San Francisco 49ers (1-0) @ New Orleans Saints (0-1)
Sunday, September 14, 1:00 PM ET
Teams are always making adjustments in Week 1, but both the San Francisco 49ers and New Orleans Saints were making a lot of them.
The 49ers obviously had a very disappointing year in 2024 with the number of injuries they had to deal with, and that was followed by a mass exodus of star players in the 2025 offseason. It was one tough pill to swallow after another, but the Niners had no choice but to reload. They came out in Week 1 against the Seattle Seahawks, who have a new look of their own, and they gutted out a tough win on the road.
Brock Purdy went out and earned his new contract with the team, orchestrating a game-winning drive late. The 49ers will need to have a much more efficient all-around operation offensively going forward, but that’s the case for most teams at this point.
They got a big breakthrough from last year’s first-round pick Ricky Pearsall and have Christian McCaffrey back. They’ll continue to be tough to beat.
The Saints nearly got a game-winning throw from Spencer Rattler in Week 1. Had Juwan Johnson held onto what would have been a tough grab, we might be having a different conversation about the Saints. As it is, they are going to have to bounce back quickly to avoid an 0-2 hole at the start of this season.
The 49ers are 6.5-point favorites on the road, and that’s a team that just feels like it’s going to get hot at some point offensively. I have a hard time seeing Spencer Rattler doing a lot of damage against Robert Saleh’s defense.
Prediction: 49ers win 24-13