49ers trending toward first underdog spread since 2022

The San Francisco 49ers are poised to be underdogs for the first time since 2022, breaking a chain of 36 consecutive regular-season games in which they’ve been favored, the third-longest such streak of the Super Bowl era, behind only the 1999-2002 St. Louis Rams (50) and the 2016-20 New England Patriots (64).

As of Friday afternoon, the Green Bay Packers are 3-point favorites over the visiting Niners, per ESPN BET odds.

The last time the 49ers were underdogs was in a Week 7 matchup with the Kansas City Chiefs on Oct. 23, 2022. San Francisco was just a 1-point underdog in that one, but went on to lose 44-23.

This season’s iteration of the Niners has stumbled to records of 5-5 straight up and 4-6 against the spread; they failed to cover -6.5 in a Week 10 win against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. San Francisco (+325) trails the Arizona Cardinals (-115) on the odds board to win the NFC West, the first time the 49ers have not been favored to win the division at any point over the last two seasons, per ESPN Research.

Green Bay moved from a consensus -1.5 to -3 in the betting markets following reports that quarterback Brock Purdy (shoulder), offensive tackle Trent Williams (ankle) and defensive end Nick Bosa (hip) are in danger of missing Sunday’s contest. John Murray, executive director of the Westgate SuperBook in Las Vegas, said on the “Chicken Dinner” podcast that the book took sharp money on the Packers -2.5 after the injury news.

If Purdy sits out, it will preserve a different streak: The 24-year-old has been favored in all of his 31 career regular-season starts, the longest such mark by any quarterback to begin a career in the Super Bowl era.