Aug 9, 2025; Santa Clara, California, USA; San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan watches from the sidelines in the first quarter against the Denver Broncos at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: David Gonzales-Imagn Images David Gonzales-Imagn Images

Will the San Francisco 49ers start the season hot?

Originally posted on San Francisco 49ers on SI
By Parker Hurley | Last updated Aug 20, 2025 4:43 PM ET

The San Francisco 49ers are expected to be a bounce-back team in the 2025 season. It would help if they got off to a hot start, and John Breech of CBS Sports thinks that the team will do exactly that. In an article that predicted the first loss for each team, Breech had the 49ers going 4-0 before losing their first game.

When will the San Francisco 49ers lose their first game in 2025?

San Francisco is expected to have one of the easier schedules in the NFL this year, so that fast start may not be a huge shock. Wins over the Seahawks, Saints, Cardinals, and Jaguars do sound doable on paper, and the team may be favored in each game. It also would make sense to consider San Francisco the underdog on the road for Thursday Night Football against the division rival Rams in Week 5.

Still, it could be just as easy to predict a slip-up before then. Yes, every team can slip up every week in the NFL, but San Francisco may be seeing a tougher schedule than some think.

First, a division game on the road to start the season is not easy. Seattle is going to be much healthier than San Francisco coming into the game with the way things are going, and it is no lock to see them win that.

Everyone will pencil in a win at New Orleans, but this can be tough as well. Back-to-back road games, and a trip to the east for a 10 AM kick off time can trip teams up. Not only that, this game is sandwiched between two division games, so the team will be over-exerted from the last week and possibly have eyes on the next game.

A home division game is better than a road one, but all division games are toss-ups, and while the Jaguars may be the easiest of the four, it is another game sandwiched between division rivals. Given the injuries, the way some teams start slow, and the nature of the schedule, 2-2 is not time to panic, and 3-1 would be just fine. If they do head to LA 4-0, nobody can be mad at a loss.

The article has San Francisco tied with the Bengals and Texans as week five losers. After that, only the Steelers and Bills made it to 5-0. He has Pittsburgh losing in week seven and Buffalo losing in week nine.

This article first appeared on San Francisco 49ers on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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