On Tuesday April 19, San Francisco 49ers fans will find out the specifics of when the 49ers will be playing their 2011 NFL schedule. While the NFL Lockout means none of this is really guaranteed, we’ll at least know what a regular season would bring. The 49ers have a tough road in that they find themselves traveling the most miles of anybody in the NFL. Excluding the London game between Tampa Bay and Chicago (not included in the mileage), the 49ers lead the league with 29,196 miles of total travel distance.
Outside of divisional opponents, the 49ers get a majority of their opponents from the NFC East and the AFC North. Their opponents are as follows:
Home: Dallas Cowboys, New York Giants, Cleveland Browns, Pittsburgh Steelers, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Away: Philadelphia Eagles, Washington Redskins, Baltimore Ravens, Cincinnati Bengals, Detroit Lions
The list of opponents is determined by four factors:
1. Divisional games: Six games (three home, three away) against their three NFC West foes.
2. Inter-conference games: Four games (two home, two away) against a rotating division from the AFC – This year it is the AFC North
3. Intra-conference games: Four games (two home, two away) against a rotating division from the NFC – This year it is the NFC East
4.Standings-Based matchups: Two games (one home, one away) against teams with the same standing from the two remaining divisions within a team’s conference – This includes Tampa Bay and Detroit.