Dallas (0-0) at San Francisco (0-0)
When: Saturday, August 10th, 2019
Where: Levi’s Stadium,
Santa Clara, CA
Time: 9:00 ET | TV: NFL Network
Opening Odds: San Francisco -3/36
Week 1 of the NFL preseason schedule concludes Saturday night in Santa Clara with two teams that aren’t very high on the Super Bowl odds board coming into 2019. The Dallas Cowboys and San Francisco 49ers are just hoping to play well enough to get to the playoffs this year and will start their journey just like they did last summer – a Week 1 preseason matchup. The 49ers hosted that game as well and pulled out a 24-21 victory on August 9th, 2018, outgaining the Cowboys 454-338 in total yards, while both starting quarterbacks saw limited action. The closing line in that game was San Francisco -3 and that is how this year’s affair opened, but bettors have been hitting the Niners hard and the line is up to -4.5 as of Friday afternoon. The total has not moved from the opening number of 36. Dallas head coach Jason Garrett is only 13-20 SU and 11-22 ATS in preseason games, while Kyle Shanahan comes in at 3-5 SU and 3-4-1 ATS for San Francisco.
This was supposed to be the debut of linebacker and No. 2 overall pick Nick Bosa, but a hamstring injury will keep out at least another week. The big news coming out of Cowboys’ camp is the hold-out of star running back Ezekiel Elliott, who remains embroiled in a contract dispute that has led to him not reporting to the team. He wouldn’t have seen much – if any – action in Saturday’s game anyway, but that will pave the way for fourth-round rookie running back Tony Pollard, who impressed in camp and should see some early-game work.
The 49ers’ running back situation could be a key to them having a successful season and it is not off to a good start. Jerick McKinnon, who missed the entire 2018 season with an ACL tear, is expected to be shut down with soreness in his knee and might start the season on the injured list. Next in line for the job are Matt Breida and Tevin Coleman, with the former getting 13 starts last season and recording 814 yards rushing and another 261 through the air.
The 49ers depth in this game is much stronger, especially at the quarterback position where Nick Mullens and CJ Beathard both have more experience than the Cowboys’ backups. The line is high for a preseason game, but we did see a few blowouts in Thursday’s games. I’ll lay the points.
Pick: 49ers -4.5
Cowboys are 20-8-1 ATS in their last 29 games on grass.
Cowboys are 1-4 ATS in their last 5 games overall.
Cowboys are 0-3-1 ATS in their last 4 Saturday games.
49ers are 6-1 ATS in their last 7 Saturday games.
49ers are 7-16 ATS in their last 23 home games.
49ers are 2-5 ATS in their last 7 games overall.
49ers are 1-7 ATS in their last 8 vs. NFC.
Over is 4-1 in Cowboys last 5 vs. NFC.
Under is 6-2 in Cowboys last 8 games on grass.
Under is 25-9 in Cowboys last 34 road games.
Over is 4-0 in 49ers last 4 Saturday games.
Favorite is 4-0-1 ATS in their last 5 meetings.
Road team is 3-0-1 ATS in their last 4 meetings.
Over is 7-2 in the last 9 meetings.
Cowboys are 3-1-1 ATS in their last 5 meetings.
