2024 Super Bowl LVIII odds: Three reasons to bet on 49ers
Are you intrigued by the matchup between the San Francisco 49ers and the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LVIII but unsure of which team to back?
Well, I'm here with three reasons why you should wager on San Francisco ahead of the showdown for the Vince Lombardi trophy on Feb. 11 in Las Vegas.
Related: White jerseys red-hot in Super Bowl
Let's dive in!
Too Much Offensive Skill
Kansas City's defense has been tough to crack lately, but there's no doubt the best unit on the field is the collection of playmakers San Francisco will throw out there.
How do you contain Christian McCaffrey, Deebo Samuel, Brandon Aiyuk and George Kittle all at once? Then mix in a little Jauan Jennings and Kyle Juszczyk.
And now we have a little Brock Purdy running dimension to worry about after the NFC Championship Game.
This is a huge step up in class from the units the Chiefs have faced lately, given the injuries some of those teams had. And, yes, the Niners have started slow in their last two games. But when they needed to have it in the second half against Detroit or needed a game-winning drive versus Green Bay, they got it — and fairly easily.
In a neutral, indoor environment, the Niners might be ready to explode.
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Public Opinion Has Never Been Lower. Time to Buy!
San Francisco easily could have lost to both the Packers and Lions. After all, they didn't spend much time in the lead in the two games combined.
The defense has shown gaping holes against the run and in the secondary. But over the course of the regular season, the Niners power rated as either the best or second-best team in the league, and shouldn't we look at the long term instead of a two-game sample size?
When the line for the Super Bowl was posted, the action that came in was heavily tilted to the Chiefs and drove the number down as low as -1 or -1.5.
Now, think back to mid-to-late December after the Chiefs lost to the Raiders, sending them to their third loss in four games and fourth in six games.
What would the number have been then? Niners -5, -5.5, -6?
And the perception? SF would certainly have been seen as the stronger side.
Now there's been an adjustment of a field goal or so from where this number may have been slightly over a month ago. So if you take that viewpoint, you're getting a discount on what might be the highest power rated team by a lot of people.
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It's Time
Like I did with the Chiefs where I offered up two football reasons and one intangible as to why you should bet on them, I'll do the same with the Niners.
Quite frankly, it is time.
San Francisco is overdue to win the Super Bowl. The Niners lost Super Bowl LIV to these same Chiefs in a close game after the 2019 season.
We've all seen the footage of George Kittle talking on the sideline that the Niners were going to get back here and win it. Two years ago, the Niners seemingly had the Rams beat in the NFC Championship game. But Kyle Shanahan went conservative and didn't go for it on fourth down. Then the defense dropped an easy arm-punt interception, which would have given the Niners the ball back early in the fourth quarter.
Last year, the Niners were dealt a cruel blow in Philadelphia and never had a chance in the NFC Championship game after losing Purdy to an elbow injury early in the game.
Whether it's been their own doing or not, San Francisco has not been treated well by the football gods in these big spots. Surely the Niners are overdue for some good karma and are finally going to win one of these games.
Chris "The Bear" Fallica has covered sports for nearly three decades. While college football has been his focus, he also enjoys the NFL, Soccer, Golf, Tennis, MLB, NHL and Horse Racing, with an "occasional" wager on such events. Chris recently won the inaugural Circa Football Invitational and finished in the Top 10 of the Golden Nugget Football Contest. He's a multiple-time qualifier for the NHC Handicapping Championship. Remember, "The less you bet, the more you lose when you win!" Follow him on Twitter @chrisfallica.