49ers have two Thursday games, but only one on three-day rest—this could change
The San Francisco 49ers are scheduled to play two Thursday games in the 2026 NFL season, but only one will be on a shortened three-day rest. Their second Thursday game, against the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 15, is the only one requiring accelerated recovery. The NFL's flex scheduling rules could still alter the 49ers' prime-time game count in the latter part of the season.
- ▪The 49ers will open the 2026 season with a Thursday game in Australia against the Los Angeles Rams.
- ▪Their only game on a three-day rest is a Week 15 Thursday Night Football matchup against the Los Angeles Chargers.
- ▪The 49ers have five prime-time games scheduled, leaving three potential slots that could be adjusted via NFL flex scheduling.
- ▪Flex scheduling allows the NFL to move games into Sunday, Monday, or Thursday night slots based on team performance and viewer interest.
- ▪The league aims to avoid overloading teams with prime-time games, especially if they are underperforming or have already secured playoff positions.
Opening excerpt (first ~120 words) tap to expand
{"@context":"http://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","mainEntityOfPage":"https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/49ers-two-thursday-games-only-133000232.html","headline":"49ers have two Thursday games, but only one on three-day rest—this could change","datePublished":"2026-05-16T13:30:00.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-16T13:30:00.000Z","keywords":["Thursday Night Football","San Francisco 49ers","NFL","Los Angeles Rams","Monday Night","Sunday Night Football","The Chiefs","Ryan Fitzpatrick","Los Angeles Chargers","Richard Sherman","Tampa Bay Buccaneers","Kansas City Chiefs","Atlanta Falcons","Andrew Whitworth","New England Patriots","New York Giants","Buffalo Bills","Philadelphia Eagles","Cleveland Browns","Houston Texans","Kansas City"],"description":"Five primetime games means there’s three…
Excerpt limited to ~120 words for fair-use compliance. The full article is at Yahoo Sports.