49ers Rams Brock Purdy

Rams, 49ers draw brutal anomaly in 2023 NFL Schedule release

The NFL schedule release on Thursday night revealed a brutal anomaly for two teams this season. The San Francisco 49ers and the LA Rams are both playing four teams in a week where their opponents are fresh off of a bye week.

Although the 49ers and Rams are in the same boat, no other NFL team plays more than two teams coming off of a rest.

The Rams, which struggled in 2022 with a 5-12 finish, will play the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 7 after they get a break. Then they take on the Cowboys on the road after their bye week. They play the Ravens on the road in Week 14 after their Week 13 bye week. Then, they play the Commanders in Week 15 off of their bye.

The bye week for Los Angeles comes in Week 10 after taking on the Green Bay Packers on the road.

The 49ers’ post-bye opponents are the Browns in Week 6, the Bengals in Week 8, the Jaguars in Week 10, and the Cardinals in Week 15.

Three of those four games are on the road. However, San Francisco has their own bye week in Week 9, so they’ll be just as fresh as the Jaguars for the game in Jacksonville.

The 49ers managed the 2022 season well, finishing with a 13-4 regular season schedule before making it to the third round of the playoffs. They face a quarterback dilemma this offseason and begin the year with a test versus the Steelers. San Francisco will face the similarly embattled Rams in Week 2.

49ers draw early-season playoff rematch versus Cowboys

The NFL revealed early on Thursday that the Dallas Cowboys will take on San Francisco in primetime this season. The Cowboys will travel to take on the 49ers in Week 5 for a Sunday night game.

Kickoff between Dallas and San Francisco is now officially set for 8 p.m. ET on Sunday, Oct. 8. The game will be on NBC.

Dallas versus San Francisco has gained more steam as a rivalry in recent years. The 49ers knocked America’s Team out of the playoffs in back-to-back seasons. The Cowboys lost in the second round of the 2022 playoffs after taking down the Buccaneers behind a dominant performance by Dak Prescott.

The 49ers moved on from the Divisional Round to face the Philadelphia Eagles in the conference championship. However, they ultimately fell 31-7 after the injury to quarterback Brock Purdy.