The San Francisco 49ers have gotten used to first-place schedules over the past few years. However, after a disappointing last-place finish at 6-11 in 2024, they’ll be getting a last-place team’s schedule in 2025. And Brock Purdy and company need to take advantage.
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The 49ers have the easiest schedule in 2025, no matter how you slice it. In terms of strength of schedule based on 2024 wins and losses, they rank at the bottom. In terms of strength of schedule based on projected 2025 wins and losses, they also have the easiest path.
With Purdy about to receive a massive payday, the 49ers will be expecting big things from their quarterback. Especially given the level of competition next season. According to Colin Cowherd, there should be no more excuses for Purdy, as the 49ers head into this cupcake schedule fully healthy — and with Purdy (hopefully) fully paid.
“They have the easiest NFL schedule, I’m not joking, since the 2015 Atlanta Falcons, and it’s based on two metrics,” said the analyst (via The Herd).
“Number one is, last year’s results, so they’re playing a lot of teams that were bad last year. And the second metric is, a lot of teams that are projected to be lousy this year. So on two different metrics, they’ve got the easiest schedule,” Cowherd added.
San Francisco’s schedule is honestly laughable. Not only do they get to play the NFC West teams twice — none of which are guaranteed to be playoff-caliber in 2025 — but they also face the two worst divisions in the sport by a mile: the AFC South and the NFC South.
To top it off, their extra random game against one AFC and one NFC opponent each will be versus the Cleveland Browns and New York Giants. Talk about a couple of sorry franchises.
Cowherd argued that this schedule is “an affront to competitive football” and that any elite QB would automatically rack up 13 or 14 wins against these opponents. Because of that, Cowherd doesn’t have much patience for any praise of Purdy, even if he manages 10.
“And I don’t wanna hear $55 million Brock Purdy, I don’t wanna hear any excuses. Or I don’t wanna hear any pom-poms when he wins 10 games with this mess of a schedule. Not only is this schedule littered with mediocrity, they don’t face a single team off a bye. Outside of Matt Stafford twice and C.J. Stroud once, they don’t face what people view as an elite quarterback.”
"They have the easiest NFL schedule since the 2015 Atlanta Falcons."@ColinCowherd reacts to the San Francisco 49ers' 2025 schedule and says there is no excuse for them to not win at least 10 games. pic.twitter.com/7FImKrsxZ8
— Herd w/Colin Cowherd (@TheHerd) May 15, 2025
Cowherd is clearly offended by this schedule. But it’s not like the league did the 49ers any favors. Schedules are largely determined by a rotating system. For the 49ers, they play the AFC divisions in this repeating order: AFC West, AFC North, AFC East, AFC South. In the NFC, it goes NFC East, NFC North, NFC South. They just happened to have both awful South divisions land in the same year, 2025.
In 2024, it could be argued the 49ers had one of the tougher schedules, so they were due for a slightly easier one.
With the easy schedule, everyone healthy, and expectations rather low this year, it’s the perfect low-pressure opportunity for Brock Purdy to prove he really is the $55 million man. We’re with Cowherd on this one: no excuses in 2025. Giddy up, Brocky boy.
