The San Francisco 49ers have the fourth-toughest strength of schedule heading into their 2020 campaign.
This, of course, is based on last year’s win-loss totals, and the crop of teams the Niners will play this season features seven matchups against teams that made the playoffs in 2019, including playing San Francisco’s NFC West division rivals, the Seattle Seahawks, twice.
It’s not always a wise move to suggest last year’s playoff contenders pose the same challenges a year later. Case in point, the New England Patriots host the 49ers in Week 7. While a trip to the East Coast is never an easy task for a West Coast team, the Patriots’ 2020 outlook is awfully different than it was a year ago, thanks to future Hall of Fame quarterback Tom Brady leaving in free agency for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.