We’re a little more than 48 hours away from finding out the entirety of the San Francisco 49ers’ schedule for the 2026 regular season. It’s the NFL, so we’re going to get several leaks and rumors ahead of Thursday’s scheduled release. We’ll use this article as a one-stop place for every rumor that hits the internet about the 49ers’ schedule over the next couple of days.
The first thing we’ll get is the slate of international games for 2026. That news will be released on Wednesday, May 13, at 9:00 a.m. ET. NFL Network’s Good Morning Football will be where the international games are announced.
The good news is, we already know one of those games. The 49ers will begin the 2026 season playing on Thursday, September 10, against the Los Angeles Rams in Australia. The Rams are the “home” team, and it’s speculated they pushed hard to get the 49ers to keep the Faithful from taking over Levi’s South SoFi Stadium. It’s also annoying because the 49ers have a second international game in Mexico.
Beyond the international games, we only know who the 49ers’ opponents will be. This is based on the NFL’s rotation. For 2026, the 49ers have the AFC West and NFC East, and the third-place teams from the AFC East and the NFC North. That means the opponents are broken down to this:
Home:
- Arizona Cardinals
- Los Angeles Rams
- Seattle Seahawks
- Denver Broncos
- Las Vegas Raiders
- Philadelphia Eagles
- Washington Commanders
- Miami Dolphins
- Minnesota Vikings
Away:
- Arizona Cardinals
- Los Angeles Rams
- Seattle Seahawks
- Dallas Cowboys
- Kansas City Chiefs
- Los Angeles Chargers
- New York Giants
- Atlanta Falcons
On first glance, the 49ers might have their hands full. There’s the usual gauntlet that is the NFC West, and on top of that are the Chiefs and the Eagles. Fortunately, the 49ers are projected to have a win total of 10.5 and one of the easiest schedules for 2026. That, of course, is all on paper. You never know who gets hot when the season gets going.
The folks over at FanDuel Sportsbook have the 49ers with the third-best odds to win the NFC West (+260). If you are wondering just how strong that division is, look no further than the odds to win the NFC Championship; the 49ers have the third-best odds (+750), right behind the Seattle Seahawks (+500) and the Rams (+390)
As new rumors about the 49ers’ schedule emerge, we will update this post. The full slate of games is at the bottom.
Latest 49ers schedule news, leaks:
5/11: Confirmed: 49ers “at” the Rams, September 10
TBA vs. 49ers in Mexico City
CBS Sports believes the 49ers will play on Thanksgiving:
Late afternoon game
Home team: Dallas Cowboys
Time: 4:30 p.m. ET game (Fox, Fubo try for free)
Possible opponents: Giants, Eagles, Commanders, Cardinals, 49ers, Buccaneers, Jaguars, Titans, Ravens
Breakdown: Last year, the NFL put two-time NFL MVP Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs in this spot and the game set a regular-season record by drawing 57.23 million viewers. This year, the Cowboys do have another two-time MVP on the schedule in Lamar Jackson, but they don’t be able to face the Ravens on Turkey Day because they’ll be facing Baltimore in Week 3 down in Brazil. So that’s out. The Cowboys have played a divisional opponent in three of the past four years on Thanksgiving, so that definitely seems like a possibility. In the past 10 years, there have only been four instances where the Cowboys didn’t face a divisional opponent, and in all four cases, they played an AFC team, so let’s throw the Jaguars in there as a possible surprise.
Predicted opponent: Commanders or Jaguars
Primetime game
Home team: TBA
Time: 8:20 p.m. ET game (NBC, Fubo try for free)
Predicted game: Broncos at 49ers or Steelers at Eagles
Breakdown: Over the past 10 years, the prime time Thanksgiving game has featured at least one team that made the playoffs in the prior season, so it seems like a lock that we’ll see at least one 2025 playoff team in this slot and possibly two. The Broncos haven’t played on Thanksgiving since 2009, so this would end their drought. Not to mention, Kyle Shanahan served as a Broncos ball boy when he was younger, so you have a perfect connection for a Thanksgiving night game. The Steelers could also make some sense here. With Aaron Rodgers playing in what will likely be his final season, this gives the NFL one more chance to feature him on Thanksgiving. Rodgers hasn’t played in a Thanksgiving game since 2015, which is also the last time the Eagles played on Thanksgiving, so that matchup would be perfect.
That’s two opportunities, with the more likely one being the late game against Denver. Another outlet predicted it’ll be the Seahawks against the Rams on primetime.
49ers 2026 schedule leaks
Week 1 —Thursday, September 10/Friday, September 11 at Los Angeles Rams (Australia)
Week 2 —
Week 3 —
Week 4 —
Week 5 —
Week 6 —
Week 7 —
Week 8 –
Week 9 —
Week 10 —
Week 11 — TBA Mexico City (Source)
Week 12—
Week 13 —
Week 14 —
Week 15 —
Week 16 —
Week 17 —
Week 18 —