Trent Williams didn’t shy away from saying the NFL robbed the San Francisco 49ers of a home game. The 49ers will take on the Los Angeles Rams in Melbourne, Australia, to open the season.
The schedule and opponent are about as difficult as it gets to open the season. But, in fairness, the 49ers get three home games in a row after that against a trio of quarterbacks nobody would confuse with the upper echelon of the NFL.
Perhaps it’s because the game takes place in the middle of the season, but the trip
to Mexico City figures to be far more taxing. Plus, the 49ers will travel straight from Dallas to Colorado before hopping on a flight to Mexico City. The cherry on top is the three games taking place after that. You face the Seahawks coming off a bye. Then you travel to New York. And you turn around and take on the Rams.
Nothing about that sounds fun, which is why the 49ers were listed as one of the teams with the biggest schedule disadvantages in the NFL, according to CBS:
Both teams playing in Mexico City got hit with this unfortunate schedule setup. As we mentioned at the top, the 49ers have to head to Mexico City in Week 11 before returning to the Bay Area to face the Seahawks in Week 12. Seattle will be coming off a Week 11 bye before that game.
In Minnesota’s case, the Vikings will face the Falcons in Week 12, and Atlanta will be coming off a Week 11 bye.
It’s a business. These are professionals. Nobody is going to be outside of Levi’s Stadium holding tissue boxes to console the 49ers. They are one of the biggest brands in the NFL, so it’s no surprise that they are playing in two international games. You just hope the injury gods take it easy on the Niners this season with all of the travel taking place.
Do you think there will be more gripes about the Mexico City game once we get closer to November? Or will this only matter if the 49ers drop a couple of games during the stretch after? Time will tell.
