The San Francisco 49ers have very few holes on their roster since acquiring running back Christian McCaffrey at the NFL Trade Deadline. The number of bets on them to win the Super Bowl since that addition reflects how fans view them through this point of the season. As it stands, the Niners (+850) sit behind just the Buffalo Bills, Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles on the Super Bowl odds board. Check out the full odds below, via Caesars Sportsbook:
Can 49ers ride McCaffrey to Super Bowl?
According to Caesars Sportsbook content creator Max Meyer, the 49ers currently have the most bets on them to win the Super Bowl (13.9%). They're followed by the Eagles (9.9%), Chiefs (9.0%), Dolphins (8.0%) and Cowboys (7.6%). The Niners also have the most overall money placed on them to win it all at 23.2%, followed by the Dolphins (16.5%), Cowboys (15.4%), Ravens (11.0%) and Chiefs (8.8%).
Since acquiring McCaffrey, the 49ers have gone 2-1 to improve to 5-4, a half game behind the Seattle Seahawks (6-4) in the NFC West. San Francisco holds the last wild card spot in the NFC.
What came as a surprise to many was how often 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan used running back Elijah Mitchell in his return from injury in Week 10, even with McCaffrey available. Mitchell ran the ball 18 times for 81 yards, with McCaffrey carrying the ball 14 times for just 38 yards in the 22-17 win over the Los Angeles Chargers.
"I really don't mind at all, when it's a run play, who's in," Shanahan said on KNBR's "Murph & Mac" show. "Both of those guys, to me, can run the ball at a very high level, and their skill sets are pretty similar. I mean, they have a little bit different style, but there's not one run that one guy can do that the other guy can't do.
"We went into that game saying, 'In a perfect world, when this game is done, it would be awesome if they could have even carries.' We thought that would be hard because Christian's just going to be in there a little bit more, especially on third down and stuff."
It's even more impressive that the 49ers don't need to lean on a player of McCaffrey's ability in order to win. That could keep the veteran in top shape down the stretch and into the postseason. Bettors should continue to monitor San Francisco's Super Bowl odds throughout the second half of the season.
