Monday Night Football Picks & Predictions for Lions vs. 49ers Tonight

In the final Monday Night Football game of the regular season, we get a rematch of the 2024 NFC Championship between the Lions vs. 49ers tonight. With production expected to come from both sides of the ball, there’s plenty of opportunities for NFL DFS and PrizePicks in this Monday Night showdown.

Below, we’ve got the full breakdown of the top Monday Night Football picks for the Lions vs. 49ers showdown for NFL DFS on PrizePicks. With these picks, you can build a Lineup with a 14.5x payout multiplier on PrizePicks — or mix and match to build your own Lineup. 

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MNF Picks for Lions vs. 49ers

Here are the top picks for Monday NightFootball tonight, Lions vs. 49ers, including a TD scorer prediction.

• Lions RB Jahmyr Gibbs 99.5 Rush Yards — More (Demon)
• 49ers QB Brocky Purdy 33 Pass Attempts — More
• 49ers WR Ricky Pearsall 2.5 Receptions — More (Demon)
• TD Scorer Prediction: 49ers TE George Kittle (Demon)
• MNF Prediction: Lions 34, 49ers 24

Monday Night Football: Lions vs. 49ers Preview

Date: Monday, December 30, 2024

Time: 8:15 p.m. ET

Location: Levi’s Stadium, Santa Clara, Calif.

Where to Watch: ESPN

This game has no postseason meaning for either team, which is unfortunate at this point in the season. The 49ers are eliminated from contention, and the Lions’ can win the NFC North in Week 18 against the Minnesota Vikings, regardless of the result here.

However, we should still see a competitive game on Monday Night Football in the final NFL game of 2024. The Lions banged up defense may have difficulty with this Brock Purdy-led 49ers offense, while the Lions offense will look to continue their incredibly efficient success in what’s a rematch of the 2024 NFC Championship.

Lions RB Jahmyr Gibbs 99.5 Rush Yards — More (Demon)

The beast has been unleashed. In the first week without RB David Montgomery (knee), the Lions fully committed to RB Jahmyr Gibbs as the lead back. Gibbs had 23 carries for 109 yards last week, with 4 receptions for another 45 yards. Last year, in the the Lions’ lone win without Montgomery, Gibbs had 26 yards for 152 rushing yards.

Safe to say, we can expect 20 rushes from Gibbs here, especially as we expect the Lions to lead in this game and control the pace of play. Gibbs is already averaging 5.5 yards per carry, is already third in the NFL with 34 rushes over 10 yards this year, with the fourth-best breakaway rush percentage in the NFL per PFF.

The 49ers have been vulnerably on the ground recently, coming off a game where Dolphins RB De'Von Achane — a similar style back to Gibbs — rushed for 120 yards on 17 carries. Prior to that, Rams RB Kyren Williams rushed for 108 yards. Overall, the 49ers have given up four 100-yard rushers in the last five games.The 49ers are also missing LBs Dre Greenlaw and De’Vondre Campbell, which should help Gibbs at the second level.

While I’m taking the lowest Demon projection of 99.5 rush yards here, I don’t mind going a bit higher if you’re looking for a higher payout on PrizePicks tonight.

Note: Demon picks add a payout boost to your lineup on PrizePicks, as they are more difficult projections to hit.

49ers QB Brocky Purdy 33 Pass Attempts — More

With a banged up running back room, this offense is on Brock Purdy’s shoulders. While the 49ers do get back RB Isaac Guerendo this week, we can still expect the 49ers to pass a lot here.

In the last two games — both losses — the 49ers are throwing on 65.7% of plays. As underdogs again tonight, we expect them to pass a lot here. This year, the Lions have faced eight teams with a pass rate over expectation in the top 15 in the league. Across those games, opposing QBs average 35.1 pass attempts per game.

The Lions secondary is getting cooked recently without CB Carlton Davis — who remains out here — and a lackluster pass rush. Last week, Bears QB Caleb Williams passed for 334 yards on 40 pass attempts, and before that, Bills QB Josh Allen passed for 362 yards on 34 attempts in an incredibly efficient outing.

