NFL Week 1 odds: 49ers to open 2020 as big favorites over Cardinals

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The 49ers have opened up as heavy favorites over the Arizona Cardinals for Week 1 of the 2020 NFL season.

Various sportsbooks have the Niners listed as high as 10.5-point favorites (PointsBook USA) and as low as 7-point favorites (Caesars). 

DraftKings has them as an 8.5-point favorite and Westgate has them as an 8-point favorite. 

In the 2019 regular season, both the Cardinals and 49ers were profitable teams to bet on against the spread (ATS).

The Cardinals went 9-5-2 ATS and were an impressive 5-1-2 ATS on the road, per ActionNetwork. The Niners went 9-6-1 ATS, but didn't fare well at home, going just 3-4-1 ATS at Levi's Stadium. 

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Last season, the 49ers closed as a 10-point favorite in their Week 9 road matchup against the Cardinals. The Niners won 28-25, but did not cover.

In Week 11, they hosted the Cardinals and closed as a 9.5-point favorite at some books and a 10-point favorite at others. 

The 49ers won 36-26, but were trailing 26-23 with less than a minute to go in the fourth quarter, before Jeff Wilson Jr. scored the go-ahead touchdown with 37 seconds to go to put the 49ers up 30-26.

On the ensuing drive, the Cardinals fumbled on a last-ditch lateral attempt. D.J. Reed returned it for a touchdown as time expired to give the 49ers a 36-26 victory. The touchdown led to a miraculous cover or push for 49ers bettors. The Niners never covered the spread until the last second of the game. 

So together, the 49ers were 0-1-1 or 1-1 ATS facing the Cardinals last season depending on what line you got in that Week 11 game.

[RELATED: Game-by-game predictions for 49ers' season]

As far as the 2020 season goes, the reigning NFC champion 49ers return much of their roster.

The Cardinals, however, added DeAndre Hopkins via trade from the Houston Texans and drafted play-making linebacker Isaiah Simmons out of Clemson. They should be much improved from the rebuilding 5-10-1 team we saw last season.

Based on last year's games and the additions in Arizona, it seems like this spread is a little too high in favor of San Francisco. 

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