To wrap up this NFL Sunday slate, the San Francisco 49ers travel to Orchard Park to face the Buffalo Bills, who are riding high coming off wins in six straight games ahead of Sunday Night Football Week 13, with their most recent victory coming in impressive fashion against the Chiefs. Kickoff is set for 8:20 p.m. ET and will be broadcast on NBC and Peacock.
Let’s get into my three 49ers vs. Bills player props and my NFL picks for Sunday Night Football.
49ers vs Bills Player Props for Sunday Night Football
- James Cook Over 63.5 Rushing Yards (-114, BetRivers)
- Christian McCaffrey Anytime Touchdown (-124, Caesars)
- Jauan Jennings Over 4.5 Receptions (-114, FanDuel)
James Cook Over 63.5 Rushing Yards (-114)
James Cook’s rushing yard total for the game stands at 63.5 yards, with some sportsbooks already increasing it by a yard or two. It’s a number that he’s hit in exactly half of his games, five of the past 10. There are plenty of reasons to be optimistic though, the first being the weather. Snow is expected at Highmark Stadium, so we should see both teams carry the ball more and limit passing.
We can also be confident given what we saw from the 49ers run defense last week. They’ve been relatively solid this season but last week they got decimated by Josh Jacobs as the Packers ran right over them.
The running back has managed to rush for 106 yards and find the end zone on three occasions so far this season. Cook should get volume and plenty of opportunity to go over this line.
Christian McCaffrey Anytime Touchdown (-124)
We know all about the qualities of Christian McCaffrey at this point. This is one of the best pass-catching running backs the league has ever seen and a man who was in the MVP conversation last year.
Since missing the opening eight games with tendinitis in his Achilles, he hasn’t looked quite the same. That makes sense given the injury and his age, but this is a “get right” game.
CMC is still getting volume and has had 43 carries in his three games since returning, as well as a further 16 targets. Given the weather forecast, we know the Niners will rush a lot, which should mean McCaffrey will likely receive a chance to score his first touchdown of the season against the Bills this week.
Jauan Jennings Over 4.5 Receptions (-114)
Despite the weather we know that both teams will still throw the ball at some points. We just need to pick the right receiver, one that will still get targets.
With that in mind it’s a toss-up between the Khalil Shakir for the Bills or Jauan Jennings for the Niners. But, with Jennings having the lower reception total, we’ll take him. We’ve seen Jennings become a key contributor for San Francisco this season with Brandon Aiyuk sidelined with an injury.
Since the Niners' bye week, Jennings has recorded 22 catches on 29 targets in three games. He’s averaging just under 10 targets per game, and with that level of volume, he should be able to haul in five or more passes yet again in this matchup, even in bad weather.