My one concern pertains to the injuries to Purdy's offensive line, though the Lions defensive line is equally banged up. LT Trent Williams is on IR, his backup LT Spencer Burford is out, and RT Colton McKivitz is questionable after missing Friday and Saturday practice. 

Look for the 49ers to get the ball out of Purdy’s hands early, with quick dropbacks that get the ball into the hands of his receivers to work after the catch.

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49ers WR Ricky Pearsall 2.5 Receptions — More (Demon)

As we expect the 49ers to throw a lot in this game, expect WR Ricky Pearsall to get more involved here. While Pearsall has only hit this receptions number in four of nine games since returning from injury, the rookie played on 72% of snaps last week — his third-highest snap rate this season.

When we dig into this matchup, it greatly benefits Pearsall here. The Lions lead the league in man coverage rate at 41.9% per PFF, as they play a ton of Cover 1. Against man coverage, Pearsall’s target rate jumps to 19.7%, versus just 9.3% against zone. More than half of his receptions this year have come versus man coverage.

Pearsall was known in college as a man coverage beater. At Florida, he had the second-highest success rate vs. man coverage in the country at 75.8%. 

Meanwhile, WR Deebo Samuel struggles against man coverage, as he finds more success tucking into zones and finding the soft spot of the defense. He just isn’t going to get open as often as Pearsall in this matchup, and Pearsall played almost as many snaps as Deebo last week. Look for Purdy to take advantage of this matchup and get Pearsall the ball, especially on critical third downs.

Note: Demon picks add a payout boost to your lineup on PrizePicks, as they are more difficult projections to hit.

TD Scorer Prediction: 49ers TE George Kittle (Demon)

George Kittle has been on a tear in the last three games, averaging over 100 yards and six receptions per game. However, he hasn’t scored a touchdown in any of those three, currently on a four-week touchdown drought.

Outside of Brock Bowers, 49ers TE Geoge Kittle has been the best receiving tight end in the league this year. The 49ers have avoided other top 10 tight ends this year, with the best PFF-graded opposing TE being Tucker Kraft, who posted a 3-41-1 line against this defense three weeks ago.

It doesn’t hurt that the 49ers tend to throw when they get near the goal line, as they’re missing key pieces in their backfield. Purdy is eighth in the NFL in red-zone throws with 75 and from inside the five yard-line (16). Kittle makes up over half of those targets within the five yard-line (6), which he’s converted to 3 touchdowns. Kittle is also third in the NFL with 20 red-zone targets this season.

Look for Purdy to either score from distance, or get targeted once the 49ers get in the red zone.

Note: Demon picks add a payout boost to your lineup on PrizePicks, as they are more difficult projections to hit.

MNF Prediction: Lions 34, 49ers 24

As the rest of the public seems to be, I’m surprised to see this spread as close as it is, as Lions are only slight favorites here. While the Lions could rest players here — since the NFC North title comes down to Week 18 vs. the Vikings, head coach Dan Campbell has said, with emphasis, that they will play everyone here regardless.

If that’s the case, the Lions should roll. While there are valid concerns about Lions QB Jared Goff’s productivity on the road, especially outdoors, this is as good of a weather spot as you could ask for in San Francisco, with no wind, mild winter temperatures around 50 degrees, and an extra day to travel and prepare for the matchup on Monday Night.

While Purdy may be able to expose some holes in this Lions defense that are likely to rear their head eventually, the 49ers are going to get bullied by the Lions offensive line, both in the pass and rush game. 

Goff should dice up this defense as he’ll have ample time, and Gibbs will show on primetime why he’s already an elite running back in only his second NFL season.

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Build your Monday Night Football Lineup on PrizePicks

The Monday Night Football picks for the Lions vs. 49ers are set, and it’s set to be an exciting night for NFL DFS on PrizePicks. With two top NFL quarterbacks leading their teams, these teams will fight for a late season victory in Santa Clara on ESPN tonight.

Whether you’re backing the Lions to continue their dominance, or the 49ers to pull off the upset at home, Monday night is your opportunity to join the real money action on PrizePicks.

Building an NFL DFS Lineup on PrizePicks is the easiest way to get real money action on Monday Night Football. Just pick more or less on player stats, lock in your Lineup, and stay in the green to cash out after the game.