The Carolina Panthers and San Francisco 49ers close Week 12 with a primetime matchup in Santa Clara.
The pregame narrative: San Francisco (7-4) holds a one-game lead over Carolina (6-5) for the NFC's final wild-card spot, although a win would vault the Panthers to the top of the NFC South. The Niners are touchdown favourites at home with a clean injury report and Brock Purdy at the helm.
Check out my Panthers vs. 49ers TD picks for Nov. 24, featuring Ricky Pearsall and Ja'Tavion Sanders.
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Panthers vs. 49ers TD picks
Best bet: Sanders anytime TD (+475)
If you're not a Panthers fan, you may be wondering who exactly is "Ja'Tavion Sanders". That's fine, because I'm not too familiar with his game either.
But once you dig into the numbers, this pick — at this price — makes a ton of sense.
- Sanders is a natural red zone threat at 6-foot-4, 250 pounds.
- The sophomore tight end has commanded nine targets inside the 20-yard line.
- That's more than the combined total for Tommy Tremble and Mitchell Evans, Carolina's other two TEs, even though Sanders has missed three games with an injury.
Sanders hasn't scored a touchdown yet, but I think that's about to change.
He caught all nine of his targets in the past two weeks. That puts him behind only Tetairoa McMillan (13) for the most receptions of any Panther in that span.
-> Bet on Sanders to score at +475 on Monday Night Football
The kicker here is San Francisco's defence, which ranks 29th in EPA per dropback, per RBSDM.com.
A big problem is its lacklustre linebacking corps, the unit that typically covers tight ends, with Fred Warner and Tatum Bethune injured.
San Francisco's linebackers have allowed a 100.2 passer rating to opposing QBs, which ranks in the 16th percentile, according to RotoWire.
Key stat: The 49ers have allowed the second-most TDs to tight ends this year (7).
Monday Night Football anytime TD prediction
Pearsall to score (+205): Pearsall had quite the cardio game in his return from injury last week:
- 41 snaps (75% share)
- 1 reception (2 targets)
- 0 yards
But that's far from the norm.
The wideout was a problem in his first four games of the season and down the stretch last year. This might be cherry-picking a bit, but look at his averages in his last six games before Week 11:
- 5.6 catches
- 7.8 targets
- 89.5 yards
Pearsall had a 30+ yard catch in five of those games, scoring two times. He's a home-run threat who is shifty enough off the line to be effective in goal-line scenarios, too.
Carolina should throw the kitchen sink at stopping George Kittle and Christian McCaffrey in the red zone, and I'm hoping that opens up space for Pearsall.
Panthers vs. 49ers TD picks made at 10:20 a.m. ET Nov. 24, 2025.
