NFL player prop: No D for Deebo

In the penultimate week of the NFL’s regular season, teams facing each other can have vastly different motivations. Whereas the 11-4 49ers are looking to maintain first place in the NFC and earn a bye for the first round of the playoffs, the 4-11 Commanders are playing out the string for a coach whose days are likely numbered. Washington has unsurprisingly been made a two-touchdown home underdog, and its ravaged defense will struggle to contain the subject of our top prop:

The bet: Over 76½ rushing and receiving yards for 49ers wide receiver Deebo Samuel (DraftKings)

After exploding for 1,770 yards from scrimmage in the 2021 regular season, Samuel was deployed as a runner even more during San Francisco’s three playoff tilts. He cleared this number in each and finished with postseason totals of 154 receiving yards and 137 rushing yards — good for a per-game average of 97.

But Samuel’s production has been limited by injury for a second straight season. He suffered a shoulder fracture on his second carry in Week 6, preventing him from getting any yardage through the air and causing him to miss the next two games. He sits at 834 receiving yards in the current campaign, so he’ll need to average 83 over the last two games to reach the coveted 1,000-yard plateau.

Fortunately, the Commanders make for an ideal opponent. Their pass defense, which already allows the seventh-most yards per play, will be without both cornerbacks — Kendall Fuller and Benjamin St-Juste — as well as free safety Percy Butler.

Whether he’s catching passes or taking handoffs, Deebo should dominate.