First Touchdown Scorer Predictions for Monday Night Football: Panthers vs. 49ers TD Picks

My Panthers vs. 49ers first touchdown scorer predictions for Monday Night Football are leaning heavily on three of the primary pass-catchers tonight.

I'm eyeing the scorching George Kittle, Tetairoa McMillan, or Xavier Legette to score first as part of my NFL predictions for Week 12.

kickoff from Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif., is slated for 8:15 p.m. ET (ESPN), with the 49ers entering as a 7.5-point betting favorite.

✅ First touchdown scorer predictions: Panthers vs. 49ers

See all of our experts' NFL picks for Week 12.

💰 Best Monday Night Football first touchdown scorer bets

🔥 George Kittle, TE, 49ers (+850) ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Injuries led to some unpleasant times earlier in the season for George Kittle. But he's now back to bowling over defenders, scoring, and dancing, all usually in that order though not always for the fun-loving tight end.

Kittle has scored four times in as many games, and he's been flying especially high during his two most recent performances. The six-time Pro Bowler registered a multi-touchdown game last week, his first such outburst since Week 6 last year. That came after catching all nine of his targets in Week 10 for a season-high 84 yards.

Now he'll take that sizzling streak against a Panthers defense that ranks ninth-worst in yards allowed to tight ends (718). He's also been highly efficient in the red zone while catching all eight of his targets there thus far while accumulating 67 yards and four touchdowns.

A winning $10 bet using these +850 betting odds from bet365 would lead to an $85 payout, with an implied probability of 10.53%.

If you're looking for a more conservative way to cash in on Kittle, our Gary Pearson is also eyeing the Pro Bowler's receiving yards Over in his Panthers vs. 49ers prediction.

🔥 Tetairoa McMillan, WR, Panthers (+1200) ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Tetairoa McMillan is getting the highest betting odds at the best sports betting sites to score first among wide receivers ahead of this game, but he still comes in at a tasty +1200 from DraftKings.

His price may have been a little higher still if McMillan wasn't fresh off a 130-yard outburst last week with two touchdowns. It was his second multi-touchdown effort of the season, and now the contested-catch maestro gets to take advantage of a 49ers defense giving up the sixth-most yards to the position, and the second-most receptions.

He sits tied for seventh leaguewide with 14 red-zone targets too, and the sure-handed wideout has hauled in nine of those looks (a 64.29% catch rate).

If McMillan scores first, a $10 bet would result in a $120 payout, with an implied probability of 7.69%.

Dustin Saracini is riding with McMillan too in his anytime touchdown scorer predictions for Monday Night Football.

🔥 Xavier Legette, WR, Panthers (+2500) ⭐⭐

We don't need to go far while doing our long-shot hunting, and let's move just one rung further down the Panthers' wide receiver depth chart.

Some of the same thinking we used for McMillan applies here, too. Clearly McMillan is the favored target among Panthers receivers and is priced accordingly after getting 89 balls thrown his way thus far to Xavier Legette's 46. But the latter has shown he can erupt sporadically, as he did just last week while turning eight targets into four receptions for 83 yards and a touchdown. That's an impressive average of 20.8 yards per catch, and he also posted 92 yards on nine grabs and 11 targets with a touchdown in Week 7.

The Panthers' best path to a road upset as a touchdown-plus underdog is to exploit the 49ers' weak pass defense through every means necessary, and Legette should remain involved. San Francisco ranks 28th while allowing 249.1 passing yards per game.

A $10 wager on Legette scoring first could lead to a $250 payout through these betting odds from bet365, with an implied probability of 3.85%.

Our Panthers vs. 49ers player props offer another way to take advantage of San Francisco's secondary while targeting Legette's quarterback.

📊 First touchdown scorer odds: Panthers vs. 49ers

See live NFL odds for every game this season.

📺 How to watch Monday Night Football: Panthers vs. 49ers

• Date: Monday, Nov. 24
• Kickoff: 8:15 p.m. ET
• Location: Levi’s Stadium (Santa Clara, Calif.)
• TV: ESPN