The San Francisco 49ers open the season with back-to-back road games against the Detroit Lions at Ford Field and then the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field. The team will hold its home opener, likely its first game with fans since January 19, 2020, during Week 3 against the Green Bay Packers.
The Niners' bye comes during Week 6, which means 12 straight weeks of games after that break. The team is currently scheduled to participate in five prime-time matchups this year.
San Francisco's opponents combined for a 132-138-2 record last season. The .489 winning percentage by opponents makes the 49ers' schedule tied with the New York Jets and the New England Patriots for the 19th toughest in the NFL, based on last year's results, and the easiest among NFC West teams.
Below is the complete 2021 49ers schedule, which you can also find on our official schedule page.
Preseason
| Week | Date/Time | Opponent |
| 1 | TBA, August 13-16 | Chiefs |
| 2 | TBA, August 20-23 | at Chargers |
| 3 | TBA, August 27-29 | Raiders |
Regular Season
| Week | Date | Time | Opponent | TV |
| 1 | Sun, Sep 12 | 10:00 am | at Lions | FOX |
| 2 | Sun, Sep 19 | 10:00 am | at Eagles | FOX |
| 3 | Sun, Sep 26 | 5:20 pm | Packers | NBC |
| 4 | Sun, Oct 3 | 1:05 pm | Seahawks | FOX |
| 5 | Sun, Oct 10 | 1:25 pm | at Cardinals | FOX |
| 6 | BYE | |||
| 7 | Sun, Oct 24 | 5:20 pm | Colts | NBC |
| 8 | Sun, Oct 31 | 10:00 am | at Bears | FOX |
| 9 | Sun, Nov 7 | 1:25 pm | Cardinals | FOX |
| 10 | Mon, Nov 15 | 5:15 pm | Rams | ESPN |
| 11 | Sun, Nov 21 | 10:00 am | at Jaguars | FOX |
| 12 | Sun, Nov 28 | 1:25 pm | Vikings | FOX |
| 13 | Sun, Dec 5 | 5:20 pm | at Seahawks | NBC |
| 14 | Sun, Dec 12 | 10:00 am | at Bengals | CBS |
| 15 | Sun, Dec 19 | 1:05 pm | Falcons | CBS |
| 16 | Thu, Dec 23 | 5:20 pm | at Titans | NFLN |
| 17 | Sun, Jan 2 | 1:05 pm | Texans | CBS |
| 18 | Sun, Jan 9 | 1:25 pm | at Rams | FOX |
* All times Pacific
"Flexible scheduling" will be used in Weeks 11-18. Additionally, in Weeks 5-10, flexible scheduling may be used in no more than two weeks. In Weeks 5-17, the schedule lists the games tentatively set for Sunday Night Football on NBC. Only Sunday afternoon games are eligible to be moved to Sunday night, in which case the tentatively scheduled Sunday night game would be moved to an afternoon start time.
For Week 18, the Sunday night game will be announced no later than six days prior to January 9. The schedule does not list a Sunday night game in Week 18, but an afternoon game with playoff implications will be moved to that time slot. Flexible scheduling ensures quality matchups in all Sunday time slots in those weeks and gives "surprise" teams a chance to play their way into primetime.
Flexible scheduling will not be applied to games airing on Thursday or Monday nights.
Notes
Provided by the 49ers Communications staff.
A Closer Look at the 2021 Schedule…
- The Niners open the regular season on the road for the third time in four seasons. San Francisco begins the season with a pair of 10:00 a.m. PT start times for the first time since 2019 when the 49ers began the season with back-to-back wins in the Eastern Time Zone at Tampa Bay (31-17) and at Cincinnati (41-17).
- San Francisco opens the regular season at the Detroit Lions, marking the fifth time the team's open the season against one another and the first time since 1984.
- The 49ers open and close the regular season on the road (Week 1 at Detroit & Week 18 at Los Angeles Rams) for the third time in four seasons.
- The 49ers face five teams in 2021 that reached the postseason in 2020 (Green Bay, Indianapolis, Los Angeles Rams, Seattle and Tennessee).
- The Indianapolis Colts (Week 7) and Houston Texans (Week 17) will make their first regular-season visits to Levi's Stadium.
Week 1 – Sunday, September 12 at Detroit – 10:00 a.m. PT on FOX
- San Francisco's overall record vs. Detroit is 38-28-1 and 14-18 on the road.
- The Niners are visiting the Lions for the first time since 2015. San Francisco has won 2 of their 3 games at Ford Field.
- The 49ers have won 10 out of their last 11 games against Detroit and 16 out of the last 19 overall.
- The 49ers are 2-2 when facing Detroit in the opening game of the season.
Week 2 – Sunday, September 19 at Philadelphia – 10:00 a.m. PT on FOX
- San Francisco owns the overall series record vs. Philadelphia, 19-14-1, and is 10-5-1 on the road.
- The two teams have split each of the past four meetings.
- The Niners look to win at Lincoln Financial Field for the first time since defeating the Eagles, 24-23, on October 2, 2011.
Week 3 – Sunday, September 26 vs. Green Bay Packers – 5:20 p.m. PT on NBC
- San Francisco is 32-37-1 in the all-time series vs. Green Bay and 20-13-1 at home.
- The Niners have won six out of the last nine overall games against the Packers.
- This marks the first time since 1967-70 that San Francisco and Green Bay faced each other in the regular season in four consecutive years.
- The two teams square off in prime time for the fourth consecutive regular season and the second time on NBC's Sunday Night Football in the last three seasons.
Week 4 – Sunday, October 3 vs. Seattle – 1:05 p.m. PT on FOX
- San Francisco is 17-28 in the all-time series vs. Seattle and 9-12 at home.
- Two of the 49ers' last three home games against the Seahawks have gone to overtime.
