SF vs. Bills: 49 ways to die in the Western Conference. The San Francisco 49ers are among the surest propositions among people who bet on NFL, and they head once again as NFL betting online underdogs to a clash with the on-a-roll Buffalo Bills on Sunday, October 16th at New Era Field.
49ers +8 (-110) 44 (-110) +270 262
Bills -8 (-110) 44 (-110) -335
The Niners have the gift of Gabbert, and it’s the gift that keeps on giving – to opposing teams. In his most recent start, against the Arizona Cardinals, Gabbert finished 18 of 31 for 162 passing yards with one TD and two interceptions – which combined with a fumbled kickoff return by CB Chris Davis, resulted in 17 points for the Cards. In addition to that, the 49ers extended one Arizona drive with a running-into-the-kicker penalty. Gabbert was sacked seven times by the Cards’ defense. The Niners lost 21-33 and are 1-4 in that exact order; they won their season opener and have lost the next four in a row. If the NFL were Connect Four, they’d be out of contention already.
Conversely, the Bills are in a three-game winning streak, their latest win a 30-19 victory over the Los Angeles Rams. Buffalo CB Nickell Robey-Coleman had two interceptions and returned one 41 yards for the go-ahead score. Robey-Coleman knows the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum well, having called the field home as USC Trojan. He punctuated this sentiment by cracking the following egg of wisdom: “I scored on that end, now I’m going to score on this end.” Fortunately for the Bills, he scored on the correct end. Moreover, Buffalo QB Tyrod Taylor went 12 of 23 for 124 yards with two TD passes, one of which connected with wide receiver Marquise Goodwin to make it, well, a good win for the Bills.
The major story heading into this Sunday is that Kap is back, baby! And the biggest question is, will that humongous afro fit inside a regulation helmet? The second biggest question is, will Kaepernick lead to the Niners to victory? The Cassandras among people who bet on NFL believe that the brand-new starting QB can and will indeed guide the 49ers to the promised land. However, eight experts at CBS Sports and another eight at ESPN all unanimously picked the Bills to win. Buffalo has been en fuego ever since they gave former offensive coordinator Greg Roman his walking papers after starting the season 0-2.
The Bills have not been able to defeat the Niners since 2004, and their last meeting was a 45-3 blowout in 2012 in which San Fran became the first team in league history to post 300 yards passing and 300 yards rushing in a single game. Kaepernick was around that time, but the starter back then was Alex Smith, and it’s highly unlikely that Kap will lead the 49ers to a second 300/300. The Niners run defense ranks among the worst in the league, and fans who bet on NFL can expect it to run into trouble with Bills lead rusher LeSean ‘Bones’ McCoy, who has run for 330 yards on 54 carries and two TDs in Buffalo’s last three games, plus 11 receptions for 45 yards and one score.