In just two weeks, the San Francisco 49ers have gone from Super Bowl favorites to second place in their own division.
With Sunday’s loss to the Cincinnati Bengals, the Niners are losers of three straight and go into their Week 9 bye half a game behind the Seattle Seahawks in the NFC West.
More concerning for Niners bettors than the team’s current standing, though, is the direction things seem to be trending. Against Cincinnati, the offense was held to just 17 points for a third straight game, and Brock Purdy continued to turn the ball over in a way he didn’t during an incredible stretch of games to begin his career.
Purdy committed three turnovers, including his fourth and fifth interceptions of the season — all five in the last three games — and the Niners lost by their largest deficit in games started by Purdy.
If one loss to the Cleveland Browns with a backup quarterback was a fluke, and a second to the Minnesota Vikings without their best offensive weapon was a reason to look closer, a third loss should finally be a reason for concern. The Bengals are good, but something is off with the 49ers, and if they don’t get to the bottom of what’s ailing them, they’ll be playing for a Wild Card spot.
After opening the season with -165 odds at BetMGM to win the West and improving those to -800 last week, they’re back down to -300 favorites with the sixth-toughest remaining schedule in the NFL. Now might be a good time to throw some money on the Seahawks (+250).
Bryce Young's Offensive Rookie of the Year odds aren't dead yet
Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports
As of the time I’m writing this, Offensive Rookie of the Year odds at BetMGM haven’t been updated, but I expect things will look very different going into Week 9 than they did going into Week 8. C.J. Stroud, who was a -190 favorite entering the week, will likely remain the favorite, but the field behind him will probably look a little different
Pacua Nacua, who had the second-best odds, had another pedestrian week, which is becoming his new normal since the return of Cooper Kupp — and the decline of the Los Angeles Rams’ offense. Jordan Addison, who was third, had another really solid game but lost his quarterback for the season after Kirk Cousin reportedly tore his Achilles. The fourth favorite, Bijan Robinson, continues to deal with a questionable workload and bad quarterback play that both limit his upside.
Meanwhile, Bryce Young, who appeared to be out of the conversation, outperformed Stroud in their head-to-head matchup Sunday, which should help elevate his name from 80-1 odds going into Week 8. And because of all the questions surrounding the other favorites, Young can’t be completely ruled out, nor can Will Levis, who threw four touchdowns in his debut.
If I had to pick today, Stroud would still be my pick, but the other quarterbacks have entered the chat.
Pump the brakes on the Rams and Vikings' playoff chances
AP Photo/Michael Ainsworth
Just a couple weeks ago, I was bullish on both the Vikings and Rams to make the playoffs this season. After Week 8, I’m not sure about either.
My skepticism with Minnesota is because of the Cousins injury I previously referenced. Without him, their season is effectively over, as he was really the glue keeping that offense together without Justin Jefferson. He helped drag that team back to .500 from a 1-4 hole. Now, they’ll have to keep trucking without him, and I don’t love their chances to continue winning.
As for LA, I admittedly got ahead of myself after they beat a couple bad teams. That was my fault. A beatdown at the hands of the Dallas Cowboys was simply them coming back to earth. They are who we thought they were. Old, talent-deficient and reliant on a few standout players to carry everyone else.
With their third loss in the last four weeks, the Rams are now 3-5 and wouldn’t make the playoffs if the season ended today. They’ll probably beat the Green Bay Packers in Week 9 before going into their bye, but the schedule gets tougher after that, and I don’t trust them to win consistently enough to make a playoff push down the stretch.
Quick Hits
- Yo, sportsbooks, can we get some Comeback Player of the Year odds for Adam Thielen and DeAndre Hopkins? I know Damar Hamlin is a big favorite, but these guys are balling. Out from under Justin Jefferson’s shadow, Thielen is on pace to already eclipse his 2022 yardage output in the next week or two. Hopkins will do the same thing in the next few weeks after missing eight games last season.
- What’s up with the Indianapolis Colts? This is a weird team with a weird quarterback that I just can’t figure out. Don’t get me wrong, they lost this week and didn’t even cover the spread, just as I predicted, but they scored 27 points on the New Orleans Saints, and I didn’t see that coming. With a combination of rookie and backup quarterbacks, Colts games have been 6-2 to the over this season. This team doesn’t have the characteristics of one that should score a lot, but they rank sixth in the NFL in points per game and it doesn’t make any sense.
