Free Pick: Will 49ers cover as a road favorite vs. Cowboys in Week 1?
by Anthony Rome
DALLAS, TX (The Spread) - Will the 49ers and Cowboys light up the scoreboard when the two conference foes battle at 4:25PM ET?
According to oddsmakers from online sports book Bovada.lv, the Cowboys are 4.5-point home underdogs versus the visiting 49ers, while the over/under total is currently sitting at 51 points. San Francisco opened as 3-point road favorites before the line was bet up, while the total opened at 48.5 and has been bet up.
The 49ers are dealing with various issues on defense, from the suspension of Aldon Smith to the off-field issues that plague Ray McDonald to the injury problems of Navarro Bowman and Glenn Dorsey. The good news is that Colin Kaepernick leads an offense that may have surpassed the defense in terms of upside. The bad news is that Kaepernick didn't lead the Niners to one touchdown drive in preseason, so there's concerns on that side of the ball, too.
Here's the good news if you're a Dallas fan: The offense is going to be fantastic. Led by an offensive line that features former first-round picks Tyron Smith, Travis Frederick and Zack Martin, as well as explosive playmakers in Dez Bryant, Jason Witten and DeMarco Murray, the offense is going to generate a ton of points if quarterback Tony Romo can stay healthy. The bad news is that they're going to have to score a lot in order to keep pace with what its defense allows. After releasing DeMarcus Ware this offseason, the Cowboys have zero pass rush ability and the secondary is a mess, too. Losing linebacker Sean Lee didn't help matters and none of the rookies that the team brought in will help the defense this season. It could be a maddening year in Big D.
NFL FREE PICK: Take the over. According to latest NFL trends, the over is 5-0 in the last five meetings between these two teams in Dallas and 6-0 in the last six meetings overall. The over is also 3-0-1 in the 49ers' last four games in Week 1 and 8-3 in the Cowboys' last 11 games in Week 1. The Niners' defense will be without Smith and Bowman for this game, while Dallas' defense is a mess in general. These two teams could combine to score in the 80s today.
2014 NFL WEEK 1 FREE PICK: 49ERS/COWBOYS OVER 51