Riding a ten-game winning streak, the San Francisco 49ers host the Seattle Seahawks on Saturday in the NFC Wild Card round. San Francisco, who finished as the NFC’s No. 2 seed, swept Seattle during the regular season, outscoring the Seahawks 48-20 in the two meetings.
Of course, if you’re neither a 49ers nor Seahawks fan, a great way to have a rooting interest is in the ever-so-popular player props. With that in mind, I’m looking at a member of the Niners’ backfield, but not whom you might think.
49ers RB Elijah Mitchell OVER 36.5 Rushing Yards
Returning from a sprained MCL, Elijah Mitchell looked explosive, running for 55 yards and two touchdowns on five carries in last Sunday’s victory over the Arizona Cardinals.
Before Week 12’s injury, the 24-year-old saw a near-even split in carries with starter Christian McCaffrey and remains a favorite of head coach Kyle Shanahan.
This week, Mitchell draws a glorious matchup against a Seattle defense that has been gashed on the ground, allowing a league-worst 138.0 rushing yards per game since Week 10. That bodes well for the former Louisiana standout, who has topped his current 36.5 rushing yards prop in four of his past five games.
McCaffrey may earn most of the headlines, but don’t sleep on Mitchell on Super Wild Card weekend.
