Exactly how good are the 49ers? The team is attracting more converts every week, and the band wagon just may start reaching capacity once this one is in the books. It’s another potential squash match on Thursday Night Football, but there’s still plenty of handicapping appeal to be found.
Line/Total Double
Arizona Cardinals +10/Over 42.5 +285
Arizona Cardinals +10/Under 42.5 +250
San Francisco 49ers -10/Over 42.5 +235
San Francisco 49ers +10/Under 42.5 +270
There’s a good chance you’ll be spending some time pondering side and total bets for a primetime tilt. Why not put them both together in a quest for even more bang for your buck?
To decide which direction to go, season-long stats and trends can be our friends. For the year-to-date, the 49ers are putting up an average of 29.6 points per contest while allowing 11.0. The Cardinals are scoring an average of 21.3 points per tilt while giving up 27.9.
Against the spread, San Francisco is 5-2 this season while Arizona is 5-3. On totals, the visitors are 2-5 while the hosts are 4-4. Add it all up, and we have two teams that trend towards covering. The Over/Under is a mixed bag, but both sides can put points up. That said, the Cardinals will have trouble doing so against this stout defense.
The 49ers just dropped 51 points on the Panthers and face off with a team that’s allowing 27.9 points per game. Putting up 30 points is a reasonable ask, and we’ll even give Arizona a pair of scores to make it somewhat respectable.
The Pick: San Francisco 49ers -10/Over 42.5 +235
First Touchdown Scorer
Tevin Coleman +300
George Kittle +650
Emmanuel Sanders +1000
Jeff Wilson +1000
Raheem Mostert +1000
Matt Breida +1000
Larry Fitzgerald +1300
Kenyan Drake +1300
Deebo Samuel +1300
Marquise Goodwin +1400
Christian Kirk +1500
Field +1700 to +9900
Thursday night games are tricky. The short week of prep for both sides is a factor, and you never can say for sure how the bright primetime lights will impact play for either team. See last week’s game between the Vikings and Redskins for reference.
However, that doesn’t mean we can just flat out dismiss truths which have emerged during the 2019 season. For example, the Cardinals have proven themselves to be atrocious at covering opposing tight ends in the red zone.
Seven different tight ends have found paydirt against them this season, so that’s a good sign for the fantasy prospects of George Kittle on Thursday night. Would it really be stunning to see the party in the desert get started with a Jimmy Garoppolo to Kittle hook-up?
The Pick: George Kittle +650
Team To Score
Arizona Cardinals To Score 10+ -477
Arizona Cardinals To Score 15+ -122
Arizona Cardinals To Score 20+ +158
Arizona Cardinals To Score 25+ +450
Arizona Cardinals To Score 30+ +800
Arizona Cardinals To Score 35+ +1300
Arizona Cardinals To Score 40+ +1800
San Francisco 49ers To Score 15+ -834
San Francisco 49ers To Score 20+ -313
San Francisco 49ers To Score 25+ -114
San Francisco 49ers To Score 30+ +160
San Francisco 49ers To Score 35+ +350
San Francisco 49ers To Score 40+ +625
San Francisco 49ers To Score 45+ +1050
San Francisco 49ers To Score 50+ +1500
Since we’ve already down the legwork on the Over/Under, it’s worth taking the time to explore the totals market to see if we can find any additional meat on the bones. For the Cardinals, it’s tough to see them scoring a bunch here after putting up just nine versus the Saints last week.
Can they score 15+ in this spot? Possibly, but that’s not exactly the bang for the buck we’re looking for. Over on the 49ers side, things become interesting the further we make our way down the points chart. Since 30 or more points seems reasonable, a prop of 35+ could provide us with a handsome return.
The Pick: San Francisco 49ers To Score 35+ +350
A Take On The Game Itself
Are the 49ers for real? For all but the most hardened skeptics, that question has been answered loud and clear. Yes, this team is the real deal and resembles one which could do lots of damage in 2019.
It’s a long season, so we’ll naturally have to wait and see how it plays out. For now, there’s nothing to suggest the team’s strong play will be coming to an end in Arizona. 49ers win going away and cover.
