Frelund projects 49ers to lead NFC in wins after 2024 schedule release originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
The 2024 NFL regular season schedules are out – and there’s no shortage of predictions on how the 49ers’ season will pan out.
From NBC Sports Bay Area’s Matt Maiocco’s “way-too-early” game-by-game predictions to NFL Network’s Cynthia Frelund’s NFC win total projections, all signs point to a successful season for coach Kyle Shanahan and Co.
Frelund, the NFL Network’s Analytics Expert, ran 150,000 simulations for all 272 regular-season games using projected 53-man rosters for all 32 teams.
Based on those simulations, San Francisco is projected to lead the NFC in win total with 11.2, sitting above the Philadelphia Eagles at 11.1 and Detroit Lions at 10.6.
“No surprise here, with the reigning NFC champions topping this list,” Frelund wrote. “The 49ers are returning a large percentage of their offensive players — and they added surplus value to the receiving corps in first-round pick Ricky Pearsall.”
As Frelund noted, San Francisco will return a large portion of its NFC-winning offense and add first-round pick Ricky Pearsall to its wide receiver corps. But the good news doesn’t stop there.
Brock Purdy enters his third NFL season after leading the league in yards per attempt (9.6), passer rating (113.0), QBR (72.8) and expected points added (115.6, per Next Gen Stats).
Some notable matchups in the 49ers’ 2024 regular-season schedule are its Week 7 rematch of Super Bowl LVIII at Levi’s Stadium as well as the Detroit Lions’ visit come Week 17.
On the road, San Francisco’s three bouts at Tampa Bay, Green Bay and Buffalo within a four-game span pose a challenging spell for the 49ers.
Overall, the simulations project a similar outcome to the 49ers’ 2023 season, when the team went 12-5, claimed the No. 1 seed and powered itself to the Super Bowl.
The Faithful and onlookers beyond are expecting another competitive season from the 49ers.
Now, prediction models can be added to that list.
Source Agencies
