_**The 49ers are rumored to have five primetime games, but four of them don't exactly make a lot of sense.**_
Despite finishing 6-11 last season, last in the NFC West, the San Francisco 49ers remain an international brand and should receive no shortage of primetime games this season.
The 2025 NFL schedule isn't fully released yet, but there have been [plenty of leaks and rumors](https://www.progrid.org/) out there, including what's shaping up to be a maximum of primetime bouts for head coach Kyle Shanahan's squad.
One of them, a [_Thursday Night Football_ showdown](https://ninernoise.com/nfl-schedule-makers-49ers-solid-thursday-night-football-rivalry-game) against the Los Angeles Rams in Week 5, makes a great deal of sense. An NFC West tilt to open up that week's slate of games is great.
However, four of the Niners' other rumored primetime affairs aren't exactly shaping up to be must-watch television.
49ers (apparently) play some strange primetime games in 2025
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San Francisco's rumored schedule releases (so far) include five primetime games, including the aforementioned NFC west bout in L.A. in Week 5.
But, according to the reports and rumors, the 49ers' other primetime games are as follows:
* Week 7 vs. Atlanta Falcons (_Sunday Night Football_)
* Week 12 vs. Carolina Panthers (_Monday Night Football_)
* Week 16 @ Indianapolis Colts (_Monday Night Football_)
* Week 17 vs. Chicago Bears (_Sunday Night Football_)
None of these games indicate any sort of rivalry or grudge-match game. One could even classify bouts against both the Falcons and Panthers as, well... boring. Unless fans are eager to watch All-Pro running back Christian McCaffrey square off against his former Carolina squad, there's not much to that showdown.
Hey, it's San Francisco's former Pro Bowl defensive tackle, DeForest Buckner, and former cornerback, Charvarius Ward, hosting the 49ers on Monday night. Yay.
And the Niners versus the Falcons might have been fun back in the 1990s. Not necessarily now.
Week 17 versus Chicago might be intriguing, especially considering many an analyst circle the Bears as one of the NFC's up-and-coming teams.
But, again. It's not exactly a high-profile game worthy of a national audience.
Sure, plenty of football fans may want to watch San Francisco this season, yet the slate of opponents doesn't exactly afford the 49ers a wide array of grudge matchups or historical rivalries.
Still, it appears as if the Niners' primetime schedule is shaping up to be pretty boring.
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