The San Francisco 49ers are fresh off beating rivals Dallas Cowboys in Week 1 of the preseason. Up ahead of them is a meeting with the Denver Broncos, who are coming off a an especially disappointing loss to the Seattle Seahawks, who leaned on former Broncos quarterback Paxton Lynch to defeat them. The 49ers are +450 to win the NFC West, while the Broncos are +800 to win the AFC West.
Betting on the San Francisco 49ers (1-0 Preseason)
The 49ers are still not ready to send Jimmy Garropolo to the field. For their second game of the preseason, the Niners could use the combination of C.J. Beathard, Nick Mullens, and Wilton Speight at the quarterback slot against the Broncos. In Week 1’s 17-9 home win over the Dallas Cowboys at home, Beathard and Mullens combined for 246 passing yards, two touchdowns, and a couple of interceptions. Still on the passing game, the Niners like to see more of rookies Deebo Samuel and Jalen Hurd, each did well in their preseason debuts against the Cowboys. Samuel caught two passes on four targets and turned them into 61 receiving yards. Hurd had 31 receiving yards on three catches and five targets. Samuel and Hurd could be in line for bigger roles moving forward, as slot receiver Tren Taylor is reportedly done for the preseason after undergoing surgery to treat a toe injury.
The 49ers are 5-4-1 against the spread (ATS) in their last 10 preseason games.
Betting on the Denver Broncos (1-1 Preseason)
It seems that the Broncos’ biggest enemy in the preseason is themselves. They are having trouble playing disciplined football, and it must be infuriating for head coach Vic Fangio. After picking up eight penalties in the win over the Atlanta Falcons during the Hall of Fame weekend, the Broncos had 15 penalties for 131 yards in their 22-14 road loss to the Seattle Seahawks last Friday. Cleaning up avoidable errors is going to be one of Fangio’s priority talking points heading into Week 2 of the preseason. Another concern for Denver is the injury of rookie tight end Austin Fort, who hurt his knee against the Seahawks. Even if it’s just a minor one, the Broncos might decide to just rest him than risk seeing him aggravate the injury. Quarterback Drew Lock went 17 of 28 for 180 passing yards and a touchdown against an interception last week, while Joe Flacco appeared in one series and completed 3 of 4 passes for 19 yards.
The Broncos are 6-3-1 ATS in their last 10 preseason games.
