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The San Francisco 49ers enter the 2025 NFL season looking to bounce back from a disappointing 6-11 finish that left the franchise outside the playoffs for the first time since 2020 and that resulted in the NFC West cellar.
After that fourth-place NFC West finish, the 49ers draw games against fellow fourth-place finishers from the NFC North, NFC East and AFC North in the Chicago Bears, New York Giants and Cleveland Browns. That could help San Francisco leap back into NFC West and playoffs contention quickly.
In addition to their NFC West slate, the 49ers' schedule also includes matchups with every team from the NFC South and AFC South.
That schedule, San Francisco's 2025 NFL draft additions and the hope of good health for the 49ers' stars isn't enough to convince Pro Football Network that San Francisco will be playoff bound in 2025, though.
Instead, PFN forecasts Arizona to win the NFC West and for San Francisco to miss the NFL playoffs altogether.
In addition to Arizona in the NFC West, PFN forecasts Washington as the NFC East champion, Detroit as the NFC North champion and Tampa Bay as the NFC South champion. PFN picked reigning Super Bowl champion Philadelphia, Green Bay and Seattle as its NFC wild card teams.
In the AFC, PFN predicts Buffalo to capture the AFC East crown, Baltimore to win the AFC North, Houston to conquer the AFC South and the Los Angeles Chargers to secure the AFC West title. Kansas City, Cincinnati and Denver are PFN's AFC wild card teams.
PFN featured the Los Angeles Rams, Minnesota Vikings and Atlanta Falcons among its NFC teams that just missed the playoffs.
While the 49ers were on the outside looking in a season ago, it feels strange to see San Francisco projected to miss the playoffs again and not even up for serious consideration among the group of teams that aren't currently projected inside PFN's 2025 NFL playoffs picture.
For a franchise that is just one season removed from a Super Bowl appearance and an overtime loss in that championship game, maybe flying under the radar a bit isn't such a bad thing after all. Improved health with left tackle Trent Williams and star running back Christian McCaffrey should make the 49ers a much different offense in 2025.
San Francisco went heavy on defense early in the 2025 NFL draft, using each of their first five picks on defensive players. If those defensive additions pan out, the 49ers should be right back in the thick of things.
This article originally appeared on Niners Wire: NFL predictions: 49ers projected to miss 2025 playoffs
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After that fourth-place NFC West finish, the 49ers draw games against fellow fourth-place finishers from the NFC North, NFC East and AFC North in the Chicago Bears, New York Giants and Cleveland Browns. That could help San Francisco leap back into NFC West and playoffs contention quickly.
In addition to their NFC West slate, the 49ers' schedule also includes matchups with every team from the NFC South and AFC South.
That schedule, San Francisco's 2025 NFL draft additions and the hope of good health for the 49ers' stars isn't enough to convince Pro Football Network that San Francisco will be playoff bound in 2025, though.
Instead, PFN forecasts Arizona to win the NFC West and for San Francisco to miss the NFL playoffs altogether.
In addition to Arizona in the NFC West, PFN forecasts Washington as the NFC East champion, Detroit as the NFC North champion and Tampa Bay as the NFC South champion. PFN picked reigning Super Bowl champion Philadelphia, Green Bay and Seattle as its NFC wild card teams.
In the AFC, PFN predicts Buffalo to capture the AFC East crown, Baltimore to win the AFC North, Houston to conquer the AFC South and the Los Angeles Chargers to secure the AFC West title. Kansas City, Cincinnati and Denver are PFN's AFC wild card teams.
PFN featured the Los Angeles Rams, Minnesota Vikings and Atlanta Falcons among its NFC teams that just missed the playoffs.
While the 49ers were on the outside looking in a season ago, it feels strange to see San Francisco projected to miss the playoffs again and not even up for serious consideration among the group of teams that aren't currently projected inside PFN's 2025 NFL playoffs picture.
For a franchise that is just one season removed from a Super Bowl appearance and an overtime loss in that championship game, maybe flying under the radar a bit isn't such a bad thing after all. Improved health with left tackle Trent Williams and star running back Christian McCaffrey should make the 49ers a much different offense in 2025.
San Francisco went heavy on defense early in the 2025 NFL draft, using each of their first five picks on defensive players. If those defensive additions pan out, the 49ers should be right back in the thick of things.
This article originally appeared on Niners Wire: NFL predictions: 49ers projected to miss 2025 playoffs
Continue reading...
