A hiccup in Week 3 that pushed the 49ers to 1-2 on the season didn’t sway bettors from favoring San Francisco in their Week 4 home bout against the Rams. Tipico Sportsbook has the 49ers favored by 1.5 points on Monday night when they host Los Angeles.
Sportsbooks are far less reactionary than fans. While the 49ers’ performance in Denver was certainly dreadful, chances are that wasn’t the version of their offense we’ll see for the rest of the season. There’s a ton of bounce-back potential at home against a divisional opponent. Not to mention the 49ers have owned that divisional opponent in the regular season with six consecutive head-to-head wins.
There’s more to consider than just the 49ers’ Week 3 offensive performance though. Their defense, for example, has allowed just 3.9 yards per play through the first three weeks and they’re third in Football Outsiders’ defensive DVOA. While they’ve faced three struggling offensive, any defense that allows 28 points in three games is doing something right.
Pitting that 49ers defense against a Rams club that’s had a hard time protecting quarterback Matthew Stafford makes it easy to draw a path to a low-scoring output for Los Angeles.
If San Francisco’s offense can get right against a defense head coach Kyle Shanahan has consistently found ways to move the ball against, that 1.5 points should get covered.
Of course, there’s always a chance the 49ers offense bogs down again and even another sterling defensive performance can’t save them.
Either way, Monday night should be close despite the avalanche of criticism levied against the 49ers for their dreary Week 3 outing. They had a bounce-back win over the Rams in Week 10 last year, and Vegas is favoring them to do it again this season.