3 NFC Conference Championship Prop Bets for Lions at 49ers

Player props can be useful in a variety of ways -- from taking advantage of them straight up to measuring a player's potential to produce in daily fantasy football on FanDuel. Here, we're going to focus on the former.

Utilizing numberFire's projections as a guide, here are some NFL player props bets that look appealing.

Please note that betting lines and numberFire's game projections may change throughout the day after this article is published. Also, the weather may be an issue in some locations.

Detroit Lions at San Francisco 49ers: Prop Bets

Brandon Aiyuk Over 5.5 Receptions (+124)

The NFC Championship Game features the San Francisco 49ers hosting the Detroit Lions, with a spot in the Super Bowl up for grabs.

The home 49ers are 7.5-point favorites, where the over/under is set at a healthy 51.5 points, which is a good starting point for some player props.

We want the props to reflect and correlate with the overall game environment, which has me looking directly to Brandon Aiyuk. With Deebo Samuel dealing with a shoulder injury, Aiyuk could be in for a big workload in an elite matchup.

It should be noted that there is optimism that Deebo Samuel will be able to play versus the Lions, but there hasn't been a report on whether he is 100% healthy.

Regardless of that, this is an extremely favorable matchup for Aiyuk, which should lead to him having a big game.

Throughout the regular season, the Lions' secondary allowed 3,081 receiving yards to opposing wide receivers, which was the third-worst in the NFL.

That trend continued in the playoffs when they allowed 181 receiving yards to Puka Nacua in the Wild Card Round and 147 receiving yards to Mike Evans in the Divisional Round.

During the regular season, Aiyuk led the 49ers with a 24.0% target share, 39.7% air yard share, ran a route on 85.2% of dropbacks, 14.1 average depth of target (aDOT), and had the fourth-highest (14.5%) red zone target share.

Brock Purdy routinely looked to Aiyuk in the passing game and with this favorable matchup, Aiyuk should be a focal point this Sunday.

David Montgomery Under 10.5 Rushing Attempts (-102)

With the potential game script in mind, under 10.5 rushing attempts for David Montgomery is the spot to look.

The Lions' one-two combo of Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs has been fantastic this season, there is no denying that. However, as 7.5-point road underdogs, the Lions could be forced into a passing game script, which will limit their chances to move the ball on the ground.

While Montgomery led the team with a 44.3% rush share rate, he only played on 47.8% of the offensive snaps this season. Gibbs played on 57.8% of the snaps and had a 36.8% rush share rate, but it doesn't stop there.

If the Lions are looking to pass the ball, Gibbs will be the one on the field. He ended the regular season with a 14.1% target share, compared to Montgomery at only a 5.3% target share.

I say all of this and haven't even mentioned that the matchup against the 49ers is insanely tough. The 49ers' defense allowed the third-fewest (89.7) rushing yards per game during the regular season, making this a difficult path to tread.

Montgomery sees a lot of carries when the game script allows. That doesn't appear to be the case this week and should lead to under 10.5 rushing attempts.

Jared Goff Over 35.5 Passing Attempts (-115)

In correlation with the prop above, over 35.5 passing attempts for Jared Goff is the next spot to look.

Very simply, if the Lions cannot run the ball and are playing from behind, the passing game will be front-and-center. As noted above, the Lions are 7.5-point road underdogs, and face one of league's best rush defenses.

Having the time or being effective on the ground looks like a longshot for the Lions, putting Goff in a spot where the pass attempts can pile up.

That won't be new for Goff, who averaged 35.6 passing attempts in the regular season, and 35 passing attempts in the two playoff games this year.

While the matchup against the 49ers' defense isn't ideal, we aren't worried about the yards or his overall success, simply the raw number of attempts. This is a trend we've seen against the 49ers this season, as they saw a total of 620 passing attempts (36.5 per game) which was the third-most in the NFL.

Opposing teams are often playing from behind against the 49ers and forced into a passing game script, exactly where Goff and the Lions should find themselves this Sunday.

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The above author is a FanDuel employee and is not eligible to compete in public daily fantasy contests or place sports betting wagers on FanDuel. The advice provided by the author does not necessarily represent the views of FanDuel. Taking the author's advice will not guarantee a successful outcome. You should use your own judgment when participating in daily fantasy contests or placing sports wagers.