The pieces are seemingly all in place for the 49ers to make another significant NFC run. Yet as successful as this franchise has been, San Francisco hasn't won a Super Bowl in nearly three full decades. They appeared in one only three seasons ago but fell short against Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs. Last season, they were carried by their defense to road wins at Dallas and Green Bay before falling short in the NFC Championship Game against the Rams. Jimmy Garoppolo is out as San Francisco's starting quarterback, replaced by second-year phenom Trey Lance, who showed flashes of brilliance in his 2021 debut. While he might not be overly polished as a passer, Lance's ability to do damage with his legs is reminiscent of most of Colin Kaepernick's tenure in San Francisco. Lance's main weapon will be Deebo Samuel, who just signed a three-year extension. The defense is among the league's best and the rushing attack is always successful under coach Kyle Shanahan.

While the schedule at first glance doesn't appear overly daunting, a key midseason three game stretch may determine how successful the team may be in '22. The 49ers will host Kansas City, travel to LA for a road date with the Rams, and after a bye week, they'll host the Chargers, who are expected to be among the better AFC teams. If San Francisco goes 2-1 or 3-0 in that stretch, it would be understandable for their fans to get their hopes up for another sustained postseason run.

Assuming Lance is even a league average starting quarterback, San Francisco looks well capable of winning at least ten games and making the playoffs again this season. They are a sneaky bet to dethrone the Rams to win the NFC West and an even sneakier bet at +750 to win the NFC. Lance is taking a significant amount of preseason NFL MVP bets for a reason; his team's ceiling is quite high.

• More NFL futures: SportsLine Projection Model's best bets

Below, you'll find the San Francisco 49ers 2022 schedule, win total and more futures odds from Caesars Sportsbook, followed by picks from top SportsLine NFL analysts Larry Hartstein, R.J. White and Alex Selesnick. You'll also find three bets favored by the SportsLine Projection Model.

Entering the 2022 NFL season, Larry is 427-344 all-time on NFL sides (plus $3,764 for $100 players), including 394-330 ATS. He went 68-50 ATS (58 percent) and 8-3 on moneyline plays last season for a profit of $1,552. Over the past seven years, R.J.'s SuperContest picks are 329-250-21 (56.8 percent) and he consistently crushes the NFL: He went 445-378-24 on ATS picks from 2017-21, returning $2,542 to $100 players as SportsLine's No. 1 NFL expert in against the spread picks. Selesnick (aka PropStarz) specializes in MLB, NFL and NBA prop betting, where he implements a combination of research, statistical analysis and mathematical modeling to deliver profitable long-term results.

San Francisco 49ers 2022 schedule

Week 1: at Chicago
Week 2: vs. Seattle
Week 3: at Denver (SNF)
Week 4: vs. Los Angeles Rams (MNF)
Week 5: at Carolina
Week 6: at Atlanta
Week 7: vs. Kansas City
Week 8: at Los Angeles Rams
Week 9: BYE
Week 10: vs. Los Angeles Chargers (SNF)
Week 11: vs. Arizona (MNF in Mexico City)
Week 12: vs. New Orleans
Week 13: vs. Miami
Week 14: vs. Tampa Bay
Week 15: at Seattle (THU)
Week 16: vs. Washington (SAT)
Week 17: at Las Vegas
Week 18: vs. Arizona

San Francisco 49ers 2022 futures odds

Win Total Over: 10.0 (-110)
Win Total Under: 10.0 (-110)

Make Playoffs: -220
Miss Playoffs: +180

Win Division: +180
Win Conference: +750
Win Super Bowl: +1600

So will the 49ers go over or under their win total for the 2022 season? And what other futures bets are worth making? ... Join SportsLine right now to see Larry Hartstein and R.J. White's San Francisco 49ers 2022 futures picks, all from the acclaimed experts who have crushed the NFL for years!