Not by who they played, but just what days they played in the last three weeks.

MNF in week 16. Short week to Sunday game in week 17. Then another short week to play on Saturday in week 18.

I don't know if having an extra day would have changed the outcome - would SF have had Trent Williams and/or Pearsall if the game was played on Sunday? But they sure didn't do the Niners any favors

If I were SF, I'd propose a new rule at the league meetings that teams can't be scheduled for short weeks multiple weeks in a row.

I am a 49ers fan, and I hated how the NFL had the 49ers playing on a short week 2 weeks in a row. The Bears got a 2-day rest advantage over the 49ers because they were coming off a Saturday night game and the 49ers were coming off a Monday night game. The 49ers overcame that 2-day rest disadvantage to outlast the Bears 42-38 in a Sunday Night Football shootout thriller.

The Seahawks' road game against the Panthers in Week 17 ended 7 hours before the 49ers home game against the Bears, but the 49ers got to stay home. I don't think an extra day would have made a difference because the Seahawks controlled the 49ers from start to finish. If not for a failed 4th and goal conversion and 2 missed field goals from 47 yards and 26 yards, the Seahawks would have beaten the 49ers 26-3. The Seahawks outgained the 49ers 361 total yards to 173 total yards, 23 first downs to 9 first downs, a time of possession 37:48 to 22:12, and won the turnover margin 1 to 0.

I understand that the NFL uses "flexible scheduling" for week 18. I was hoping the NFL would schedule the winner-take-all game between the Seahawks and 49ers game for the NFC's No. 1 seed in the Sunday Night Football slot and the Ravens vs Steelers game for the Saturday night slot. It turned out the NFL made the right decision because the last play of the 272nd and last regular season game between the Ravens and Steelers decided the last playoff spot for the AFC North division title, and the Seahawks vs 49ers was more lopsided than the final score.

With all that said, I think the 49er should propose a new rule at the league meetings that teams can't be scheduled for short weeks multiple weeks in a row. Maybe, the NFL should eliminate Saturday games in Week 18 because it could mean two short weeks in a row for the teams playing a Monday night game in week 16.

I'm very curious on why the 49ers have so many injuries, year after year!

Matsui said:

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I'm very curious on why the 49ers have so many injuries, year after year!

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The 49ers were relatively healthy during their Super Bowl runs in 2019 and 2023. In 2022, the 49ers started with Trey Lance, who suffered a broken right ankle in week 2. Then Jimmy Garoppolo suffered a season-ending broken left foot in week 13. That's when Brock Purdy took over and he led the 49ers to the NFC Championship Game before he suffered a torn UCL in his right throwing elbow, giving the 49ers no chance to compete with the Eagles on the road. Despite those injuries, the 49ers won 12 consecutive games (last 10 regular season games and 2 playoff games).

The 49ers have been injury riddled over the last two years, but they still managed to double their win total from 6-11 in 2024 to 12-5 in 2025. It's crazy how the NFC West became the first division in NFL history with three teams of 12+ wins (14-3 Seahawks, 12-5 Rams, and 12-5 49ers), and they're the only three teams from the NFC to hit that mark this season.

Trey Lance getting hurt is the best thing that ever happened to the 49ers

speaking of Trey...

he doesn't get talked about like one of the all-time busts (3rd overall pick)...but he should be -- only made 6 professional starts in 5 years

kudos to the 49ers for cutting bait so quickly -- SF realized they had made a mistake

W said:

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speaking of Trey...

he doesn't get talked about like one of the all-time busts (3rd overall pick)...but he should be -- only made 6 professional starts in 5 years

kudos to the 49ers for cutting bait so quickly -- SF realized they had made a mistake

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As a Hawk fan I dislike the 9ers. But I give them major props for overcoming that trade, draft crash and burn. They traded a lot to get a bust. Lots of teams wouldn't recover fast. They still suck though. Go Hawks!

To me the biggest "What if...?" of the whole Trey Lance mess isn't that they used their 1st round pick in 2021 on a QB who didn't work out, it's the 2022 and 2023 first rounders that they also gave up.

How much better would SF be if they'd had those picks? (Oh, and they could have stayed put at #12 in 2021 and gotten Mac Jones, taken at #15. Or gotten Micah Parsons at #12.)

And a note on the 49ers injury rate: I saw something that purported that every single LB on SF's opening day roster is now injured, starters and backups. Philly will have something like 20 of their 22 week 1 starters available.

