The bye week is FINALLY over and we can start looking ahead to the 49ers upcoming home game against the Cleveland Browns. I suppose Monday is sort of a transition day for most teams, but whatever. It is a new week and we are six short days from week eight NFL action. That means the 49ers return to the field in their continued hunt for a playoff spot.
NFL odds for a given game will generally be published a few hours after the completion of both teams' games for the previous week. The 49ers were obviously on a bye while the Cleveland Browns played a morning game against the Seattle Seahawks. We've got some early odds out and the 49ers are currently sitting as 8 1/2 to 10 point favorites, depending on where you want to get some action.
I wish I could find some historical odds for the 49ers because I can't imagine they have been double digit favorites very many times in recent years. Even when they have played some fairly awful teams, the 49ers themselves were generally struggling, and thus not likely to be highly favored.
This does give us one reason for concern. The 49ers are entering a point where trap games start showing up. The 49ers coaches and players are saying all the right things about taking it one game at a time and not getting too soft. And yet, the Browns game still lies there with an oh so enticing look.
It has been a while since the 49ers were sizable favorites and expected to do some bad things to a team. The 49ers have every right to be confident, but they also need to avoid overconfidence. I've said this before and I'm probably just being a little too Chicken Little about this, but the concern remains. Am I being a little too overly-concerned?