NFL training camp is still more than two months away, and the regular season doesn’t get going for four months. However, with the schedule release and rookie draft last month, we get to one of my favorite parts of the offseason. The release of gambling lines for the first 15 games of the San Francisco 49ers schedule!
Shortly after the schedule was released, sportsbooks opened lines for Week 1 matchups. The 49ers opened as a 4.5 point underdog for their road game against the Minnesota Vikings. Following the draft, Bovada installed the line at five points.
Now that we’re a little further removed from the draft, the folks at CG Technology have had their annual release of spreads for Weeks 2-16. It’s crazy to set lines for games in December, let alone earlier in the season, but it is a fun exercise as we consider the state of the 49ers. They don’t include lines for Week 17 because of the unpredictability of starting lineups for teams getting ready for the playoffs or done for the season. Of course, given how much unpredictability there is for the rest of the season, it is rather amusing they factor it in there.
Things have changed in a big way for year two of the Kyle Shanahan/John Lynch 49ers. In 2015, the early release lines had the 49ers as underdogs in 13 games and pick ‘em in two games. They were double digit underdogs for three road games, against Carolina, Seattle, and Arizona.
In last year’s early release lines, the 49ers were listed as a 1.5-point home favorite for Week 3 vs. the Los Angeles Rams (they ended up three-point underdogs when the game arrived), and were underdogs in the rest of the games. They were double digit underdogs in one game, on the road against Seattle. They were nine-point underdogs in three other games.
This year, the 49ers are early favorites in nine games, with their biggest line at a touchdown vs. the Arizona Cardinals. They are underdogs in six games, with the biggest line there at +4.5 for their season-opener in Minnesota.
Here’s a full list of the lines. The (-120) references indicates extra juice on the 49ers in those games. You have to bet more on the 49ers than on the opposing team on those two lines.
Week 1: @ Minnesota Vikings (+4.5)
Week 2: vs. Detroit Lions (-3.5)
Week 3: @ Kansas City Chiefs (+3)
Week 4: @ Los Angeles Chargers (+3.5)
Week 5: vs. Arizona Cardinals (-7) (-120)
Week 6: @ Green Bay Packers (+4)
Week 7: vs. Los Angeles Rams (+1)
Week 8: @ Arizona Cardinals (-1.5)
Week 9: vs. Oakland Raiders (-4)
Week 10: vs. New York Giants (-6.5)
Week 12: @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers (-1) (-120)
Week 13: @ Seattle Seahawks (+1)
Week 14: vs. Denver Broncos (-4.5)
Week 15: vs. Seattle Seahawks (-3.5)
Week 16: vs. Chicago Bears (-6)
Week 17: @ Los Angeles Rams (No line)