Before he helped the Falcons reach their second Super Bowl in franchise history, Kyle Shanahan endured his fair share of criticism. He didn’t achieve his status as an evil genius until after the Super Bowl collapse. Predictably the 49ers stole him and our offense hasn’t been the same since. So watching him lead what is arguably the NFC’s best team to an 11-2 record has elicited ... mixed emotions.
What are the oddsmakers saying about Sunday’s matchup?
According to Oddsshark, the 49ers opened up as 11.5 point favorites. That line has shrunk a bit in recent days, with various outlets projecting them as 10.5-11 point favorites. Does a line like that make sense? Yes. Yes it does. In short, the Falcons, generally speaking, are not a good football team. The same can’t be said about the 49ers.
That line is the second-biggest headed into the final games of the regular season. Only the Broncos are bigger underdogs. (The Chiefs are 13 points favorites in that game.)
For what it’s worth, betting against the Falcons hasn’t been a solid approach for about a month and a half now. The Falcons are 4-2 against the spread over their last 6 games. That said, the Falcons are 4-11 against the spread over their last 15 road games, which doesn’t inspire much confidence when they’re facing off the a team that could possibly be NFC’s 1 seed.
Your thoughts, Falcoholics?