The NFL’s full schedule release will come Thursday, but a handful of games including the international contests were announced Wednesday. The league also released the games that will be played Black Friday and Christmas. San Francisco won’t be part of any of those.
Jacksonville will play a pair of games in England in Weeks 4 and 5 this year. They face the Falcons in Week 4 at Wembley Stadium, then they’ll play against the Bills at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium the following week.
In Week 6 the NFL will stay at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium where the Ravens and Titans will rekindle their old AFC Central rivalry.
The international scene will shift to Germany’s Frankfurt Stadium in Week 9 when the Chiefs and Dolphins face off. Games across the Atlantic will wrap up in Week 12 with a Colts-Patriots matchup, also at Frankfurt Stadium.
It’s not a huge surprise the 49ers weren’t included on the international slate. Last season they traveled across the southern border to play the Cardinals in Mexico City.
For the holiday games we won’t see the 49ers on Black Friday or Christmas.
The first ever Black Friday matchup belongs to the AFC East where the Jets and Dolphins will clash the day after Thanksgiving.
Then on Christmas Day it’ll be an NFC East showdown between the Eagles and Giants.
San Francisco should still be featured heavily in primetime games despite not getting any of the initial pieces of the national TV slate. They could still play on Thanksgiving. New Years Eve is also on a Sunday this year, so the 49ers could play New Years Eve, or New Years Day if they’re on Monday Night Football toward the end of the season.
