Rumor: 49ers to Open Regular Season in Seattle Against Seahawks

This would be an intriguing matchup to open the season.

The NFL will release each team's schedule tonight, and the 49ers are rumored to be kicking off in Week 1 in Seattle against the Seahawks according to Dave "Softy" Mahler of 93.3 KJR FM in Seattle.

This will be the first time the 49ers have played the Seahawks on the Road to start a season since 2010. That season, the Seahawks won 31-6.

The 49ers often open seasons on the road because Levi's Stadium gets extremely hot during September afternoons and there's no shade in Santa Clara. Their September home games usually are played at night, and it's unclear how many primetime games the 49ers will play after finishing last season 6-11.

So the 49ers get what they want -- a September road game. But it's also a divisional game against a team that went 10-7 last season. This will be a tough, important game.

The 49ers can't afford to drop a divisional game right off the bat. This game could be important at the end of the season when it comes to tie-breakers and playoff seeding.

Last season, the Seahawks won their first three games. This offseason, they replaced Geno Smith and D.K. Metcalf with Sam Darnold and Cooper Kupp -- two lateral moves at best. But they also replaced offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb with Klint Kubiak, who worked with Darnold on the 49ers in 2023.

Kubiak is a much better offensive coordinator than Grubb, who came from college and immediately returned to college after one season in Seattle.

Fortunately for the 49ers, they should be relatively healthy for this game. Still, it's always difficult to play in Seattle. This game could go either way.