I hate how the NFL scheduled the 49ers vs Seahawks game on Saturday and the Rams vs Bears game on Sunday because the 49ers played yesterday, and both the Rams and Bears played on Saturday. The 49ers will be playing on a short week for the 3rd time in 4 weeks: Monday Night Game in Week 16; Sunday Night Game in Week 17; Saturday Night Game in Week 18; Sunday afternoon game in Week 19 (Wild Card Game); and Saturday game in Week 20 (Divisional Round).

But I realized the NFL often schedules the No. 1 seeds from both conferences for Saturday divisional windows to avoid giving them too much rest, and the No. 1 seeds from both conferences will play Divisional Round games on a Saturday for the 5th straight year.

2021: Titans and Packers both played divisional round games on 1/22/22, a Saturday

2022: Chiefs and Eagles both played divisional round games on 1/21/23, a Saturday

2023: Ravens and 49ers both played divisional round games on 1/20/24, a Saturday

2024: Chiefs and Lions both played divisional round games on 1/18/25, a Saturday

2025: Broncos and Seahawks will both play divisional round games on 1/17/26, a Saturday

If the Packers had beaten the Bears, they would have played the Seahawks. I think a No. 7 Packers @ No. 1 Seahawks game would have been scheduled for Saturday, and a No. 6 49ers @ No. 5 Rams game would have been scheduled for Sunday. That's why I think the Packers' blown 18-point halftime lead caused the 49ers to play on a short week for the 3rd time in 4 weeks.

The previous years that the No. 1 seeds from both conferences played Divisional Round games on a Saturday were in 2009, 2014, 2017, and 2019.

2009: Saints and Colts both played divisional games 1/16/10, a Saturday.

2014: Patriots and Seahawks both played divisional games on 1/10/15, a Saturday

2017: Eagles and Patriots both played divisional games on 1/13/18, a Saturday.

2019: 49ers and Titans both played divisional games on 1/11/20, a Saturday.

The 49ers have been on both sides of playing Divisional Round games on a Saturday. When the 49ers were the No. 1 seed in 2019 and 2023, they played either a No. 6 or No. 7 Seed on a Saturday, and their Divisional Round opponents were coming off road playoff wins 6 days earlier.

2019: The 49ers played the No. 6 Vikings on 1/18/20, and the Vikings were coming off a 26-20 overtime road win over the No. 3 Saints on 1/12/20, 6 days earlier.

2023: The 49ers played the No. 7 Packers on 1/20/24, and the Packers were coming off of a 48-32 road win against the No. 2 Cowboys on 1/14/24, 6 days earlier.

Conversely, when the 49ers were the No. 6 seed in 2021, they played the No. 1 seed on the Saturday after a road playoff win on Sunday. The 49ers are the No. 6 seed again this year, and the same pattern from 2021 is repeating this year.

2021: The 49ers played at the No. 1 Packers on 1/22/22, and they were coming off of a 23-17 road win against the No. 3 Cowboys on 1/16/22, 6 days earlier.

2025: The 49ers will play at the No. 1 Seahawks on 1/17/26, and they are coming off a 23-19 road win against the No. 3 Eagles on 1/11/26, 6 days earlier.

If the No. 3 Jaguars had beaten the No. 6 Bills, the Broncos would have played the Texans or Steelers on Sunday because the NFL would not allow winner of the Monday night Wild Card game to play their Divisional Round game on the immediately following Saturday. In that scenario, the NFL would be forced to break their tendency of scheduling No. 1 seeds from both conferences for Saturday divisional windows. Since the Monday night Wild Card game was added to the schedule in the 2021 season, its winner has always been scheduled to play in the Divisional Round on the following Sunday, allowing for an extra day of rest and preparation.

Smeghead4761 said:

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And SF has to play on a short week AGAIN, for the third time in four weeks. Against a team that had a bye week.

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Yep. Love the Niners but I don't see this as a good set up (healthy or not).

Stand_Up_Double said:

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Smeghead4761 said:

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And SF has to play on a short week AGAIN, for the third time in four weeks. Against a team that had a bye week.

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Yep. Love the Niners but I don't see this as a good set up (healthy or not).

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I love the 49ers too, and I don't see this as a good setup either. The last time we were the No. 6 seed in 2021, we overcame a short week to stun the No. 1 Packers 13-10 on 1/22/2022 because we returned a blocked return for a touchdown, but I doubt a similar outcome against the No. 1 Seahawks will happen on Saturday.