49ers vs Cardinals Picks, Odds & Preview – Niners Vault to 10-Point Favorites

• San Francisco 49ers rapidly climbed to 10-point favorites after opening as a 7-point favorite
• 49ers are undefeated this season but have lost eight straight to Arizona
• Cardinals have posted wins in three of four outings but have struggled badly against elite competition

San Francisco will be looking to improve their perfect record to 8-0 when they open the NFL Week 9 schedule against the Arizona Cardinals on Thursday Night Football as 10-point favorites.

The Niners opened as 7-point favorites in Week 9 before being quickly bet up to a 10-point favorite as Arizona will be pretty banged up on the offensive side of the ball for this one

San Francisco 49ers vs Arizona Cardinals Odds

Odds taken October 31st

Niners Silencing the Naysayers

San Francisco continued their romp through the 2019 season with an impressive 51-13 victory over the Carolina Panthers last weekend, and have now claimed victory by double-digit margins on five of their seven outings this season going into Thursday night’s game.

https://twitter.com/OSf49ers/status/1188851137547423744?s=20

San Francisco has been simply dominant in its four road contests to date, winning outright and ATS while outscoring opponents by a wide 101-41 margin.

The squad now ranks third in the NFL in points scored per game, with 29.6, and has been equally effective on defense, trailing only the New England Patriots, with a mere 11.0 points surrendered per game. The Niners have also rewarded sports bettors by covering in five of their seven outings.

49ers Have Yet to Cover Large Spreads

However, three of those ATS wins have come while posting outright wins as betting underdogs, with the two defeats occurring in the two contests in which the 49ers were big favorites. Those include a narrow 24-20 win over Pittsburgh as 6-point home favorite, and a rain-soaked 9-0 win in Washington as a 10-point favorite in Week 8.

The Niners’ struggles to pay out as heavy favorite extends a lengthy futile trend, with the squad going 0-7 ATS in their past seven while favored by seven or more points, including three contests while favored by 10 or more points.

San Francisco is also a middling 4-3 SU when favored by at least a touchdown, including a narrow 13-10 loss to the Rams as 10.5-point favorites five years ago.

https://twitter.com/thepopgun/status/1189744581870522369?s=20

Further compounding matters is San Francisco’s recent track record of futility against the Cardinals. The 49ers have lost outright in eight straight meetings with Arizona, scoring 15 or fewer points in four of those contests. But none of that has halted the 49ers steady march up the Super Bowl odds, where they are now pegged as an attractive +800 bet.

Cardinals Beating Up on Weak Opposition

The Cardinals have also helped their own cause with a steady resurgence this season. Winners of just three games last season, the Cardinals have matched that win total over their past four outings. But while they have given long-suffering fans reason to cheer, the poor quality of the teams they have beaten cannot be overlooked, with their victories coming against the winless Cincinnati Bengals, the 1-7 Atlanta Falcons, and the 2-6 New York Giants.

Coach Kliff Kingsbury and quarterback Kyler Murray talk about the injuries to the Cardinals' running backs and having to play on a short week. pic.twitter.com/tnslWgag5j

— azcentral (@azcentral) October 28, 2019

Arizona has also wilted badly against elite competition, as was on full display in last weekend’s 31-9 blowout loss in New Orleans as a 12.5-point road underdog. However, with the Cardinals scoring 27 or more points in two of their four home dates this season, and rookie quarterback Kyler Murray tossing all of his seven touchdown passes at home, a high-scoring affair may be on tap when these two NFC West rivals clash on Thursday night.

Picks: 49ers -10 (-115), OVER 43 (-110)