:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/32561427/MGM_Grand_Sports_Book.0.jpg)
The 2014 NFL regular season does not start for another four months, but the release of the NFL schedule a couple weeks back has gotten us some gambling lines to peruse. Immediately after the schedule was released, the Las Vegas Hotel & Casino released opening lines for Week 1 contests. They installed the San Francisco 49ers as 3 1/2 point favorites for their road opener against the Dallas Cowboys.
We now have some additional lines, as the LVH has released an additional 80 lines for games in Week 2 through 17. That is a small minority of total games, but of those 80, we get an additional 11 49ers games with an opening line. Given that the 2014 NFL Draft is still a few days away, these lines are subject to plenty of change. But for now, they're at least useful for entertainment purposes. Here are the lines that are currently available (in bold where 49ers are underdogs):
Week 1: 49ers (-4) at Dallas Cowboys
Week 2: 49ers (-6.5) vs. Chicago Bears
Week 4: 49ers (-6) vs. Philadelphia Eagles
Week 6: 49ers (-4) at St. Louis Rams (MNF)
Week 7: 49ers (+3.5) at Denver Broncos
Week 10: 49ers (+3) at New Orleans Saints
Week 11: 49ers (-3.5) at New York Giants
Week 12: 49ers (-7.5) vs. Washington
Week 13: 49ers (-2.5) vs. Seattle Seahawks (Thursday)
Week 14: 49ers (-7) at Oakland Raiders
Week 15: 49ers (+3.5) at Seattle Seahawks
Week 16: 49ers (-6.5) vs. San Diego Chargers (Saturday)
Of the 12 games, the 49ers are only underdogs at Denver, at New Orleans, and at Seattle. I don't think any of those should really surprise anybody given the quality of the opponent.
The remaining games not listed included:
Week 3: at Arizona Cardinals
Week 5: vs. Kansas City Chiefs
Week 9: vs. St. Louis Rams
Week 17: vs. Arizona Cardinals
Things can change between now and these games, but for now the 49ers would likely be favorites in all four of those games. The Cardinals game could conceivably see them as underdogs if they got off to a poor start in Weeks 1 and 2, but I'm not seeing it at this point. If the Chiefs game had been on the road I could see them being underdogs, but even then it would be a close line.