The 49ers’ first-place schedule isn’t as daunting as it sounds when matched up against projected win totals for the 2020 season.
What stands out in an evaluation of San Francisco’s opponents is how many teams teeter on the edge of ‘playoff team’ and ‘bad team.’ We could look back on the season and determine the 49ers had a near impossible schedule, but we could also wonder how they ever lost a game.
To keep track of how their opponents are doing, we’re going to power rank them throughout the regular season. Here are our initial preseason rankings:
13 | Washington
No. 2 overall pick Chase Young joins an already talented defensive line that could make Washington’s defense difficult to deal with. Until quarterback Dwayne Haskins proves capable of leading an offense that has some talented weapons, they’ll remain at or near the bottom of the power rankings.
12 | New York Giants
New York is in a similar spot to Washington where their improvement will ride on their second-year signal caller. Daniel Jones had a little more success than Haskins in his first season so they get the leg up for now. The Giants’ big issue will be whether their defense can stop anyone.
11 | Miami Dolphins
Miami has perhaps the best chance of any team to climb on this list. They signed cornerback Byron Jones and linebacker Kyle Van Noy in free agency, and put together a nice draft class headlined by quarterback Tua Tagovailoa. Head coach Brian Flores did a nice job last year with a much worse roster. If a couple things go their way, the Dolphins could make noise in a somewhat questionable AFC East.