New Orleans Saints vs San Francisco 49ers Prediction, 8/18/2024 NFL Picks, Best Bets & Odds Preseason Week 2

Game: New Orleans Saints at San Francisco 49ers

Date: Sunday, August 18, 2024

Location: Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, CA

TV: Fox

Odds/Point Spread: 49ers (+2)

Total/Over-Under: 36

The San Francisco 49ers (12-5 last year) will play the New Orleans Saints (9-8 last season) at Levi's Stadium on Sunday. San Francisco opens this matchup as 2-point dogs from oddsmakers. The total has been set at 36.

The New Orleans Saints finished the season holding a 9-8 record. The last time they stepped on the gridiron, the Saints went up against the Panthers and took home the win by a score of 28-6. Derek Carr finished 18/26 with 119 yards through the air and 2 touchdowns. He had a quarterback rating of 88.5 and finished the contest with 1 pick. Alvin Kamara was the rushing leader for the Saints with 12 totes for 56 yds (4.7 yards per carry). A.T. Perry had an average of 44.0 yds per catch by totaling 44 yds on 1 catch. The New Orleans Saints ended up running the ball 25 times and tallied 97 yards, which came out to an average of 3.9 yards per tote. Overall, they tallied 52 plays which converted into 207 yds. New Orleans relinquished 13 pass completions on 36 tries for a total of 99 yards, and a completion rate of 36.1%. When it came to stopping the run, the Saints conceded 204 yards on 39 tries, which is an average of 5.2 yards per run allowed.

The Saints racked up 5,732 total yards for last year. New Orleans compiled 199 1st downs as a unit, and they were flagged for 96 infractions for 846 yds. New Orleans compiled 28 passing touchdowns and 13 rushing touchdowns. They turned the football over 18 times (11 interceptions and 7 fumbles lost). As a team they averaged 102.5 yds on the ground, which was 21st in the NFL. Concerning scoring, the New Orleans Saints had an average of 23.6 PPG.

When it comes to yards via the pass, the Saints gave up 3,524 yards which ranked them 10th in the NFL. In their 17 games played, they gave up 207.3 yards per game via the pass and allowed a completion percentage of 59.7%. They yielded 327.2 yards/game which ranked them 13th in the league. The opposition ran for 4.4 yards per tote and 119.9 yards on the ground per game for the previous season. During the campaign, they allowed 2,038 yards via the running game in 17 games. The Saints ranked 8th in the league regarding team defense, allowing 19.2 PPG.

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The 49ers ended the year having earned a 12-5 record. The last time they took the field, the 49ers walked away with a victory by a final of 28-16 when they played the Seahawks. Brock Purdy (2 touchdowns) ended the game with 368 yards on 19/27 passing while his QB rate was 122.1. He had 1 interception and his Y/A was 13.6 yards. Christian McCaffrey carried the ball 16 times for 145 yards, ending the contest with 9.1 yds per carry for San Francisco. Deebo Samuel was a featured target for the 49ers, grabbing 7 footballs for 149 yds (21.3 yds per reception). San Francisco rushed for 7.5 yds per attempt, totaling 173 yards on 23 attempts. The 49ers finished the game with a total of 527 yards and they ran 53 plays (9.9 yards per play). The 49ers pass defense gave up a completion percentage of 71.0%, surrendering 254 yds on 22 for 31 through the air. San Francisco gave up 20 rush attempts for 70 yds (3.5 yds per carry).

The San Francisco 49ers held an average of 398.4 yards/contest which had them sitting 2nd in the NFL. They averaged 140.5 rushing yards per game and ran for 2,389 yards for the year. They threw 12 picks while losing 6 fumbles and they earned 207 1st downs. The San Francisco offense racked up 933 yards of penalties on 101 violations, which had them ranked 11th in the NFL in terms of making mistakes. Last year, the 49ers compiled 4,384 yards via the pass in addition to an average of 257.9 passing yards per game, which had them ranked 4th in the league. When it comes to their scoring prowess, the 49ers earned a ranking of 3rd out of all teams in football averaging 28.9 points per game.

They gave up 20 touchdowns via the pass in addition to 214.2 yards per outing, which had them in 14th out of all teams. San Francisco yielded a total of 1,525 yards on the ground (89.7 yards per outing) and 10 touchdowns rushing last season. Over the course of the season, they surrendered 298 total points. Their defense had 28 turnovers (6 fumbles recovered and 22 interceptions) for the prior year. The 49ers defense participated in 1,038 plays, which ranked them 7th in football. The 49ers gave up 17.5 points per contest, ranking them 3rd of all teams in the NFL.

Who will win tonight's Saints/49ers NFL game against the spread?

Guy's Pick: Take the 49ers +2

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