Broncos vs. 49ers Point Spread: NFL Pre-Season Week 2 Odds, Prediction
There’s a decent chance we see both starting quarterbacks play when the Denver Broncos visit the San Francisco 49ers in Week 2 of the pre-season on Saturday night.
The Broncos are 4.5-point favourites on the NFL odds.
NFL Point Spread and Betting Analysis
There is one familial link between these franchises: San Francisco head coach Kyle Shanahan. He went to high school outside Denver because his dad was former Broncos head coach Mike Shanahan, who led the franchise to back-to-back Super Bowl wins in QB John Elway’s final two seasons at the end of the last century. Also, the Broncos did sign right tackle Mike McGlinchey in free agency this winter. He spent the previous five seasons with the 49ers, for whom he started all 69 games in which he appeared.
These teams don’t play in the 2023 regular season and unless Russell Wilson finds the fountain of youth under new Coach Sean Payton, they won’t be meeting in Super Bowl 58, either, although the Niners absolutely may get there.
They did meet in Week 3 last regular season in Denver and the Broncos won 11-10 in an upset. That’s who they were last year in that if they didn’t hold a team to essentially 10 points or fewer, they weren’t winning. Wilson was 20-for-33 for 184 yards. Jimmy Garoppolo was the 49ers’ QB then but is now with Las Vegas.
The home team is 4-0 ATS in the past four meetings.
Denver Broncos
Because the Broncos are breaking in almost everything new under Coach Sean Payton, he did play QB Russell Wilson in the preseason opener, which the Broncos lost 18-17 at Arizona – the Cards converted a 2-point conversion with two seconds left. By all accounts, Wilson is back to his MVP-calibre self in camp with Payton’s tutelage and Wilson looked good against the Cardinals, completing 7-for-13 for 93 yards and a TD before leaving. If you are wondering whether Payton cares about the preseason dating to his Saints days, he’s now 29-32 straight up yet did say after the Arizona loss: “Regardless of whether it’s a preseason game, regular-season game, just can’t stand losing. Especially in that fashion.” Top running back Javonte Williams is still rehabbing his ACL so he won’t play but one standout in camp has been tailback Jaleel McLaughlin, who also had a four-yard TD run vs. Arizona. The undrafted rookie is the NCAA’s all-time leading rusher, running for over 8,000 yards between Division II and FCS Youngstown State. He’s looking likely to make the team.
San Francisco 49ers
The 49ers are essentially back intact from last season’s team that reached the NFC title game, so Coach Kyle Shanahan (10-9 in preseason career) may be less inclined to play any key guys much if at all, although the team looked so bad in a 34-7 loss at the Raiders on Sunday that perhaps it changes his mind. Brock Purdy is this team’s starting QB but he was only just cleared this week to practice three straight days after being on a pitch count for the entirety of camp. Not clear what that means for him in this one, but it should again be mostly former No. 3 overall pick Trey Lance, Sam Darnold and Brandon Allen under centre. Lance started vs. the Raiders and finished 10-of-15 for 112 yards, a touchdown and a 111 passer rating but was also sacked four times and had another would-be pick dropped. He’s battling Darnold for the No. 2 gig. Reigning NFL Defensive Player of the Year Nick Bosa continues to hold out from camp for a new contract.
DEN
SF