The Rams seem like a five-win team at best.
Result: Win.
Week 13: Home against the Buffalo Bills.
This will be a Monday Night game, and it will be a close one. The Bills went to the playoffs last season. They have a great defense and a terrific running game -- in those ways, they’re similar to the 49ers.
But the Bills’ quarterback is Josh Allen, who’s completion percentage was just 58.8 percent last season. He’s one of the least accurate quarterbacks in the NFL.
Do you have a life-size picture of Allen beating the 49ers? I don’t.
Result: Win.
Week 14: Home against Washington.
The 49ers shut out Washington in Washington last season. The 49ers should blow them out in Santa Clara.
Result: Win.
Week 15: Away against the Dallas Cowboys.
Dak Prescott is a borderline-MVP-caliber quarterback, and he plays with an elite offensive line, an excellent running back (Ezekiel Elliott) and three terrific wide receivers (Amari Cooper, Michael Gallup and CeeDee Lamb). If the Cowboys offensive line can neutralize the 49ers’ pass rush, then the Cowboys receivers will burn the 49ers’ secondary.
Bad matchup for the 49ers.
Result: Loss.
Week 16: Away against the Cardinals.
This should be another close game, but the 49ers are better than the Cardinals, meaning the 49ers should beat the Cardinals at least once next season.
Result: Win.
Week 17: Home against the Seattle Seahawks.
The 49ers also are better than the Seahawks, and this will be a home game right before the playoffs. The 49ers will not limp into the postseason. They will take care of business in the regular-season finale against their biggest rival.
Result: Win.
Final record: 12-4
