San Francisco 49ers NFL Betting Preview: Up for the Challenge

Posted on: September 10, 2020, 11:10h. 

Last updated on: September 10, 2020, 12:09h.

Bill Huber Read More

Expertise: Sports Betting, Sports.

After blowing a 10-point lead in a Super Bowl loss last year to the Kansas City Chiefs, San Francisco 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan vowed his team would be back. “We’ll be fired up for next year,” he told reporters in the immediate aftermath of the game.

History isn’t in their favor. Of the previous 53 Super Bowl losers, only eight returned to the Big Game the next season, and only three got to hold the Vince Lombardi Trophy. The New England Patriots did it in 2018. But before that, it had been a 45-year drought.

However, with an innovative offensive mind in Shanahan and a powerful defense, the sportsbooks like the 49ers’ chances. In fact, San Francisco is the consensus top choice in the NFC, and trails only the Kansas City Chiefs and Baltimore Ravens overall.

The Niners’ championship odds range from +750 at William Hill to +1,000 at FanDuel and elsewhere.

Over/Under: 10.5 Wins

The key to taking the next step will be the play of quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo. After missing most of 2018 with an injury, he completed 69.2 percent of his passes for 3,978 yards and 27 touchdowns last season. However, he threw 13 interceptions and couldn’t handle Patrick Mahomes’ comeback in the Super Bowl. The 49ers will be good. But can Garoppolo make them great?

The Niners are expected to be good again,” an analyst from FanDuel told Casino.org. “Jimmy G. gets a bad rap, which is mostly undeserved. He’s more than competent, and was very close to winning the Super Bowl MVP last year.”

The 49ers are a strong favorite to win a stacked NFC West. They are in the neighborhood of -105 to win the division just about everywhere. The only outlier is William Hill, which has the Niners as the favorite but at +100.

There is total agreement with an over/under win total of 10.5. BetMGM has -115 on the over and -105 on the under while SuperBook has +120 on the over and -140 on the under.

Rich Get Richer

The 49ers’ roster is without a major weakness. The only big hole last season was at left tackle, which was filled in a trade with Washington to get former Pro Bowler Trent Williams.

The defense is one of the best in the NFL. They have elite players at each level, with Arik Armstead and Nick Bosa as the defensive ends, Fred Warner at middle linebacker, and ageless Richard Sherman at cornerback.

Garoppolo, who is +3,300 to win MVP at PointsBet, has plenty of weapons. George Kittle might be the best all-around tight end in the NFL. Deebo Samuel is a budding star at the receiver, and Brandon Aiyuk was added to the group with a first-round pick. Those three provide a lot of run-after-the-catch possibilities. Running back Raheem Mostert destroyed the Packers in the NFC Championship Game.

The team is put together by Shanahan. In his first two seasons, the Niners went 10-22. Last year, they went 13-3 by finishing second in points scored and eighth in points allowed. His Coach of the Year odds range from +1,600 at DraftKings, where he is second on the board, to +2,200 at Fan Duel.

Editor’s Note: This is the 29th of 32 NFL team previews and the first of four on the NFC West.