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Fantasy football start em, sit em MNF lineups advice for Panthers vs. 49ers on Monday Night Football in Week 12 (2025). NFL matchups analysis and MNF starts/sits.
Don't look now, but the Carolina Panthers have quietly jumped out to a 6-5 record and are in NFC playoff contention. Carolina has been among the worst teams in the NFL over the last few years, but this gritty squad will get the chance to show out in primetime against the mighty San Francisco 49ers. The stakes are high, and many fantasy managers will have matchups decided in this final game of Week 12.
Below, read about the fantasy football outlooks for key players like Tetairoa McMillan, Jauan Jennings, Ricky Pearsall, Rico Dowdle, George Kittle, Brock Purdy, Bryce Young, and more. Which Panthers and 49ers players should you start or sit in Week 12?
We will bring you Monday Night Football analysis all season, focusing on who to start, who is on the fence, and who should find the bench. Good luck in Week 12, RotoBallers!
Be sure to check all of our fantasy football rankings for 2025:- 2025 fantasy football rankings
- Running back (RB) fantasy football rankings
- Wide receiver (WR) fantasy football rankings
- Tight end (TE) fantasy football rankings
- Quarterback (QB) fantasy football rankings
- FLEX fantasy football rankings
- Defense (D/ST) fantasy football rankings
- Kicker (K) fantasy football rankings
- Dynasty fantasy football rankings
Carolina Panthers at San Francisco 49ers
Monday, November 24th, 8:15 PM ET
Matchups We Love
WR Tetairoa McMillan
McMillan is coming off a career performance in Week 11 in which he totaled eight catches for 130 yards and two touchdowns. Now, he gets a fantastic matchup against the 49ers' secondary on Monday night. Michael Wilson just torched this San Francisco secondary for 185 yards last week. So, make sure to keep the rookie in your lineups this week.
#Panthers WR Tetairoa McMillan this season:
- 54 catches (1st for rookies)
- 748 yards (1st for rookies)
- 4 TDs (T-3rd for rookies) pic.twitter.com/v9aYDAy1tf— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) November 20, 2025
Matchups We Hate
49ers WRs
Although Ricky Pearsall only caught one pass last week, it was encouraging that he played 75% of the team's offensive snaps. As a result, fantasy managers should expect Pearsall to have better fantasy performances moving forward. Nevertheless, both Pearsall and Jauan Jennings will fall to WR3 status this week against the Panthers. Carolina has allowed the fifth-fewest fantasy points to opposing WRs this year.
Of these two 49ers WRs, Jennings is the better play, considering the Panthers rank around league average in terms of fantasy points allowed to slot WRs. The slot is where Jennings plays around 26% of the time. As for outside WRs like Pearsall, the Panthers have allowed the third-fewest fantasy points per game.
Other Notable Matchups
QB Bryce Young
Bryce Young had a career performance last week, throwing for 448 yards and three touchdowns. He'll look to continue that against a 49ers defense that ranks 27th in pass yards allowed per game. So, Young can be started as a QB1 in some 16-plus team leagues this week. San Francisco has allowed a QB to score over 22 fantasy points in four straight games.
QB Brock Purdy
In his first game back from injury last week, Brock Purdy finished as the QB6 in fantasy. He threw for 200 yards and three touchdowns en route to a 19.3 fantasy point day. Purdy will now come in as a low-end QB1 against the Panthers in Week 12. Carolina has allowed a top-10 fantasy QB finish in five of the last eight weeks.
PURDY. KITTLE. TD!
SFvsAZ on FOX/FOX Onehttps://t.co/HkKw7uXVnt pic.twitter.com/NYJ4D5djcV
— NFL (@NFL) November 16, 2025
Christian McCaffrey has been unreal for fantasy managers this year. He is averaging 25.8 PPR fantasy points per game and has finished as the overall RB1 in three of the last five weeks. So, you are starting McCaffrey in every format.
RB Rico Dowdle
Rico Dowdle will come in as a low-end RB1 this week against the 49ers. Although he has rushed for under 55 yards in back-to-back games, his rush share continues to be elite. He has carried the ball 25 times (Week 9), 18 times (Week 10), and 19 times (Week 11) over the last three weeks. Given that the 49ers just let Kyren Williams finish as the RB5 last week, Dowdle is a solid start in most formats.
George Kittle got his quarterback back last week and immediately had his best fantasy day of the season. He caught six passes for 67 yards and two touchdowns en route to a 24.7 PPR fantasy point day. Fantasy managers should continue to start him as a TE1 in this matchup against the Panthers.
