Now that the NFL season is finally back, we can ditch the long ball and turn our attention to the end zone. Let's kick things off by diving into the first touchdown scorers market. Here are our top NFL Thursday Night Football first TD scorer picks for 49ers vs. Rams.
- More NFL Betting Advice
- NFL Prop Bet Cheat Sheet
- Expert NFL Game Picks
- NFL Betting Strategy
- Best +EV NFL Picks
Get instant alerts when a line reaches your target via the BettingPros App >>
NFL Thursday Night Football First TD Scorers Picks: 49ers vs. Rams
Dating back to the start of the 2024 season, Kyle Shanahan's 49ers have been one of the more consistent teams when it comes to striking first.
In 2024, San Francisco scored the game's first touchdown 47.1% of the time. That number climbed to 52.6% in 2025, meaning the 49ers have essentially been a coin flip to score the first touchdown over the last two seasons.
Now compare that to the Rams, where they scored the game’s first touchdown just 31.6% of the time in 2024. That number jumped to 60% in 2026.
Looking at the last six meetings between these two teams, the Niners scored the game’s first touchdown four times (Jake Tonges, Jauan Jennings, Christian McCaffrey, Elijah Mitchell), and the Rams did so once (Kyren Williams). The game ended 16-6 with zero touchdowns.
Christian McCaffrey First Touchdown Scorer (+500 at DraftKings Sportsbook)
Personally, for primetime or standalone games, I tend to target underdogs because the prices are better, and I like to be contrarian. Naturally, the conversation starts with Christian McCaffrey.
McCaffrey accounted for six of San Francisco's first touchdowns last season, tied for the third-most in the NFL. Three of those were also the first touchdown scored by either team.
We aren’t simply looking for players who score a lot of touchdowns. We’re looking for players whose usage, offensive role and play-calling tendencies give them an increased probability of getting the first opportunity to score.
With Shanahan's track record of getting San Francisco on the board early and McCaffrey remaining the centerpiece of the offense, the multi-threat back is the first name that stands out in tonight's first touchdown market, especially with Aaron Donald not making the trip.
Kyren Williams First Team Touchdown Scorer (+240 at FanDuel Sportsbook)
Kyren Williams scored the first touchdown seven times for the Rams in 2025, and 13 the year prior. It’s no secret McVay loves calling Williams' number around the end zone.
I'm also going to take a swing on Williams to score two or more touchdowns at +470 odds on FanDuel Sportsbook.
Over the last three seasons, Williams has faced the 49ers five times and scored nine total touchdowns. Even more compelling, he has found the end zone at least twice in four of those five meetings.
For anytime touchdown scorers, I like De'Zhaun Stribling (+350 at FanDuel Sportsbook) and Terrance Ferguson (+400 at DraftKings Sportsbook).
