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          NFL Nation

          San Francisco 49ers' schedule 2020: Daunting stretch begins in Week 6

          • Nick Wagoner, ESPN Staff WriterMay 7, 2020, 08:05 PM ET
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              Nick Wagoner is an NFL reporter at ESPN. Nick has covered the San Francisco 49ers and the NFL at ESPN since 2016, having previously covered the St. Louis Rams for 12 years, including three years (2013 to 2015) at ESPN. In his 10 years with the company, Nick has led ESPN's coverage of the Niners' 2019 Super Bowl run, Colin Kaepernick's protest, the Rams making Michael Sam the first openly gay player drafted to the NFL, Sam's subsequent pursuit of a roster spot and the team's relocation and stadium saga. You can follow Nick via Twitter @nwagoner
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          The San Francisco 49ers' schedule for 2020 was released Thursday and the defending NFC champions have the fourth-most difficult strength of schedule.

          The 2020 NFL season will kick off Thursday, Sept. 10 with the Houston Texans at the Kansas City Chiefs. ESPN will have a Monday Night Football doubleheader on Sept. 14 featuring the Pittsburgh Steelers at the New York Giants (7:10 p.m. ET) and the Tennessee Titans at the Denver Broncos (10:20 p.m. ET).

          Check out the full week-by-week schedule here. Here's what is in store for the 49ers:

          Game-by-game prediction

          49ers reporter Nick Wagoner is predicting an 11-5 finish:

          Sept. 13: vs. Arizona, Win

          Sept. 20: at New York Jets, Win

          Sept. 27: at New York Giants, Win

          Oct. 4: vs. Philadelphia, Loss

          Oct. 11: vs. Miami, Win

          Oct. 18: vs. Los Angeles Rams, Win

          Oct. 25: at New England, Win

          Nov. 1: at Seattle, Loss

          Nov. 5: vs. Green Bay, Win

          Nov. 15: at New Orleans, Loss

          Nov. 22: Bye

          Nov. 29: at Los Angeles Rams, Win

          Dec. 7: vs. Buffalo, Win

          Dec. 13: vs. Washington, Win

          Dec. 20: at Dallas, Loss

          Dec. 26 or 27: at Arizona, Loss

          Jan. 3: vs. Seattle, Win

          Strength of schedule: 4th, .527

          Breakdown

          The 49ers have no shortage of entertaining matchups on this schedule. Like last year when they played Green Bay, Baltimore and New Orleans consecutively, the stretch from Oct. 18 to Nov. 15 looks potentially daunting with games against the Rams, Patriots, Seahawks, Packers and Saints in consecutive weeks and three of those are on the road. It just wouldn't feel right if the Niners and Seahawks didn't come back for a Week 17 encore after last year's epic showdown for the division. This time, though, that game will be played at Levi's Stadium.

          Another East Coast stay?

          The 49ers had two, weeklong road trips to the eastern part of the country last year, first with a stay in Youngstown, Ohio, between games against Tampa Bay and Cincinnati. Later in the season, they did it again with a stay in Bradenton, Florida, between games against Baltimore and New Orleans. The extended trips paid off as the Niners went 3-1 in those games and had their two best yardage outputs of the season in the second game of both trips, averaging 543.5 yards in those contests. Don't be surprised if they find a place to crash and practice between the Weeks 2 and 3 games against the New York Jets and the Giants, respectively.

          Maximum prime time

          The 49ers' surge to the NFC championship last year undoubtedly has raised their profile in the eyes of the league's broadcast partners. That already showed itself last year when they played in six prime-time games during the regular season. This year, they are playing under the bright lights the maximum allowable times once again. They have five such games on the schedule with three on Sunday night, one on Monday one on Thursday. Like last year, they're also still eligible to flexed into an additional night game late in the season.