Saints vs. 49ers Odds, Picks, and Prediction

by Nick Galaida (nickgalaida) Last Updated 2022-11-27 13:10:58

Saints vs. 49ers Odds

On Sunday afternoon, the New Orleans Saints will travel to Santa Clara to battle the San Francisco 49ers at Levi’s Stadium. New Orleans enters play with a 4-7 record, but they remain only two games back in the loss column from first place in a crowded NFC South division. San Francisco has won three consecutive games to regain control of the NFC West, with the Seattle Seahawks appearing to be their only threat within the division. In this matchup, oddsmakers are anticipating a comfortable win for the 49ers, pricing San Francisco as 9-point home favorites on the spread.

Let’s take a deeper look at the matchup to see where NFL bettors can find value at sportsbooks in this contest.

New Orleans Saints

Already missing wide receiver Michael Thomas, running backs Alvin Kamara and Mark Ingram II are both listed as questionable ahead of kickoff. Guard Andrus Peat is also listed as questionable after logging a limited practice on Friday due to a triceps injury. If there is any good news to report for New Orleans on the offensive side of the ball, it is that their first round draft pick from this past summer, left tackle Trevor Penning, is expected to be activated for this contest. His presence will be a welcome addition for an offensive line that has struggled mightily this fall – ranking 23rd as a unit in pass-blocking and 24th in run-blocking, per Pro Football Focus.

Defensively, New Orleans is dealing with a number of injuries as well. Defensive ends Cameron Jordan and Marcus Davenport are each listed as questionable after logging only a limited practice on Friday. Cornerback Marshon Lattimore is dealing with an abdominal issue, which has him listed as questionable for Sunday’s action as well. Depending on who is active and who is inactive for the Saints’ defense in this matchup, New Orleans could be in an extremely difficult situation against a strong San Francisco offensive line if they are forced to use multiple back-ups as fill-in starters.

San Francisco 49ers

Other than wide receiver Deebo Samuel being listed as questionable with a hamstring injury, the 49ers’ offense is near full health entering Week 12. Fresh off of a 38-point performance against the Arizona Cardinals in Mexico City, adding Samuel back into the fold is only likely to increase the effectiveness of a group that has been playing exceptionally well of late. Across his last three games, quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo has posted a sterling 6-to-0 touchdown-to-interception ratio while completing 73.1% of his pass attempts. The offensive line continues to perform strongly as well, having allowed only one sack in the last two weeks. The 49ers should be able to exert their will again in this spot, facing a Saints’ defensive line that is dealing with a plethora of injuries.

During their three-game winning streak, the 49ers have shut out their opponents completely in the second-half. Defensive coordinator DeMeco Ryans has been lauded by members of the San Francisco defense for knowing when to make the “right calls” – even amid personnel issues on the defensive line, with defensive tackles Javon Kinlaw and Arik Armstead both having missed time due to injury. Though Ryans unquestionably deserves a healthy amount of credit for his work in masking the loss of multiple key players, linebacker Fred Warner also deserves a considerable amount of credit for keeping this defense playing at a high level of late. Warner leads the team in tackles through 10 games, in addition to having two sacks, three tackles-for-loss, and six passes defended. His prowess, both in coverage and against the run, has allowed the lackluster production from defensive tackles Hassan Ridgeway and Kevin Givens to go unnoticed by many fans and pundits. Facing an extremely weak New Orleans offensive line on Sunday, San Francisco should be able to dominate the line of scrimmage, which should make life extremely difficult for the Saints’ offense.

Saints vs. 49ers – Picks & Predictions

There are still a number of key players whose status for this matchup is uncertain, making it difficult to ascertain the best betting angle as of this writing. However, the smart early lean for bettors in this spot is the under, with New Orleans’ offense likely to struggle to do much of anything positive if they are unable to compete effectively at the line of scrimmage. San Francisco is, by far, the more talented and healthier team in this spot. Having to play on a short week after playing on Monday Night Football in Mexico City in Week 11 could cause the 49ers to place further emphasis on their ground attack in an effort to protect their defense from being on the field too much on Sunday. If San Francisco can manage to dominate the line of scrimmage as expected, this could be a very low-scoring affair – take the under, pending the final injury report.

PICK: Under 44 (-133, DraftKings)

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