The San Francisco 49ers went from chasing perfection to clinging to a half-game lead in their own division in an eight-day span, but their two-game losing streak hasn’t damaged oddsmakers’ confidence in their season-long prospects.
The 49ers (5-2) hold a half-game lead in the NFC West over the Seattle Seahawks (4-2), with the rivals scheduled to play in Weeks 12 and 14 sandwiched around San Francisco’s Week 13 game at Philadelphia (6-1).
The 49ers are still the overwhelming -650 favorites by BetMGM and -400 by DraftKings to win the division over the Seahawks (+500, +360). Despite their short odds, the 49ers have been backed by 75.3 percent of the money wagered on the division winner at BetMGM.
They have also drawn 13.9 percent of the money wagered at the book on the Super Bowl champion, most among all teams, and are third with 8.7 percent of the total bets. San Francisco is +550 to win the title at BetMGM, just behind the Kansas City Chiefs at +400 and just ahead of Philadelphia at +600.
That three-game stretch from Nov. 23-Dec. 10 against two of the NFC’s other top threats likely will create significant movement at sportsbooks.
While San Francisco enjoys a significant edge from oddsmakers and the public in comparison to Seattle, Philadelphia currently holds the No. 1 seed in the conference. The 49ers are the slight +220 favorites at BetMGM and +200 at DraftKings to win the NFC ahead of the Eagles (+240 at both). The Dallas Cowboys are next at +450 and +500.
The Lions, who lost at home to the Seahawks earlier this season, dropped their second game of the season in a rout by Baltimore in Week 7. However, Detroit is currently the No. 2 seed in the conference and a massive -400 favorite at BetMGM to win the NFC South – where the other three teams all currently have losing records.
Detroit also is the biggest liability to win the NFC title at BetMGM, where it has been backed by 41.8 percent of the total bets and 44.9 percent of the money.
The Lions play host to 3-4 Las Vegas on Monday night before their bye week.
“At the end of the day we are 5-2 and where we’re going to have a problem is if we back it up with another loss,” coach Dan Campbell said Monday.
–Field Level Media
