The 49ers and Buccaneers both enter the 2019 season with a slew of question marks hanging over them. Both teams are coming off disappointing seasons with uncertainty at quarterback, and because of those similarities, neither is favored in their Week 1 matchup according to VegasInsider.com.
San Francisco’s game in Tampa Bay is a “pick ’em,” which means neither team gets points on the point spread.
It makes sense that bettors and oddsmakers don’t know what to make of this contest. Both teams are in a situation where they might pick in the top five of next year’s draft, or they might make the postseason.
If last year’s game between these clubs is any indication, the Buccaneers should be pretty heavy favorites. They were favored by 1.5 points, but they pounded the 49ers 27-9 with San Francisco coming off their bye week. Bucs quarterback Jameis Winston had arguably his best game of the year with 312 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions.
That’ll be perhaps the biggest factor in how this game winds up going. The 49ers didn’t get good quarterback play from Nick Mullens in Tampa Bay last year, but their defense is much better and should be able to apply more pressure on Winston. He was sacked 27 times in 11 games last year, but the 49ers only got to him one time.
This is a huge matchup for San Francisco, and we should learn a lot about both of these teams in the first week. For now though, it’s impossible to predict either’s trajectory, and that’s illustrated by the sports books.
