The 49ers play the top team in the NFC in their final game of the season at Levi’s Stadium.
Fresh off a disappointing 29-17 loss to the Miami Dolphins, the San Francisco 49ers are returning home for their final game at Levi’s Stadium in 2024, facing off against the Detroit Lions in Week 17.
Sunday’s loss was much of the same for the 49ers, as they had undisciplined penalties, red zone woes, a costly turnover, and missed kicks en route to another loss that was close in the fourth quarter.
Now standing at 6-9 officially eliminated in the playoffs, San Francisco has two final games left, with the Lions and Arizona Cardinals rounding out their 2024 schedule.
So, in their final home game against the Lions, how are the 49ers seen, odds-wise, in Week 17?
According to FanDuel Sportsbook, the 49ers are 3.5-point underdogs against the Lions heading into the weekend matchup, with the over/under set at 50.5 points.
Detroit has been one of the NFL’s hottest teams, having the second-best record in the entire league with a 13-2 record this season.
After losing to the Buccaneers back in Week 2, the Lions went on an 11-game winning streak, which was only snapped last weekend when they had a 48-42 thriller defeat at the hands of the Buffalo Bills.
They’re coming off a 34-17 road victory over the Chicago Bears that wasn’t really close at any point, thanks to another elite offensive performance with 475 yards of total offense.
Detroit, however, is dealing with a variety of injuries, especially on the defensive side, which has been their biggest question mark when it comes to their future success this year. That was questioned against the Bills back in Week 15, as they gave up 48 points in a shootout loss.
They most recently lost lead back David Montgomery, who has been a strong complement to former first-round pick Jahmyr Gibbs, for the season, adding to their growing list of injuries.
Still, with all of that, San Francisco enters this game as 3.5-point underdogs and that’s after the home-team boost, indicating that the Lions are healthy favorites entering Week 17.
The clear issue for the 49ers will be defending the run: how will a struggling unit go up against one of the best rushing offenses, both schematically and execution-wise, in the NFL?
That could be the key for the Lions in setting up their passing game, as the 49ers’ run woes continued even this past week, where they allowed 166 rushing yards to the Miami Dolphins.
San Francisco, on the other hand, is dealing with a bevy of injuries. Trent Williams, Aaron Banks, and Jaylon Moore are all done for the remainder of the season. Dre Greenlaw will likely be shut down after experiencing calf soreness. And Spencer Burford could be out as well depending on his MRI results, putting the 49ers down to their fourth left tackle.
They have a running back issue as Isaac Guerendo’s injury placed them down to their fifth-string back in Patrick Taylor Jr. this past weekend.
So, the 49ers have a number of problems to deal with on their own, which could lead to a different type of Monday Night matchup here in Week 17.