From a historic Melbourne opener to a Mexico City showdown, the Niners face a grueling gauntlet against Super Bowl champions and rising divisional rivals in this global campaign.
The San Francisco 49ers are set to see their schedule fully unveiled this week. It's what we have been looking forward to seeing since the NFL draft concluded in April.
We know that the 49ers will take on the Los Angeles Rams in Austrailia so far. We also now know that they’ll play in Mexico City during Week 11.
Outside of that there are several unknowns.
The Niners will have a difficult slate simply looking at divisional foes. San Francisco will face two 13-plus win opponents from the 2025 season including the Los Angeles Rams and Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks. That's tough sledding, and it does not even take into account an Arizona Cardinals team that is hungry to improve after a bad year a season ago.
The team will also face two tough divisions for its two annual sets of opponents. San Francisco is set to take on the top-heavy AFC West with double-digit win teams in the Los Angeles Chargers and the Denver Broncos from a season ago. They will have to contend with the Kansas City Chiefs who look to return to their winning ways.
Then there's the NFC East with several teams, like the Dallas Cowboys, Washington Commanders and New York Giants all primed for a resurgence after strong offseasons.
San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey (23) celebrates after scoring a touchdown against the Indianapolis Colts with teammates in the first quarter of the game at Lucas Oil Stadium. Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn ImagesDavid Bonilla of 49ers Web Zone provided clarity on what we know of the schedule and what we are looking forward to learning. Here's what he had to say about the upcoming slate.
"As usual, the 49ers will face each NFC West rival twice. Based on the NFL's rotating schedule formula, San Francisco will also take on the third-place teams from the NFC North (Minnesota Vikings), NFC South (Atlanta Falcons), and AFC East (Miami Dolphins).
In addition, the 49ers are scheduled to play every team from the NFC East and the AFC West during the 2026 season.
One matchup has already been announced. The 49ers will serve as the visiting team in the NFL's first regular-season game in Australia, facing the Los Angeles Rams in Melbourne during Week 1. The game is set for Thursday, September 10, at 5:35 p.m. PT (10:35 a.m. local time) at the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground.
San Francisco will also participate in a second international game, hosting a matchup at Estadio Banorte in Mexico City. The opponent is expected to be officially announced on Wednesday morning."
We will learn the rest of what we need to know about the schedule this week as it is released.