The San Francisco 49ers won just six games last year after a Super Bowl appearance the season before. Most have blamed a league-high number of injuries for the team's regression and expect much more from Kyle Shanahan's squad in 2021 — assuming it can stay relatively healthy.
The NFC West is highly competitive and could still be the best division in football. While San Francisco is not expected to repeat at the bottom of the divisional standings, it will be a battle to finish at the top. However, it sounds like oddsmakers have confidence in the 49ers.
Bovada released the odds for the best overall record in the NFL. It's no surprise to see last season's Super Bowl participants at the top of the list. The Kansas City Chiefs and Tampa Bay Buccaneers lead the league at Nos. 1 and 2, respectively. Then you have the Buffalo Bills at No. 3.
Oddsmakers have the 49ers at No. 4 with the best odds in the NFL West and the second-best odds within the NFC. The Los Angeles Rams and Seattle Seahawks sit at Nos. 7 and 8, respectively.
Which NFL team will have the best record in 2021-22 (Bovada):
Kansas City Chiefs +300
— Odds Shark (@OddsShark) June 14, 2021
Tampa Bay Buccaneers +450
Buffalo Bills +900
San Francisco 49ers +1200
Baltimore Ravens +1400
Cleveland Browns +1500
Los Angeles Rams +1600
Seattle Seahawks +2000
Green Bay Packers +2000
That just shows that expectations are high for a 49ers team that lacked many of its stars for the majority of last season, like quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo and pass rusher Nick Bosa. Shanahan is tasked with proving that 2020, not the team's 2019 Super Bowl campaign, was the outlier. While he is considered one of the league's best play-callers, the coach has just one winning season in his four years with San Francisco.