- This marks the earliest the two teams square off in a regular season since the 49ers visited the Seahawks in Week 2 of the 2017 season.
Week 5 – Sunday, October 10 at Arizona – 1:25 p.m. PT on FOX
- San Francisco owns the overall series record vs. Arizona, 32-27.
- Last season, the two teams squared off on a Saturday, with San Francisco defeating Arizona on the road, 20-12.
- The 49ers have won each of their last two road games against the Cardinals.
Week 6 – Sunday, October 17 – BYE
- This marks the first time since 2009 that the 49ers have had their BYE in Week 6.
Week 7 – Sunday, October 24 vs. Indianapolis – 5:20 p.m. PT on NBC
- The 49ers look for their first win against the Colts since November 25, 2001.
- The Colts are making their first regular-season trip to Levi's Stadium, with San Francisco hosting Indianapolis for the first time since September 22, 2013.
- This marks the first primetime matchup between the two teams.
- San Francisco looks to earn a victory following the team's BYE week for the third consecutive season.
Week 8 – Sunday, October 31 at Chicago – 10:00 a.m. PT on FOX
- San Francisco's overall record vs. Chicago is 34-32-1 and 12-18-1 on the road.
- The Niners look to win back-to-back games at Chicago, as the 49ers return to Soldier Field for the first time since defeating the Bears, 15-14, on December 3, 2017.
- The two teams square off on Halloween day for the third time in the series history and the first time since October 31, 2004.
Week 9 – Sunday, November 7 vs. Arizona – 1:25 p.m. PT on FOX
- The 49ers are 18-13 at home vs. the Cardinals and have won seven out of their last 12 home games vs. Arizona.
Week 10 – Monday, November 15 vs. Los Angeles Rams – 5:15 p.m. PT on ESPN
- San Francisco leads the all-time series against the Rams, 73-67-3.
- San Francisco is 6-3-1 in their last 10 meetings at home against the Rams, with the Niners holding a 36-34-2 record at home against Los Angeles.
- The 49ers defeated the Rams at Levi's Stadium, 24-16, on NBC's Sunday Night Football in Week 6 of 2020.
- San Francisco looks to sweep the season series against the Rams for the third consecutive season for the first time since 1996-98.
- The two teams have squared off on Monday Night Football 10 times, with the 49ers holding a 6-4 record in those games.
- The Niners have defeated the Rams in each of their past two meetings on ESPN's Monday Night Football, including a 28-0 victory in their last MNF matchup on September 12, 2016.
- San Francisco's 49 wins on Monday Night Football are tied with Pittsburgh for the most wins on MNF in NFL history
Week 11 – Sunday, November 21 at Jacksonville – 10:00 a.m. PT on FOX
- The 49ers are 3-2 overall against the Jaguars, including a 1-2 record on the road.
- San Francisco travels to Jacksonville for the first time since 2005, as the two teams squared off in London for Jacksonville's home game in 2013, where the 49ers defeated the Jaguars, 42-10.
- The Niners have won each of the last three meetings between the two teams.
Week 12 – Sunday, November 28 vs. Minnesota – 1:25 p.m. PT on FOX
- The 49ers lead the overall series record vs. Minnesota 24-23-1, with the Niners posting a 15-8-1 record at home in the series.
- The 49ers have won 10 out of the past 11 overall meetings at home against the Vikings.
- This is the first visit to San Francisco for the Vikings since the 49ers defeated Minnesota, 27-10, in the 2019 NFC Divisional Playoffs.
Week 13 – Sunday, December 5 at Seattle – 5:20 p.m. PT on NBC
- The 49ers are 8-16 overall on the road at Seattle.
- San Francisco takes on Seattle on the road in prime time for the second time in three seasons, having defeated the Seahawks, 26-21, on December 29, 2019, on NBC's Sunday Night Football.
Week 14 – Sunday, December 12 at Cincinnati – 10:00 a.m. PT on CBS
- San Francisco owns the overall series record vs. Cincinnati, 12-4, including a 5-2 record versus the Bengals on the road.
- The 49ers will travel to Cincinnati for the second time in three seasons, having defeated the Bengals, 41-17, in 2019.
Week 15 – Sunday, December 19 vs. Atlanta – 1:05 p.m. PT on CBS
- San Francisco owns the overall series record vs. Atlanta, 47-32-1, and is 28-12 at home.
- The 49ers look to improve to 2-1 against the Falcons at Levi's Stadium, as San Francisco faces Atlanta at the home of the 49ers for just the third time.
Week 16 – Thursday, December 23 at Tennessee – 5:20 p.m. PT on NFLN
- The 49ers are 9-5 overall against the Titans, including a 5-2 record on the road.
- San Francisco travels to Nissan Stadium for the first time since defeating the Titans, 31-17, in 2013.
- The Niners have won each of the last two meetings between the two teams.
- San Francisco is winners of two of their past three games on Thursday Night Football.
- This marks the first meeting between the two teams in prime time.
Week 17 – Sunday, January 2 vs. Houston – 1:05 p.m. PT on CBS
- The 49ers have won three of four overall regular-season meetings against the Texans.
- The Texans are making their first regular-season trip to Levi's Stadium, with San Francisco hosting Houston for the first time since October 6, 2013, when they defeated the Texans, 34-3, on NBC's Sunday Night Football.
Week 18 – Sunday, January 9 at Los Angeles Rams – 1:25 p.m. PT on FOX
- The 49ers have won four of their five matchups at the Rams since their return to Los Angeles in 2016.
- San Francisco looks for their second win in Los Angeles' SoFi Stadium, which opened in 2020, having defeated the Rams, 23-20, on October 29, 2020.
- The Niners close out the regular season at the Los Angeles Rams for the third time in five seasons and the first time since 2018.
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