San Francisco 49ers 2020 NFL schedule: 5 must-win games

CORAL GABLES, FLORIDA - JANUARY 29: Head coach Kyle Shanahan of the San Francisco 49ers (R) talks with general manager John Lynch during practice for Super Bowl LIV at the Greentree Practice Fields on the campus of the University of Miami on January 29, 2020 in Coral Gables, Florida. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images) /

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SANTA CLARA, CA – NOVEMBER 11: Chris Carson #32 of the Seattle Seahawks in action during the game against the San Francisco 49ers at Levi’s Stadium on November 11, 2019 in Santa Clara, California. The Seahawks defeated the 49ers 27-24. (Photo by Rob Leiter/Getty Images) /

1. Home vs. Seattle Seahawks

It wasn’t that long ago that the team from the Pacific Northwest was having its way in this NFC West setting. With Pete Carroll and Jim Harbaugh at the helm of their respective teams, the Seattle Seahawks and San Francisco 49ers engaged in quite the hard-hitting starting with the latter’s arrival in the Bay Area in 2011. Harbaugh would win his first three encounters with the ‘Hawks but things would even out rather quickly and Seattle would eventually take control of the series.

Starting with a 23-17 victory in the 2013 NFC title game, Carroll’s squad would reel off 10 consecutive wins over their divisional adversaries. The bleeding would finally stop in Week 15 at San Francisco when Kyle Shanahan’s squad came up with a 26-23 overtime win over the playoff-bound Seahawks. But this past season on a Monday night at Levi’s Stadium (Week 10), Seattle handed the then-8-0 Niners their first loss of 2019 in overtime, 27-24.

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Of course, San Francisco would return the favor in Seattle in the league’s regular-season finale, 26-21. But the bottom line is that the 49ers are 1-5 at home in this rivalry dating back to 2014. That’s something that needs to change going forward.