"Last season, the schedule-makers blessed San Francisco. Sure, the actual strength of schedule ultimately leveled out to the league average, but overall, it was entirely manageable. Now comes the payback. The NFL giveth, and the NFL booketh you gigs in three different countries."
"Instead of their annual, easy-breezy one-hour commuter hop from SJC down to LAX a trip so short the flight attendants often don't even bother with beverage service the Niners are burning an easy road game to fly to the Southern Hemisphere. That trip will put them on the physical back foot for weeks. You can expect an early bye week to compensate it'll probably be Week 5 but jet lag that deep doesn't just wash off in the cold tub."
"Then there's the back half of the gauntlet, which will be played unabated because of that likely early bye. Instead of a comfortable Sunday afternoon playing in Santa Clara, the 49ers will sacrifice a home game to play in Mexico City this season. Great for business. Bad for the lungs. They're trading sea level for Estadio Azteca, sitting at 7,218 feet of elevation. Toss in the smog, the noise, and the pomp and circumstance of another international spectacle, and it's one more massive physical hurdle"
San Francisco enjoyed an unusually soft travel schedule in 2025, but the 2026 slate imposes heavy international travel and payback. The team opens Week 1 in Australia, requiring a roughly 16-hour flight that will disrupt recovery and performance. The first matchup overseas is against the Los Angeles Rams, replacing a normally short commuter trip. An early bye—likely around Week 5—will attempt to offset jet lag, but prolonged travel effects will linger. Later, the 49ers will give up a home game to play in Mexico City at Estadio Azteca, at 7,218 feet elevation, presenting altitude, smog, and noise challenges. The condensed back half of the schedule will magnify physical strain.
Read at www.mercurynews.com
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