We’re only a couple days out from Christmas, but that doesn’t mean you can’t take three hours tonight and watch Monday Night Football. It’s actually a pretty compelling matchup between the 49ers and the Colts, with one team looking to cement its Wild Card spot and the other needing a win to cling to any hope of the postseason. There’s also a 44-year-old starting QB who was retired this time three weeks ago. So that’s fun, too.
The DraftKings Sportsbook offers several betting markets for this MNF clash and this article will be focused on the first touchdown scorer odds. Let’s break down a couple options and make a few picks.
49ers vs. Colts First Touchdown Scorer Prop Bets
Jauan Jennings First Touchdown Scorer (+850)
The Colts defense has been quite good at stopping the run this season, sitting fourth in the NFL in EPA per opponent rushing attempt (-0.08). As such, teams have generally preferred to throw the ball against Indianapolis, with the team’s opponents combining for a 61.1% pass rate that is the third-highest mark in the league. Obviously, the smart money is rightfully on Christian McCaffrey (+370) to score the first touchdown in tonight’s contest — and CMC is just as likely to do it through the air as he is on the ground. However, allow me to make a case for Jauan Jennings. Aside from far juicier odds, Jennings has found the end zone in five of the 49ers’ past six games, a span where the veteran wideout has registered six total touchdowns. This isn’t some sort of fluke, either. Jennings has seen at least one red zone target in all six of these contests and he leads San Francisco with 11 targets inside the 20-yard line since the beginning of Week 9. Add in the absence of Ricky Pearsall (knee/ankle), and Jennings just keeps looking better and better.
Tyler Warren First Touchdown Scorer (+1600)
It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to understand why Jonathan Taylor (+350) is the only Colts player with first touchdown odds that are lower than 16/1. That’s what happens when you lead the NFL in total touchdowns (18). That said, the presence of Taylor creates value for the rest of Indianapolis’ roster, and that’s especially true in this matchup with the 49ers. San Francisco has allowed 71.4% of it’s opponent touchdown to be scored through the air this season — the highest rate of any team in the league. So, statistically speaking, it makes a little more sense to back a Colts’ pass-catcher in this market than it normally would. My eye is on Tyler Warren, who not only leads Indianapolis in red zone targets in 2025 with 16, but who also led the team in targets last week with Philip Rivers (+9000) under center. Remember, Warren does have a rushing touchdown under his belt in his rookie campaign and he was used in a variety of ways near the goal line in his time in college.
