© Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports
The 49ers’ Week 7 home matchup with the Los Angeles Rams on Oct. 21 has been flexed from Sunday Night Football and set for 1:25 p.m. The game that will take the Sunday night slot features the Cincinnati Bengals visiting the Kansas City Chiefs.
The Rams matchup is when the 49ers planned to unveil the “The Catch” statues of Montana to Clark outside Levi’s Stadium. They will also wear the 1994 throwback uniforms for the only time this year.
This idea of flexing Sunday Night Football matchups was introduced seven years ago to ensure the interest remains high.
This is no major surprise, considering San Francisco’s 1-4 standing and the league-wide decrease in interest after Jimmy Garoppolo’s season-ending knee injury. The Rams are the NFL’s burgeoning juggernaut, making this matchup as lopsided as they come, on paper. Meanwhile, the Bengals (4-1) and Chiefs (5-0) have been two of the best teams in the NFL in the early going.
The 49ers still have four games slotted for primetime. Their upcoming Week 6 matchup at Green Bay will be aired on Monday Night Football. Their Week 9 matchup against the Oakland Raiders is the NFL’s Thursday night game of the week. In Week 11, the 49ers play on Monday Night Football against the New York Giants. And in Week 13, San Francisco travels to Seattle for Sunday Night Football, which also has the possibility of being flexed.