The San Francisco 49ers will be staying in Arizona for the remainder of the 2020 season, the team announced to a pool of reporters Friday. San Francisco will play the remainder of its home games at the University of Phoenix Stadium after Santa Clara County extended its COVID-19 restrictions, which include the ban of contact sports, to Jan. 8.
San Francisco spent the past two "home" games in Arizona, dropping both contests. They were scheduled to play one more game in Arizona -- as the road team against the Arizona Cardinals in Week 16 -- before traveling back home to host the Seattle Seahawks in Week 17. That final regular season game will be played in Arizona instead. San Francisco will end the 2020 season playing three "home" games in the home of the Cardinals and a road game there. The only game the 49ers will leave the state of Arizona for comes this Sunday, when they travel to Texas to take on the Dallas Cowboys.
The 49ers sit at 5-8 with three weeks to play, two games back of the Cardinals for the final playoff spot in the conference. They have to win out and need some help to defend their NFC title -- and playing the final seven games away from home hasn't helped. San Francisco hasn't played a game at Levi's Stadium since Nov. 5.
"I don't care about our situation," 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan said to reporters earlier in the week. "I don't care necessarily about the record, in terms of, yeah, I want it to be better. But, what I expect from guys, that starts with what is our job and what we get paid to do.
"I have a very high regard for the NFL in that way and I am always trying to earn my living the best I can and I expect everyone else in here to do it, too, regardless of what I say, but I will let them know definitely if I don't think they're following that."
