An NFC West title feels like an unachievable pipe dream for a 49ers club that’s won just 10 games over the last two seasons. Their odds to do so on the sports betting site BetOnline.ag indicate that it’s not such a crazy notion.
San Francisco faces stiff competition for the division crown, and they might be in the toughest division in football. They’re still getting decent odds despite those barriers. Here’s what Bet Online’s division odds look like for the NFC West:
Los Angeles Rams: -175
Seattle Seahawks: +275
San Francisco 49ers: +500
Arizona Cardinals: +2500
The Rams are by far the favorites, and Seattle is just under 3-to-1. Minus numbers mean better odds, while the higher plus numbers are longer odds. It’s important to note these numbers aren’t necessarily predictions, but instead they’re meant to get about equal action for each team.
A 5-to-1 mark feels about right for the 49ers. They would need a lot of things to go their way to snag that top spot, but they’re still in a much better position than the Cardinals to win it.
Perhaps the biggest issue for the 49ers isn’t what they can do, it’s what the teams in front of them are capable of. There’s a real possibility where the 49ers don’t win the division, but make the playoffs along with two other teams from their division. A 10-win campaign would be wildly successful, but still may not enough to finish first or even second in the West.
The fact remains for San Francisco that they have a steep hill to climb to get back to the top of their division. That turnaround happening in one offseason isn’t likely, but it can’t be completely ruled out. Right now their odds aren’t great, but they’re not nearly as long as they could be for a four-win team in a division with last year’s Super Bowl runner up.
Even if they don’t reach that pinnacle in 2019, things are certainly trending in the right direction for the 49ers.
