San Francisco 49ers vs. Dallas Cowboys: NFL Week 1 Betting Odds and Picks

San Francisco 49ers vs. Dallas Cowboys
Sunday, 9/7/14, 4:25 PM EST
Opening Point Spread: San Francisco -3.5
Current Betting Line: San Francisco -3
Opening Total: 48
Current Total: 49.5
Odds Courtesy of Bookmaker

The San Francisco 49ers are 3-0 in season openers under Jim Harbaugh

San Francisco owns a 34-29-1 all-time record in season openers, which is important to consider when making your Week 1 NFL picks, especially since it has compiled a 15-11-1 regular season record in this series. The 49ers have won at least 11 games in each of the last three seasons, but were knocked out of the playoffs by the Seattle Seahawks in 2013. Offensively, the team has averaged 32.3 points in winning all three of its lid lifters under head coach Jim Harbaugh. San Francisco is 5-1 SUATS as road favorites of 3.5 to 7 points the last two-plus seasons.

The 49ers can be dynamic offensively with quarterback Colin Kaepernick and wide receiver Michael Crabtree, while running back Frank Gore needs to gain just 33 yards on the ground to become the 29th player in league history to reach 10,000 career rushing yards. San Francisco will likely put up a high number of points in this matchup, with Dallas allowing a league-worst 415.3 yards per game in 2013.

Dallas has plenty of firepower of its own to match San Francisco, with all eyes focusing in on quarterback Tony Romo, who is set to be under center after recovering from offseason back surgery, which can’t be ignored when looking over the pro football odds page. He has won both of his career starts versus the 49ers—throwing for 686 passing yards and five touchdowns with no interceptions. Dallas is 4-3 SUATS in September since 2012.

The Cowboys have one of the best young players in the league in wide receiver Dez Bryant, who finished third in the NFL with 13 touchdown receptions and had 1,233 receiving yards last year. Dallas defensive coordinator Rod Marinelli will need to come up with a solid game plan to stop Kaepernick, especially if he decides to take off and run the football. There’s no question that the stop unit wants to keep him in the pocket and cause a turnover or two.