Despite finishing 5-11 last season, the San Francisco 49ers won't get any breaks this fall from their schedule – the dates and times of which were announced on Wednesday evening.
Over at CBS Sports, John Breech recently broke down every NFL team's strength of schedule in 2016 – based off of standings from a year ago. The 49ers, along with the Atlanta Falcons, topped the list with their opponents posting a combined 142-114 record for a .555 winning percentage.
The teeth of San Francisco's schedule will come in six games. The 49ers have to face the Arizona Cardinals (13-3) and the Seattle Seahawks (10-6) twice in addition to matchups versus the Carolina Panthers (15-1) and New England Patriots (12-4). Those four teams are the only playoff clubs on the San Francisco's 2016 slate.
There are a couple of silver linings to this post. Last year, six of the teams in the preseason top-10 strength of schedule list made the playoffs – including the Super Bowl champion Denver Broncos. Also, all three of San Francisco's divisional rivals face similarly tough roads in 2016 (Cardinals rank 7th, Seahawks rank 5th and Los Angeles Rams rank 3rd).
Below is the complete list, per CBS Sports:
T-1. San Francisco 49ers: 142-114, .555
T-1. Atlanta Falcons: 142-114, .555
- Los Angeles Rams: 141-115, .551
- New Orleans Saints: 140-116, .547
T-5. Seattle Seahawks: 139-117, .543
T-5. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: 139-117, .543
T-7. Arizona Cardinals: 136-120, .531
T-7. New York Jets: 136-120, .531
- New England Patriots: 134-122, .523
- Buffalo Bills: 133-123, .520
- Miami Dolphins: 132-124, .516
- Carolina Panthers: 131-125, .512
- San Diego Chargers: 130-126, .508
- Denver Broncos: 129-127, .504
- Oakland Raiders: 128-128, .500
- Kansas City Chiefs: 127-129, .496
- Washington Redskins: 126-130, .492
- Minnesota Vikings: 125-131, .488
T-19. Houston Texans: 124-132, .484
T-19. Baltimore Ravens: 124-132, .484
Check out the matchup graphics with details about each of the 49ers 16 regular season games.
- Cleveland Browns: 123-133, .480
- Indianapolis Colts: 122-134, .477
T-23. Pittsburgh Steelers: 121-135, .473
T-23. Tennessee Titans: 121-135, .473
T-23. Jacksonville Jaguars: 121-135, .473
- Philadelphia Eagles: 120-136, .469
T-27. Cincinnati Bengals: 119-137, .465
T-27. Detroit Lions: 119-137, .465
T-27. Dallas Cowboys: 119-137, .465
T-30. Chicago Bears: 118-138, .461
T-30. New York Giants: 118-138, .461
- Green Bay Packers: 117-139, .457
