NFL Odds: Lions vs 49ers Lines, Spreads, Betting Trends | NFC Championship Game

Patrick Everson Sports Betting Expert

5 minute read

Here's everything you need to know about the NFL odds for the Lions vs 49ers NFC Championship Game: the lines, spreads, betting trends and more.

The Conference Round of the NFL Playoffs concludes on Sunday night with the NFC Championship Game between the Detroit Lions and San Francisco 49ers. The betting odds see SF as a seven-point favorite despite barely holding on to beat Green Bay in the Divisional Round.

Coverage begins from Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara on Sunday, January 28 at 6:30 p.m. ET on FOX.

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Detroit Lions vs San Francisco 49ers Odds

• Opening point spread: 49ers -7
• Opening moneyline: 49ers -310/Lions +250
• Opening total: Over/Under 50.5 points scored
• Time: 6:30 p.m. ET Sunday (FOX)

UPDATE 6 P.M. ET SUNDAY: As kickoff approaches, the 49ers are -7 (-120) in BetMGM's NFL odds conference championship market. The Lions are the popular play, particularly on the moneyline at BetMGM, with tickets almost 9/1 and money 5/1 on Detroit.

"We're gonna be rooting for the 49ers -- 49ers and Under. Way more Lions money," BetMGM's Christian Cipollini said. "The 49ers [Super Bowl] futures money is worse. But at this point, Lions moneyline + Lions futures is now worse."

BetMGM's total just moved from 52.5 to 53, then back to 52.5, after starting the day at 51.5. The total opened at 51 last Sunday and briefly backed up to 50.5, then spent much of the week at 51/51.5.

UPDATE 8:30 P.M. ET SATURDAY: The 49ers have been painted to -7 all week at Station Sports in Las Vegas. San Francisco is currently -7 (-120).

"It's kind of a strange game. Ticket count from the average Joes clearly favors the Lions, on straight bets, parlays, moneyline parlays – pretty much across the board," Esposito said. "But money wagered favors the 49ers. And the largest sharp bet was on the 49ers."

The total went from 52 to 51.5 and back to 52 at Station books.

"Ticket count definitely favors the Over," Esposito said.

UPDATE 2:30 P.M. ET SATURDAY: Circa Sports opened the 49ers -7 on Sunday. San Fran then spent the early part of the week toggling between -7/-6.5 at various juice, with a low point of 6.5 flat.

The Niners spent Tuesday-Friday at various iterations of -7, then Friday afternoon went to -7.5 (even). Part of the calculus for that move could be that 49ers star wideout Deebo Samuel (shoulder) is expected to play Sunday.

This morning, San Fran fell back to -7 (-120), but there's a clear betting lean in the NFL odds conference championship market.

"Niners money early and often," Benson said.

Cira opened the total at 51.5 Sunday and quickly receded to 51. Thursday morning brought two moves within a half-hour of each other, to 51.5 and 52.

UPDATE 2:30 P.M. ET THURSDAY: TwinSpires moved the 49ers up to -7.5 (-105) Wednesday, after opening -7. Detroit is seeing 62% of early spread tickets, while 56% of early spread money is on San Francisco.

"Both games have similar splits. The public is on both 'dogs, and there's sharp play on the favorites," Lucas said. "Cinderella teams like Detroit usually end up being a popular bet, especially on the moneyline. Lions outright would guarantee a losing Sunday for us."

At the moment, moneyline tickets and cash are running 2/1 on Detroit.

TwinSpires opened the total at 50.5 and is up to 51.5. The Over is netting 62% of tickets/72% of money.

"Bettors are expecting a shootout. We are hoping for the opposite," Lucas said.

UPDATE 2 P.M. ET WEDNESDAY: BetMGM opened the Lions -7 Sunday night and quickly receded to -6.5. The number has been stable at Detroit -7 (-105) since Monday morning. Tickets and money are running 2.5/1 in favor of the Lions.

Further, early moneyline action is heavily tilted toward Detroit, with tickets 8/1 and money 3/1-plus. The heavily engaged Michigan market is having a significant impact on BetMGM's national numbers.

"We're heavy to the Lions right now. It might stay that way, with us having a Michigan presence, but no sports betting in California," Cipollini said.

The total opened at 50.5 and has been steady at 51 since Sunday night. Ticket count is almost dead even, while 71% of money is on the Over.

UPDATE 7 P.M. ET SUNDAY: Detroit (14-5 SU and ATS) held off Tampa Bay 31-23, cashing as a 6-point home favorite. The Lions are 5-1 SU and ATS in their last six games and, generally speaking, have been a spread-covering machine since the middle of last season.

Now, third-seeded Detroit travels to No. 1 seed San Francisco. The SuperBook opened the 49ers -7 on its NFC Championship Game odds board.

"We didn't want to open up south of 7 if we could avoid it," SuperBook risk supervisor Chase Michaelson said. "We'll need Detroit for sure. I'm sure we'll get some wiseguy action on Detroit +7. But we still will likely be overwhelmed with San Francisco money."

About 75 minutes after opening Lions-49ers, The SuperBook backed up to San Fran -6.5.

"We basically wanted to take some Lions money to chop into our inevitable decision. We will certainly need Detroit," Michaelson said. "If Deebo Samuel gets announced in, this thing will skyrocket."

Samuel suffered a shoulder injury during the 49ers' Saturday win over Green Bay.

The SuperBook opened the total at 51.5 in its NFL odds conference championship market. There was almost immediate movement to 52. However, that met some resistance in the market. Less than an hour after opening, the total is down to 51.

UPDATE 11:30 P.M. ET SATURDAY: San Francisco closed as a 10.5-point home favorite against Green Bay, but barely got out of the NFL Divisional Round. The Niners (13-5 SU/9-9 ATS) needed a late Christian McCaffrey touchdown to notch a 24-21 victory.

San Fran is 8-2 SU in its last 10 games (5-5 ATS). One of those losses was in a meaningless regular-season finale vs. the L.A. Rams.

The 49ers now await either the Lions or the Bucs. But again, FanDuel Sportsbook went ahead and put up NFC Championship Game odds on both possible matchups. San Francisco opened -7 vs. Detroit and -10 vs. Tampa Bay. Bucs-Niners quickly advanced to San Fran -10.5.

Check back for the Sunday update on NFL odds for conference championship games, and use our Caesars Sportsbook bonus code to unlock bonus bets.

Click here for Vegas Insider senior reporter Patrick Everson's full NFL Conference Championship Odds Report containing spreads, lines, and trends for every NFL matchup.

Lions vs 49ers Pick, Prediction

Action Network NFL betting expert Brandon Anderson offers this prediction:

Check back soon for picks!

Pick: TBD

For more NFL picks, check out Action Network's NFL Conference Playoffs: How to Bet Every Game & Every Team.

The One Stat to Know About Lions vs 49ers

Action Network NFL researcher Evan Abrams offers his top betting stat:

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For more NFL betting stats, check out Action Network's NFL Conference Playoffs Betting Trends, Stats, Notes.

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Patrick Everson

Patrick Everson is a senior reporter for VegasInsider. Based in Las Vegas since 1994, he's worked in the sports betting journalism/content space for more than a decade. He's most known for his deep roster of contacts behind sportsbook counters, providing readers and viewers with the ins-and-outs of how events are being bet. He's also a thought leader in the sports betting space, often appearing on or moderating panels at national conferences. More from Patrick Everson