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Christian McCaffrey NFL Player Props, Odds NFC Championship: Predictions for Lions vs. 49ers

Philip Wood

Last Updated: January 28, 2024 4:18 PM EST • 3 min 18 sec read.

Christian McCaffrey #23 of the San Francisco 49ers rushes for a touchdown as we make our Christian McCaffrey NFL player props picks and predictions for Sunday's NFC Championship Game against the Detroit Lions.
Christian McCaffrey #23 of the San Francisco 49ers rushes for a 39-yard touchdown during the third quarter against the Green Bay Packers in the NFC Divisional Playoffs at Levi's Stadium on January 20, 2024 in Santa Clara, California. Photo by Lachlan Cunningham/Getty Images via AFP.

The San Francisco 49ers host the Detroit Lions in the NFC Championship Game, as we make the best Christian McCaffrey NFL player prop predictions based on the best NFL odds for Sunday's conference title matchup.

Christian McCaffrey, the star of the San Francisco 49ers, further established himself as the league's premier running back this season and that continued into last week's divisional-round matchup. McCaffrey turned 17 carries into 98 yards and two touchdowns in a win over the Green Bay Packers as the 49ers return to the NFC Championship.

Anticipated to be the focal point in Sunday's NFC Championship against the Detroit Lions, who have limited opponents to just 87.7 rushing yards per game, the question remains: Can they impede McCaffrey's momentum, or will he produce another exceptional performance to advance the Super Bowl odds favorites?  

In addition to our Lions vs. 49ers prediction and Lions vs. 49ers NFL player props, here are our best Christian McCaffrey NFL player props for the NFC Championship (odds via our best NFL betting sites; pick confidence based on a 1-to-5-star scale).

Christian McCaffrey NFL player prop predictions for NFC Championship

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Christian McCaffrey player props

Christian McCaffrey Over 125.5 rushing + receiving yards (-110 via FanDuel) ⭐⭐⭐⭐

FanDuel promo for Lions vs. 49ers

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The Lions haven’t had to face a player like McCaffrey yet this season. Though their defense was great against the run this year, they played in a division with subpar rushers in general, and they played so many games with the lead that offenses had to abandon the run early.

The 49ers are likely to play this game even or ahead from start to finish. Even if they don’t, McCaffrey will be a huge part of the passing attack. Though he’s struggled to rack up yards through the air in recent weeks, he did record seven catches for 30 yards last week to finish with 128 yards from scrimmage.

With Deebo Samuel on the field in this game, the 49ers simply have too many weapons for the Lions to cover. If their coverage downfield is good, McCaffrey will break off huge gains on screen passes. And if the coverage isn’t good, the 49ers will build a lead, and McCaffrey will clear this total for the 11th time in 18 tries.

Christian McCaffrey Over 18.5 rushing attempts (+100 via Caesars) ⭐⭐⭐

All of our best sports betting sites have the same total listed for this game. However, prices range from +100 to -130 depending on where you look. Considering McCaffrey led the league in rushing yards this season, this may seem like an obvious over, but we’re keeping this as a three-star play for a few reasons.

McCaffrey hasn’t run the ball more than 18 times in a game since a Week 12 win over the Seattle Seahawks on Nov. 23. He's run the ball at least 14 times in six games since that performance, though, so he does have a high floor when it comes to rushing attempts.

The Lions have a great run defense and a weak pass defense. However, the 49ers haven’t gone away from the run against anyone this season. It’s unlikely McCaffrey will reach his season average of 5.4 yards per carry on Sunday, but expect him to get a fair share of carries as he fights for yards against a good defensive front.

Christian McCaffrey to score 2+ touchdowns (+175 via FanDuel) ⭐⭐⭐

Last week, we recommended playing McCaffrey to score two touchdowns and it hit. Once again, the odds for McCaffrey to score a single touchdown are too short, but the price for him to score multiple touchdowns is actually better than last week - and this week’s matchup may be even more favorable.

The Lions are allowing just 0.8 rushing touchdowns per game, but they’re allowing 2.7 touchdowns overall per game. Because McCaffrey is a threat not just in the rushing attack but also in the passing game, his scoring two touchdowns isn't hard to imagine.

This is especially true when you consider that the 49ers will likely rely on McCaffrey more than their young quarterback, as we broke down in our Brock Purdy NFL player props.

Be careful where you place this wager, as some of our best sportsbooks have this price listed as short as +140. We wouldn’t play this any lower than +150, but we especialy like these +175 odds via FanDuel.

Christian McCaffrey player prop picks made Saturday at 9:41 a.m. ET.

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Written By:
Philip Wood
Phil is a Sports Betting Analyst for Sportsbook Review and BettingPros.com, specializing in NFL and college football. He previously covered college football and college basketball for CanesInsight.com, where he also hosted the College Football Pick 'Em podcast. Phil is always looking for value, especially on lines that just seem too good to be true. His belief is if a line doesn't make sense, just assume that Vegas knows something you don't. An alumnus of The U, Phil always holds out hope that the next head coach will be the one who turns the football program around. Some would call him a frontrunner for his love of the Yankees and the Celtics, but he's also a diehard Detroit Lions fan and will never forgive the refs for the blown pass interference call against the Cowboys in 2015.