With training camp in full swing and the preseason approaching, Last Word on Pro Football is breaking down the schedules of all 32 NFL teams. This series will consist of the most difficult (1-8) and easiest (9-16) games among each team’s 16-game slate. The focus for this article is the Oakland Raiders easiest games over the course of the 2019 season.
Check out the eight toughest games on the 2019 49ers schedule.
San Francisco 49ers Easiest Games of 2019
-
Week 12: vs Green Bay Packers
The 49ers typically tend to do pretty well against the Packers whenever they come into town. It’s clear that I’m nowhere near as high on Green Bay as the rest of the media seems to be. I’ve quickly soured on Aaron Rodgers, and it’s clear that his terrible attitude has a ripple effect on the rest of the organization. If he continues to verbally spar with his new head coach, Matt LaFleur, in the media, then this might not be as big of a challenge as the 49ers were initially expecting.
-
Week Five: vs Cleveland Browns
The Cleveland Browns are another unit that falls into the category of teams that I’m not very high on. They seem to be talking a lot for a team that finished third in their division last season and hasn’t won a playoff game since 1994 or even seen a playoff game since 2002. While I’m sure Baker Mayfield and the Cleveland Browns will be an improved team this season, I’m not convinced that they’ll be the juggernaut everyone is trying to make them out to be.
-
Week Eight: vs Carolina Panthers
The Carolina Panthers have a pretty solid team all around, but it’s the inconsistency at the quarterback position that’s been holding them back. Who knows what kind of Cam Newton we’ll get this season and what kind of health he’ll be in. The team might be better of rolling with Will Grier if Cam isn’t 100 percent. Either way, this will be a good mid-season test for the 49ers.
-
Week Seven: at Washington Redskins
Whether Case Keenum or Dwayne Haskins is the starter, this Redskins team isn’t expected to be very good. Their lead back, Derrius Guice, is coming off an ACL injury which prevented him from playing his rookie year, their wide receivers are all average at best and their best offensive lineman (Trent Williams) is holding out for a new deal. To sum it all up, the Redskins aren’t very good and probably won’t be beating very many teams in 2019.
-
Week One: at Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The hiring of Bruce Arians shouldn’t scare anyone until they get a competent quarterback under center. This more than likely be an evaluation year for Arians. My thought is that he’ll take this season to see what he really has on his roster and determine the best course of action for the team moving forward. The Buccaneers figure to be at the bottom of their division by the end of the season.
-
Week Nine: at Arizona Cardinals
The Arizona Cardinals are going to be terrible this season. I’m talking top-five pick terrible. They have what might be the worst offensive line in the league and a brand-new head coach that is underqualified for his job in Kilff Kingsbury. This matchup also happens to be a Thursday night game, so it’ll be good for the 49ers to get an easy win on national television.
- Week Two: at Cincinnati Bengals
I’ve said it in one of my previous schedule breakdowns and I’ll say it again; the Bengals will be one of the three worst teams in the league this year. This team is stuck in football purgatory due to their ridiculous loyalty to the extremely average Andy Dalton and due to the fact that they might have the worst/cheapest owner in the entire league. Throw in the fact that A.J. Green will be out until halfway through the season, and you have the makings of a team that’ll be participating in the Tua Tagovailoa sweepstakes.
- Week 11: vs Arizona Cardinals
Not sure what else can be said here that I didn’t already say in my previous section about the Arizona Cardinals. This should be two easy wins for the 49ers, and they can’t really afford for them to be anything but that. The easiest route to the playoffs is by winning your division, so the 49ers need to take care of business and not make the mistake of overlooking Kyler Murray and the abysmal Cardinals.
