Had the New Orleans Saints lost on Monday Night Football, then the San Francisco 49ers might not be huge favorites over the St. Louis Rams. Sure, the 49ers just beat a much tougher team on the road, but if they had been able to secure the No. 2 seed with a Saints loss, then some key players might have been out of action. Carlos Rogers, Justin Smith, Alex Smith, Frank Gore and possibly others might have been rested against the Rams.
Instead, the 49ers will likely not be so conservative. New Orleans won, so they'll have to play this one out to earn a first-round bye. St. Louis is struggling and in the running for the No. 1 pick. In fact, most of the power rankings now have them at the very bottom. So it's no surprise that the 49ers are favored heavily in this matchup.
Odds Shark has posted the opening odds, and San Francisco is currently a 10-point favorite on the road against St. Louis. Some lines have them as high as 12-point favorites. The 49ers won the first meeting between these teams, scoring 16 points - going with the over might not be the best idea.