Best 49ers vs. Seahawks Player Prop Bets for Thursday Night Football
_What kind of performances can we expect on Thursday Night Football from George Kittle, Geno Smith, and D.K. Metcalf? Follow along as our NFL betting expert, Nick Galaida, breaks down his three favorite NFL prop bets for the Los Angeles Chargers v. Kansas City Chiefs _
The San Francisco 49ers and Seattle Seahawks will open Week 15 of the NFL regular season on Thursday Night Football evening at Lumen Field in a battle between the top two teams in the NFC West division standings. Oddsmakers are expecting a tightly-contested affair, pricing the 49ers as 3.5-point road favorites on the spread. In this intra-division matchup, there are a number of key players listed as questionable for both teams, making it difficult for bettors to invest heavily in a side or total. Instead of forcing action on the major markets for this game, bettors may find more expected value on player props for this contest.
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49ers vs. Seahawks Player Props
- George Kittle o38.5 receiving yards
- Geno Smith u9.5 yards Longest Rush
- DK Metcalf u4.5 receptions
George Kittle o38.5 receiving yards (-115)
Per Pro Football Focus, George Kittle has the third most favorable matchup of any tight end in the NFL in Week 15, facing one of the weakest linebacker corps in the entire league. Linebackers Jordyn Brooks and Cody Barton have both graded worse than the 50th percentile this fall in coverage grade at their position, making it unlikely that Kittle will experience much difficulty getting open in this contest. Kittle has not been able to successfully replicate his elite statistical campaigns from previous years again in 2022, but this is a spot in which he could thrive, especially with wide receiver Deebo Samuel having already been ruled out for this matchup.
Geno Smith u9.5 yards Longest Rush (-102)
On Thursday, Geno Smith will face, arguably, the most talented collection of linebackers in the entire NFL. Dre Greenlaw and Fred Warner have both been sensational run defenders in 2022, and even rotational linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair has been outstanding against the run in his limited snaps each week. During San Francisco’s six-game winning streak, only Andy Dalton and Justin Herbert have eclipsed this market number, with Dalton having a longest run of 10 yards and Herbert tallying an 11-yard rush attempt. Though Smith has managed to cash the over at this number eight times in 2022, he will find it difficult to do so against a stout San Francisco defense in this spot – take the under.
DK Metcalf u4.5 receptions (+130)
Undoubtedly, this will be a psychologically uncomfortable wager for bettors to make ahead of kickoff. In Metcalf’s last six games, he has eclipsed this market number six times – a 100% hit-rate to the over. However, an underrated storyline for this matchup is that the 49ers have deployed the fourth-most zone coverage of any defense in the NFL this season. Throughout his career, Metcalf has performed much better against man coverage, which allows him to use his sheer strength and physical tools to overpower smaller defensive backs. However, the 49ers are likely to use multiple members of their secondary unit to limit his impact on the outcome of this game, which could lead to an under. In Metcalf’s last three games against San Francisco, he is 3-1 to the under at this number for his receptions, and has not recorded more than five catches in any of those games. At plus-money, the under is worth a look in this spot.
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