Saints

49ers

Week 12 sees a rematch of one of the great playoff games of all time, New Orleans Saints vs San Francisco 49ers, in the 2011 NFC Divisional Playoff. That day, Drew Brees scored with less than two minutes to go, only for Vernon Davis and Alex Smith to connect with seconds left to score a famous win. How will this game go? Do NFL betting odds foresee another classic?

The New Orleans Saints enter this season without the greatest coach in franchise history. While Sean Payton only brought one Lombardi trophy to the Bayou, he is nevertheless revered in these parts. Dennis Allen has big shoes to fill. Sadly, he’ll need to do it without Drew Brees, who retired in 2020. They have Jameis Winston at QB, and Michael Thomas should also be back. Alvin Kamara will be missing through suspension, though, so it’s a different offense out there. Still, their defense is excellent; expect them to lean on this against San Fran.

San Fran is pushing all the chips into the center of the table and making a big move in 2022, riding with Trey Lance under center and pushing Jimmy Garoppolo to the side. Despite reaching the NFC championship under Jimmy G last time round, they feel that they need to back the number 3 pick in the 2021 draft. They have done what they can to support Lance, securing star wideout and offensive chess piece Deebo Samuel to a new contract in the off-season. If Shanahan is the offensive mastermind most see him as, then Lance should have a good chance to be a solid NFL starter in his first season as a leader.

If you bet on NFL games, which way should you play this matchup? San Fran leads the series 49-27-2, and it figures to be a good bet that they can win here. Both teams have solid defensive units, but San Fran has the edge offensively and is the one we’re backing.

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