The San Francisco 49ers might be the most excited sub-.500 team in the NFL. The team has won all three starts since Jimmy Garoppolo took over as the starting quarterback, considerably brightening up the future. The team would love to keep it rolling in Week 16, but face a tough foe in the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Jacksonville is playoff-bound and has put together an impressive season. The Jaguars must hit the road for this game and have to corral Garoppolo, who has been fantastic since taking over after a midseason trade from the Patriots.
The Jaguars still have an outside shot at a top-two seed in the AFC and want to win out in order to make that a possibility.
Watch this regular season Week 16 matchup live on Sunday, December 24, 2017, at 4:05 p.m. ET at Levi’s Stadium.
Opening NFL Odds at BookMaker.eu
Jacksonville Jaguars -4
San Francisco 49ers +4
Over/Under 42
Odds Analysis
The Jaguars are slight favorites, and the majority of the betting public believes they can cover this spread even though it is higher than a field goal margin. The scoring total is one of the lower ones of the week, which isn’t a surprise considering how elite the Jacksonville defense has been this year. The “over” is the more popular choice, though, with 60 percent of the action with the belief that the teams will combine for 43 points or more.
Injury Report
Leonard Fournette — The Jacksonville running back was sidelined last time out with an ankle and quad injury. It was his third game missed this season, having missed one other due to injury and one due to suspension. Fournette, who is closing in on 1,000 yards rushing this season, was not at practice all last week and Chris Ivory filled in as the starting running back.
Marqise Lee — The Jaguars’ wide receiver left Sunday’s game against the Texans with an ankle injury and is questionable heading into this weekend’s matchup against the 49ers. He is expected to return in time for the playoffs, possibly sooner as the results of his MRI last week revealed the injury was not too serious.
Adrian Colbert — The 49ers’ cornerback has entered concussion protocol after showing symptoms following San Francisco’s win over the Titans on Sunday. It’s unclear when exactly the injury occured. He will remain questionable until cleared by the league to return to the field.
Key Stat
165. That’s the positive point-differential the Jaguars have accumulated this season, which is the best mark in the AFC and the second-best in the NFL behind only the Los Angeles Rams. Jacksonville has a 10-4 record, which is impressive, but the team is probably even better than that.
The defense has been dynamic all season long, and now quarterback Blake Bortles has started putting together some good performances. If he can avoid critical mistakes in this one, it will give the Jaguars a great chance of securing the road win.
Free ATS Pick
The 49ers started the season really slowly and looked like one of the two worst teams in the NFL, but have won four of five in large part because of Garoppolo. He led the team to an impressive win over the Titans last time out and would really put the NFL world abuzz if he can move the ball against Jacksonville.
While San Francisco may be able to hang around, this is too tough of a task. The Jaguars are an elite team and should be able to not only win but also cover the spread. The “over” is the pick as there could be some more scoring than expected.
NFL Odds: Jaguars 26, 49ers 20
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