How 49ers lucked out with 2020 NFL schedule compared to last season

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The 49ers now know the path they must take to get back to the Super Bowl, and while they have the NFC's toughest strength of schedule for the 2020 NFL season, San Francisco lucked out from a weather and climate perspective.

Compared to last season, the 49ers' 2020 schedule should be much more comfortable.

In general, San Francisco is far less likely to encounter the extreme weather the team dealt with at various points throughout the 2019 season. Barring something unforeseen, the 49ers won't play a game in the extreme cold, and their warmest games are likely to come at home.

Whereas San Francisco opened the 2019 season in the swamp that is Tampa against the Buccaneers, the 49ers will not have to deal with any extreme southern climates in 2020. The Florida team comes to them this time -- they host the Miami Dolphins in Week 5 -- and San Francisco's road games in New Orleans and Dallas will be played in domes. Not to mention, those two contests both come in the second half of the season, when the weather is likely to be cooler in those locales. 

In fact, half of the 49ers' eight road games will be played in either a dome or a stadium with a roof. That includes the two road games against the Arizona Cardinals and Los Angeles Rams, where, depending on the time of year, temperatures could get sky high. However, San Francisco travels to LA in late November and Glendale in late December, when that will not be the case.

The 49ers' other four road games -- against the New York Giants, New York Jets, New England Patriots and Seattle Seahawks -- all occur within the first eight weeks of the season. While New York is liable to be quite muggy in September, you'd much rather play there then compared to later in the winter, when heavy precipitation is all but assured. From a weather perspective, Week 8 at Seattle might be the worst the 49ers deal with all season long.

And while Seattle is no stranger to rain, it is highly unlikely to emulate the torrential downpour San Francisco encountered in Washington last season. The playing conditions -- and field -- were downright pitiful, and really mitigated the talent difference between the two teams. Though the 49ers ultimately won that game, they failed to score a single touchdown. It seems far less likely San Francisco will have to simultaneously battle a team and those same kind of extreme elements in 2020.

[RELATED: Five most critical games for 49ers' chances at No. 1 seed]

Now, granted, half of the 49ers' home slate will be played before the end of October, when local temperatures are likely to be at their highest point throughout the entire season. Levi's Stadium sure can get hot, but that always seems to be more of an issue for fans than the players on the field. In any case, provided there isn't an extended, sweltering heatwave, the climates for those early home games should be decently temperate -- especially compared to where many other teams will be playing their early-season games.

The 49ers' path back to the Super Bowl won't be easy by any means. But, at the very least, the weather shouldn't add too much to the difficulty.

[49ERS INSIDER PODCAST: Listen to the latest episode]

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