NFL odds: Can 49ers maintain their edge as road favorites in MNF?

The St. Louis Rams aren’t winning many games lately, but they have been exciting to watch over the past month. The Rams are just 1-3 straight-up and against the spread in 2014, but their last three games have each come within a few points of the closing line. Their opponent in Monday Night Football, the San Francisco 49ers, enter the matchup as three-point road favorites, but the Niners are just 1-3 against the spread in their last four trips to St. Louis.

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St. Louis is coming off a 34-28 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles last week, a loss in which they failed to cover the four-point spread at several sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com. The Rams did, however, rally back from a 34-7 deficit with three unanswered touchdowns in a little more than 10 minutes toward the end of the game, making many bettors sweat and costing some of those who got Philly at a higher number. St. Louis had blown a 21-0 lead in its previous game before its bye week, falling 34-31 to the Dallas Cowboys as a 1.5-point home underdog. The Rams won their only game this season in Week 2, beating the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 19-17 as 4.5-point road dogs.

San Francisco has played close to the NFL odds recently as well. The 49ers topped the Kansas City Chiefs 22-17 last week as 4.5-point home favorites to cover the spread, but they failed to beat the number in their previous game against the Philadelphia Eagles, falling just short of the seven-point spread in a 26-21 home victory. However, San Francisco has been nearly unbeatable as a road favorite over the past two years, going 8-1 SU and 7-1-1 ATS. The lone loss during that stretch came in Week 3 of this season when the 49ers dropped a 23-14 decision to the Arizona Cardinals as three-point chalk.

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Regarding this San Francisco vs. St. Louis matchup, the divisional and situational betting trends seem to back the home team. The Rams are 5-2 ATS in their last seven home games against NFC West opponents, while the 49ers are just 3-9 versus the line in their past 12 road matchups with divisional foes. We may also see a high-scoring game, as the OVER is 3-1 in the last four meetings at the Edward Jones Dome.