When it comes to winning the NFC North and wrapping up the conference's No. 1 seed, Monday night's game means nothing for the Detroit Lions. And yet, head coach Dan Campbell has made it clear he won't rest players in a rematch of last year's NFC Championship game. Can Brock Purdy and the San Francisco 49ers keep up with the Lions' offense? Or will the Lions pick up their 14th win of the season?
Here are the best PrizePicks player predictions for Monday Night Football between the Detroit Lions and the San Francisco 49ers.
When it comes to winning the NFC North and wrapping up the conference's No. 1 seed, Monday night's game means nothing for the Detroit Lions. And yet, head coach Dan Campbell has made it clear he won't rest players in a rematch of last year's NFC Championship game. Can Brock Purdy and the San Francisco 49ers keep up with the Lions' offense? Or will the Lions pick up their 14th win of the season?
Here are the best PrizePicks player predictions for Monday Night Football between the Detroit Lions and the San Francisco 49ers.
With David Montgomery out last week, Jahmyr Gibbs ran the ball 23 times for 109 yards and a touchdown. The performance marked the first time Gibbs cleared the 100-yard mark since October 27 against the Tennessee Titans. It was also only the second time this season he ran the ball more than 20 times, something we should expect to see again with Montgomery out this week.
The 49ers have the 16th-ranked run defense in football, allowing an average of 121 rushing yards per game. Last week, they allowed De'Von Achane to run for 120 yards against them, despite the talented running back playing for one of the worst rushing attacks in football. The 49ers allow just 4.4 yards per carry, but I expect Gibbs, averaging 5.5 yards per attempt, to get the better of this matchup.
The Lions are allowing the fifth-most passing yards per game this season. While many will chalk that stat up to the fact they've been leading in almost every game, and thus, teams have to throw on them, they're also giving up 6.8 yards per attempt, which ranks 22nd in the league.
Purdy enters this week's game having thrown for at least 300 yards in two of his last three games. This season, he's hit the 300-yard mark four times. He's topped 254.5 passing yards in eight games. The Lions' secondary is a mess with numerous key players out, and they just gave up 334 yards to Caleb Williams last week. Whether the 49ers fall behind or stay competitive, look for Purdy to do a ton of damage through the air.
Sam LaPorta hasn't been nearly as consistent this season as he was in his rookie year. He has five games with two or fewer receptions, and he's failed to top 30 yards five times. But he has gotten hot of late. Two weeks ago, he caught seven passes for a season-high 111 yards. Last week, he had four catches for 43 yards and a touchdown.
While LaPorta is starting to be more of a factor down the stretch, this is a bad matchup for him tonight. The 49ers have allowed the fourth-fewest receptions and second-fewest yards to tight ends this season. With LaPorta being the third and sometimes even fourth option in this passing attack, I don't expect Jared Goff to force anything to him in a bad matchup.
Make sure to check out our other best bets for Monday:
