Why 49ers' 2025 schedule is vastly easier than Seahawks' & rest of NFC West

Week 1 of the NFL regular season kicks off in less than two weeks, and the Seattle Seahawks immediately start their 2025 campaign against the team's most bitter rival.

Luckily for Seattle, they will be at home in the first matchup. The Seahawks won't have to travel to Santa Clara until Week 18, which could have major playoff implications if both teams are competitive this season.

Even with that benefit, the Seahawks have arguably the hardest schedule in the NFC West this season. San Francisco has the easiest by a decent margin, at least when weighing how many 2024 playoff teams they will have to face.

49ers won't face many of 2024's top teams

Dec 12, 2024; Santa Clara, California, USA; Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Puka Nacua (17) is tackled by San Francisco 49ers cornerback Charvarius Ward (7) after making a catch for a first down in the fourth quarter at Levi's Stadium. | Cary Edmondson-Imagn Images

One season after finishing 12-5 overall and reaching the Super Bowl for the second time in five years (three straight trips to the NFC Championship), San Francisco finished last in the NFC West at 6-11 last season.

The 49ers will only have four games against 2024 playoff teams this season (three different teams), per ESPN Research, which is tied for the least in the league with the New Orleans Saints, who finished 5-12 last season. They will face the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (Week 6), Houston Texans (Week 8) and Los Angeles Rams twice (Weeks 5 and 10).

Conversely, the Seahawks have seven games against teams that reached the postseason last year (six different teams) — the most in the division. Seattle will play the Pittsburgh Steelers (Week 2), Buccaneers (Week 5), Texans (Week 7), Washington Commanders (Week 9), Minnesota Vikings (Week 13) and the Rams twice (Weeks 11 and 16).

Los Angeles and Arizona fall in between. The Rams, who made the playoffs last season, will have five games against 2024 playoff teams, all against different franchises. The Cardinals will have six against five different teams as well.

With the 49ers' schedule being easier, the emphasis on getting intra-division and intra-conference wins will be even higher. Seattle narrowly lost the division title tiebreaker to the Rams last season, even though each had the same record in the NFC West (4-2), as Los Angeles had a narrow strength of victory advantage.

Seattle last won the division title in 2020. If Mike Macdonald could lead his rising Seahawks to that crown this season, it would be big for his young head coaching resume.

49ers won't face many of 2024's top teams

More Seahawks on SI stories