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5 Opponents the San Francisco 49ers Need to Beat in 2015

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5 Opponents the 49ers Need to Beat in 2015

Chris Culliver San Francisco 49ers
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2015 will be a make or break year for the San Francisco 49ers franchise. Now that Jim Harbaugh is gone and they have new leadership in place with Jim Tomsula, the question becomes can he keep the positive momentum moving forward that they’ve built over the past few years, or will their age and injuries force them to enter rebuilding mode? If they can’t beat these five opponents, then the latter is more likely.

5. Cleveland Browns

Johnny Manziel Cleveland Browns
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5. Cleveland Browns

Johnny Manziel Cleveland Browns
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Even though it’s a road game and they made tremendous strides last year, the Browns are still the Browns. They will more than likely have a troubled and unproven Johnny Manziel playing quarterback in a new offense and doing so without his best offensive threat in Josh Gordon. If they have any hope of returning to the playoffs, they must win this game.

4. St. Louis Rams

Colin Kaepernick San Francisco 49ers
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4. St. Louis Rams

Colin Kaepernick San Francisco 49ers
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I know that it’s a division game and that the two teams know each other well, but it seems as though every year the Rams give the 49ers a hard time regardless of the difference level in talent. The 49ers clearly have the better team and they learned last year that they can’t afford to lose any games they are supposed to win. So it all starts this year with a must-win game against the Rams.

3. Atlanta Falcons

Matt Ryan Atlanta Falcons
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3. Atlanta Falcons

Matt Ryan Atlanta Falcons
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Everything this 49ers team does revolves around their tough and punishing defense and their ability to create turnovers. However, with the amount of injuries and suspensions they had last year, they weren’t as dominant as they’ve been in the past. So the Falcons and their talented receiving corps will present quite a litmus test to see just where this team is defensively.

2. Green Bay Packers

Clay Matthews Green Bay Packers
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2. Green Bay Packers

Clay Matthews Green Bay Packers
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Aaron Rodgers and crew come into town to play in what is likely to be a prime-time game. They should once again be one of the elite teams in the league, and this will be a matchup to see if the 49ers are pretenders or contenders for a championship.

1. Seattle Seahawks

Colin Kaepernick San Francisco 49ers
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1. Seattle Seahawks

Colin Kaepernick San Francisco 49ers
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If you want to win the division, then you have to beat the best in the division. In the past, these two have had some epic battles, and this year should be no different. The Seattle defense will test how far Colin Kaepernick has grown as a quarterback. Is he still growing or will he try to put too much on his shoulders and begin to regress?

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