The San Francisco 49ers are coming off a disappointing season in 2024. They went 6-11 and missed the playoffs for the first time since 2020.
But the 49ers still have several Pro Bowlers still on the roster and an easy 2025 schedule. So, nobody is exactly sure what to expect of them this season.
No one, it turns out, except sports bettors.
According to DraftKings Sportsbooks, fans are super confident that the 49ers will win Week 1 against the Seattle Seahawks. The 49ers-Seahawks spread is the fifth most popular Week 1 spread thus far, with 73% of fans putting money on the 49ers to cover the (-1.5) line.
The last time these two teams matched up, the Seahawks won 20-17 on November 17, 2024. Whether fans think San Francisco will be clearly better or Seattle will be clearly worse is unclear, but either way, they’re penciling in a Week 1 victory for the 49ers.
Major Storylines From the 49ers-Seahawks Matchup
NFL fans seem to think the 49ers are a good financial investment. But you don’t need to have your paycheck riding on the game to be invested in this divisional rivalry matchup.
The quarterback faceoff is enough to have any football fan excited. It will be football fans’ first glimpse at Sam Darnold in the Seattle offense.
Darnold, of course, was Purdy’s backup in 2023. They faced off once on September 15, 2024 when Darnold was quarterbacking the Minnesota Vikings. Purdy recorded more completions and yards than Darnold in the game, but Darnold had two TDs to Purdy’s one and the Vikings walked away with the 23-17 win.
Coming off his 5-year, $265 million contract extension, Purdy will have even more scrutiny put on him if he can’t outperform his former backup.
The most-watched player other than the quarterbacks will likely be 49ers cornerback Deommodore Lenoir.
Lenoir has been trash talking the Seahawks all offseason, including Jaxson-Smith Njigba and Kenneth Walker III. Lenoir has a lot of bad blood against Seattle — and vice versa — so 49ers fans will be looking for him to put his money where his mouth is.
49ers-Seahawks is an always-heated rivalry that will be as box office as ever in 2025.
Other Betting Trends From Week 1
Of course, the 49ers game is only the 5th most popular at Draft Kings as of July 2025. So what are the 4 games that are more popular?
The most popular bet is the Detroit Lions covering the spread (+1.5) against the Green Bay Packers. That makes perfect sense given that the Lions (15-2) had a much more successful season than the Packers (11-6) last season. NFL fans don’t think the Packers should be favored, even though they are the home team.
The second and third most popular bets are similar. Bettors are putting money on the Arizona Cardinals (80%) over the New Orleans Saints and the Cincinnati Bengals (77%) over the Cleveland Browns. Neither the Cardinals nor the Bengals made the playoffs last year, but New Orleans and Cleveland were so bad that NFL fans feel comfortable predicting losses for both of those teams.
Finally, in fourth place, NFL fans like the underdog Miami Dolphins (+1.5) over the Indianapolis Colts.
What do you think, 49ers fans? Are these bets smart? Are you confident enough in a 49ers Week 1 win by 2 or more points that you would put money on it?
