SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS @ WASHINGTON REDSKINS 
Vegas Line: Redskins + 3.5
Rob’s Line: Redskins + 5.5
All the signs point to this being something of a no contest and it’s all down to Washington being decimated by injuries. The list is slightly ridiculous and, sadly, the Redskins don’t have anywhere near the depth of, say, Green Bay a year ago, who overcame a similar crippling of their roster to win the Super Bowl.
I wrote last week of those that are missing and as if that wasn’t bad enough, tight end Fred Davis, the team’s leading receiver, is questionable for Sunday with an ankle injury. I’d wager that he’ll play, but if he doesn’t, it’s not inconceivable to suggest that the Redskins could be looking at a second consecutive shutout, following last week’s 23-0 defeat to the Bills in Toronto.
Heading into Week 6 and a home divisional date against a struggling Philadelphia, Washington had a 3-1 record with the chance to half nail the coffin shut on the Eagles’ season and as I’d confidently predicted that the ‘Skins would cover the spread, it was the first game I switched on. What transpired early on resulted in Philly taking a 14-0 lead one minute into the second quarter and you could just sense that there was no way they were going to lose from there. The NFL is full of stories of amazing comebacks and feats, but this clearly wasn’t going to be one of them and the Eagles’ eventual 20-13 victory wasn’t a true reflection of how the game went.
Which brings me on to what mindset we may find pervading the heads of a San Francisco team who’ve had no difficulty at all coping with flying in from the west coast for 1pm Eastern Time kickoffs (10am Pacific/San Fran time). Prior to this season, it was a well known fact that west coast teams don’t travel well when having to start games at a time when their own body clock is telling them that it’s still mid-morning, but the 49ers have emphatically debunked that theory. Victories in Cincinnati, Philadelphia and Detroit may, in future seasons, have commentators referring to teams as “doing a San Francisco” when weighing up how a team copes with what I suppose is going back in time.
The Niners have practically already guaranteed themselves a playoff spot (and a home game, too) by dominating what is a weak NFC West and they find themselves four games clear of Seattle in second. With five division games still to play, they have the perfect opportunity to secure the No. 2 seed in the NFC once January rolls around and, knowing this, and knowing that they should also not come anywhere near close to losing in the capital on Sunday, I wonder how high their levels of motivation will be.
Jim Harbaugh has done a tremendous job as a rookie head coach in the NFL and he has his team playing hard, but they welcome the Giants to Candlestick Park next Sunday and I worry they may have one eye on that one. However, regardless of that, they’re still more than capable of overcoming this current Redskins team by four points and covering the spread. Harbaugh’s experience of playing quarterback in the NFL has doubtless had an effect on Alex Smith that nobody saw coming and his 9 TD to 2 INT ratio and QB rating of 95.7 speaks of somebody with a solid grasp of his offense. He doesn’t have the deepest receiving corps to throw to and that may undo them in the playoffs, but the running game is in the very safe hands of Frank Gore and with rookie Kendall Hunter backing him up, opposing defenses know they’ve been in a game come Monday morning.
The Niners rank first in the league at stopping the run, which points to Washington asking quarterback John Beck to win it for them, but playing behind a makeshift offensive line and having been sacked ten times in Buffalo last week, his confidence won’t be high. The more I write about this game, the more I believe I should probably be offering the Redskins seven points. Apparently, San Francisco are the most heavily backed team in Vegas this week to cover the spread and I’ll be beating down that same door.
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