The San Francisco 49ers are being picked by many to be the worst team in the NFC. San Francisco is rolling the dice with journeyman Brian Hoyer as its starting quarterback, but he is certainly not a long-term solution. The 49ers selected CJ Beathard from Iowa in the third-round of this year’s draft and he might move into the starting role by the end of the season. We will see Beathard for the first time when San Francisco plays the Kansas City Chiefs on Friday night. However, he is certainly not the rookie quarterback that most people are excited to see.
This matchup in Week 1 of the preseason will take place on Friday, August 11, 2017,
at 9 p.m. ET at Arrowhead Stadium. The game will be broadcast on NFL Network.
Week 1 NFL Preseason Opening Odds at BookMaker.eu
San Francisco 49ers +4
Kansas City Chiefs -4
Over/Under 37.5
Odds Analysis
One of the most seasoned coaches in the NFL will be facing a newcomer to the fraternity in this one.
Andy Reid is 34-38 over his long career as a coach for both Philadelphia and Kansas City. Reid is 9-10 in his first preseason game in almost two decades as an NFL coach. The Chiefs went 2-2 last preseason, but the two losses were each by a point and this team very easily could have finished 4-0. Regardless, they did cover teasers in all four outings.
San Francisco went 2-2 last preseason and was a great road team to bet. The 49ers won both of their games away from Santa Clara in preseason, including as a seven-point underdog to Denver.
Coaching Angle
Kyle Shanahan was the youngest offensive coordinator in NFL history and is now one of the youngest head coaches ever too. Shanahan took over as offensive coordinator of Houston back in 2008 and has held the position for three other teams since that time.
Shanahan was in charge of the Atlanta Falcons the last two years and was a big reason why the Falcons got to the Super Bowl. Although he has taken a lot of heat for his play-calling in that game, the team wouldn’t have reached that point if not for his ingenuity as a coordinator in the first place.
This will be his first game as a head coach, but he won’t have any jitters after his time as a coordinator.
Player to Watch
Reid didn’t leave us guessing as to what he is going to do with his quarterbacks. On Tuesday, he announced that his plan was for Alex Smith to play the first quarter, Tyler Bray to play the second, Pat Mahomes to play the third, and Joel Stave to play the fourth.
Everyone is excited to see what Mahomes can do with this offense. Although he won’t be playing with the first team, watching an Air Raid quarterback run Reid’s notoriously conservative offense is going to be interesting to see.
Mahomes has a cannon for an arm so don’t be surprised if he uncorks a few deep balls in this game. Reid will want to see what Mahomes is capable of after the team traded up in the draft to land him at No. 10 overall and he is the team’s quarterback of the future. Don’t be surprised if he takes some of Stave’s time in the fourth either.
Free ATS Pick
Currently, this is the largest spread in Week 1 of the preseason. Although it’s easy to dismiss the 49ers, this is preseason and Shanahan will be looking to see what he has to work with in his first game as a head coach.
San Francisco is going to open up the offense more than Kansas City will, but Reid’s statement that the Chiefs plan on playing Smith for a full quarter probably influenced the spread a little. If you can find it, back the Chiefs in the first half, but take the 49ers to cover for the game.
Week 1 NFL Preseason Odds: Chiefs 23, 49ers 21
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