New Orleans Saints vs. San Francisco 49ers Betting Odds, Analysis, NFL Pick

The San Francisco 49ers will be aiming to halt a six-game straight up and against the spread losing streak Sunday afternoon when they take on Drew Brees and the surging New Orleans Saints at Levi's Stadium.

The 49ers have gone into a free fall since posting a season-opening 28-0 victory over the Los Angeles Rams. San Francisco is winless in its past three at home, including a 34-17 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as narrow one-point chalk two weeks ago.

Since starting the season with three SU losses, the Saints have roared to life. New Orleans is 3-1 SU in its past four games and hits the gridiron as a road favorite for just the second time since Week 16 of the 2014 season.

Point spread: The Saints opened as three-point favorites; the total was 51 early in the week, according to sportsbooks monitored by Odds Shark (Line updates and matchup report).

NFL pick, via Odds Shark computer: 27.5-24.3 Saints (NFL picks on every game).

Why the Saints can cover the spread

Saints quarterback Drew Brees has been spectacular, throwing for 10 scores over the past four games. Brees has also connected on 19 touchdown passes in eight career dates against the 49ers.

The Saints defense has limited opposing passers to 285 or fewer yards in three of their past five outings. Expect more of the same as the defensive line makes life miserable for 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who has averaged just 165 passing yards in two starts.

With the status of injured rusher Carlos Hyde still uncertain, the 49ers ground game could be severely compromised. That bodes well for the Saints rush defense, which has allowed just 93.5 yards per game on the ground over their past four games.

Why the 49ers can cover the spread

The Saints have struggled to effectively follow up on recent success. New Orleans has posted just five SU victories in its past 17 games following a win, and is just 2-9 ATS in its past 11 outings as road chalk.

The 49ers have enjoyed historical success against opponents from the NFC South, going 9-4 SU and 8-4-1 ATS over their past 13 such matchups.

San Francisco must take advantage of mistakes by the Saints, who turned over the ball four total times in their past two losses. Striking early is also critical against New Orleans, which is 1-3 SU this season when failing to score first.

Smart pick

The Saints have scored 30.8 points per game over their past five games, emerging victorious in high-scoring duels with the San Diego Chargers and the Carolina Panthers. Conversely, the 49ers have averaged a feeble 290 total yards per game and surrendered a league-worst 31.3 points per game this season.

Look for New Orleans to romp to victory with a SU win, easily covering a small point spread.

Betting trends

The Saints are 0-4-1 ATS in their last five games against the 49ers.

The 49ers are 2-7 SU and ATS in their last nine games against teams with losing records.

The Saints are 2-9 ATS in their last 11 games as road favorites.

All NFL betting lines and point spreads data courtesy of Bleacher Report’s official odds partner Odds Shark. All quotes gathered firsthand unless otherwise noted. Check out Twitter for injury and line movement updates and Odds Shark YouTube for picks and analysis, or download the free odds tracker app.