Carolina Panthers Start/Sit Matchups
See the full stats in our Fantasy Football Matchup Ratings Projections
| Player Name | Start/Sit | Matchup Rating ▾ |
Game Matchup |
| Tetairoa McMillan, WR | Start | 115.4 | @ SF |
| Rico Dowdle, RB | Start | 113.2 | @ SF |
| Bryce Young, QB | Risky Start | 102.3 | @ SF |
| Xavier Legette, WR | Sit | 101.2 | @ SF |
| Chuba Hubbard, RB | Sit | 100.8 | @ SF |
| Tommy Tremble, TE | Sit | 100.3 | @ SF |
| Ryan Fitzgerald, K | Sit | 100 | @ SF |
| Jalen Coker, WR | Sit | 99.8 | @ SF |
| Brycen Tremayne, WR | Sit | 98.6 | @ SF |
| Jimmy Horn Jr., WR | Sit | 98.5 | @ SF |
| Ja'Tavion Sanders, TE | Sit | 98.4 | @ SF |
| Mitchell Evans, TE | Sit | 98 | @ SF |
| Trevor Etienne, RB | Sit | 96.6 | @ SF |
| Andy Dalton, QB | Sit | 96.6 | @ SF |
| Hunter Renfrow, WR | Sit | 96.5 | @ SF |
| Carolina Panthers, DEF | Sit | 89.1 | @ SF |
San Francisco Start/Sit Matchups
See the full stats in our Fantasy Football Matchup Ratings Projections
| Player Name | Start/Sit | Matchup Rating ▾ |
| Christian McCaffrey, RB | Start | 123.7 |
| Brock Purdy, QB | Start | 116.4 |
| Jauan Jennings, WR | Start | 111.5 |
| Ricky Pearsall, WR | Start | 108.1 |
| George Kittle, TE | Start | 107.5 |
| San Francisco 49ers, DEF | Start | 104.3 |
| Kendrick Bourne, WR | Sit | 100.2 |
| Matt Gay, K | Sit | 99.5 |
| Demarcus Robinson, WR | Sit | 99.5 |
| Marquez Valdes-Scantling, WR | Sit | 98.9 |
| Brian Robinson Jr., RB | Sit | 98.6 |
| Jordan Watkins, WR | Sit | 98.4 |
| Jake Tonges, TE | Sit | 97.8 |
| Skyy Moore, WR | Sit | 97.8 |
| Luke Farrell, TE | Sit | 97.7 |
| Mac Jones, QB | Sit | 94.5 |
| Kyle Juszczyk, RB | Sit | 93.4 |
| Jordan James, RB | Sit | 90.5 |
| Isaac Guerendo, RB | Sit | 90.5 |
| Greg Joseph, K | Sit | 90.2 |
Who Should I Start Tool
Not sure who to start? Check out the Who Should I Start tool:
Compare up to four players and we'll tell you who to start...
Who Should I Start? Who Should I Sit? Some common Week 12 fantasy football lineup decisions are regarding players like Tetairoa McMillan, Jauan Jennings, Ricky Pearsall, Rico Dowdle, and George Kittle,. But not to worry, we are here to help make these decisions and build winning lineups in Week 12.
Week 12 Player Decisions. Set your optimal fantasy football lineups for Week 12 of the 2025 NFL season. Our free Who Should I Start? tool will help make your fantasy football lineup decisions. Compare up to four NFL players, and we tell you who to start... all free! Get your winning lineups set, and make the right decisions.
Using The Tool. This is a simple tool but very powerful. The first step is to enter the player names that you want to compare. In the first box, search for the first player's name. In the second box, search for the second player's name. Compare up to four NFL players at once, and then click the Who To Start? button to see who the recommended starts are based on weekly fantasy football matchups.
Improvements For Who Should I Start? You may have noticed, we've added lots of great features for you to give you as much information as possible to win your fantasy football matchups each week. You'll see NFL player tiles with headshots and bye weeks, enhanced search results with data to compare, and a slick new interface. We hope you enjoy!
How It Works. Each week, our RotoBaller staff puts together their weekly fantasy football rankings and projections based on their research. That information is the core data that is powering the decision-making in this tool. When you search for player names, you will only see those players who are ranked. If someone is out for the week, they will not appear in the search results.
Scoring Formats. Fantasy football managers play in various types of leagues, and this tool allows you to choose whether it's PPR scoring, Half-PPR scoring, or Standard (Non-PPR) scoring. The second thing you want to do is to select the scoring format. There are three small radio buttons (small circles), so click on the scoring format you prefer. The results may vary based on the scoring format you select.
Popular Week 12 Searches. Curious to see some tough lineup decisions for Week 12 (2025)? Below you will find a list of some popular Who Should I Start? searches that RotoBaller readers are looking at this week. Click any of the links to see the result and recommendation.
Popular Week 12 Searches - Start/Sit Player Comparisons
Below are some popular Week 12 searches and comparisons from our 'Who To Start' tool:
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