NFL Picks: Dallas Cowboys at San Francisco 49ers Prediction

Dallas Cowboys (0-0) vs. San Francisco 49ers (0-0), 8/10/19
Time: 9 pm ET Saturday, Aug. 10
Where: Levi’s Stadium, Santa Clara, CA
TV: NFL Network

Point spread: 49ers -4.5
Moneyline: 49ers -215/Cowboys +180 (YouWager)
Over/Under: 36

After meeting for so many big games over NFL past, the Cowboys and 49ers will play for lesser stakes in the exhibition season opener for both teams Saturday night in Santa Clara. The big news out of Dallas is the absence of Ezekiel Elliot, while the news out of San Francisco is the return of Jimmy Garappolo, although neither will play a part in this game. Which way are we going to bet this game? Read on to get my free pick and remember to visit and bookmark our NFL predictions against the spread page for winning advice all season long!

NFL Betting Odds

Week 2’s (the NFL counts the HOF Game as week 1) NFL exhibition betting odds opened San Francisco at -3 over Dallas, with an over/under of 36. Early betting action then bumped the Niners to -4.5.

Cowboys vs. 49ers Set-Up

Dallas is coming off a 10-6 season (7-7-2 against the spread) in which it reached the divisional round of the playoffs, where it fell to the eventual NFC champion Rams in Los Angeles. The Cowboys only started 3-5 last year, then finished 7-1 to win the NFC East.

Over the off-season, Dallas lost a couple of guys and picked up a couple of guys, including formerly retired TE Jason Witten. They also used their first two picks in the draft for one guy on each side of the trench. But basically, they’re about the same team – except for RB Elliot, who’s holding out.

But Elliot’s situation provides an opening for the other Cowboys running backs, who will play this exhibition season with the potential for playing time once the real season begins.

We can’t imagine Dak Prescott will play more than a series or two on Saturday night, if at all. So that said, Dallas will be quarterbacked for the most part by the combination of third-year man Cooper Rush, second-year man Mike White and rookie Taryn Christion.

The Cowboys only ranked 22nd in total offense last season, averaging 344 yards per game, but seventh in total defense, holding foes to 329 YPG.

Heading into this season the Dallas over/under of wins is listed at nine.

San Francisco, meanwhile, is coming off a 4-12 campaign of a year ago (5-11 ATS). The season started well enough at 1-1, but QB Jimmy Garappolo suffered a season-ending knee injury in Week 3, and the Niners tanked from there.

Over the off-season, San Francisco added a few guys, most notably RB Tevin Coleman, and used the second overall pick in April’s draft to take DE Nick Bosa out of Ohio State. But he won’t play Saturday after suffering an ankle injury in practice.

Garappolo won’t play Saturday night either, so Nick Mullens and CJ Beathard should pilot the Niners. The two QBs combined to compile a 21/17 touchdown/interception ratio last year, and rookie Wilton Speight.

San Francisco ranked 16th in total offense last season at 361 YPG and 13th in total defense at 347 YPG. So the Niners actually out-gained opponents by 15 YPG. Unfortunately, they also ranked dead last in the league in turnover ratio at an ugly -25.

San Francisco will play against wins O/U of eight.

These teams met most recently back in October of 2017, a 40-10 Cowboys victory at Levi’s Stadium.

NFL Betting Trends

Dallas is just 12-21 SU, 12-20-1 ATS over eight exhibition seasons under Coach Garrett, which should give us some idea as to how he approaches these games.

San Francisco is 3-5 SU, 3-4-1 in two exhibition seasons under Coach Shanahan.

Totals Report

• Unders played 9-7 in Cowboys games last season, which averaged 41 total points.
• Overs played 9-7 in Niners games last season, which averaged 49 points.
• Overs played 11-6 during the opening week of exhibition season last year.

Free NFL Pick

San Francisco needs to work on a winning atmosphere; Dallas is playing for the long run. Also, the 49ers own the better back-up quarterback situation, and their defense is underrated. We like the Niners in this spot.