NFL Sunday Night Football Anytime & First TD Scorers: Chiefs vs. Seahawks
On Sunday night, the Kansas City Chiefs face the Seattle Seahawks. Millions of dollars will be bet on this game. But which touchdown prop bets should you take? Let's dive into my NFL Sunday Night Football anytime & first TD scorers for Chiefs vs. Seahawks.
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NFL Sunday Night Football Anytime & First TD Scorers: Chiefs vs. Seahawks
(Odds courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook)
Kansas City Chiefs First TD Scorer: Kenneth Walker III (+200)
No free-agent move was more significant than the Chiefs signing Kenneth Walker III. Kansas City's rushing attack has become elite, while Seattle has become one of the NFL’s worst rushing teams this season. The former Michigan State star has eight offensive touchdowns this season, second-most in the league, even though the Chiefs already had their bye in Week 5.
Last week, Walker had two rushing touchdowns in the win over the Los Angeles Chargers, including the team's first touchdown of the contest. The superstar has scored the first Kansas City touchdown in two of the past three games. Meanwhile, the Seahawks have surrendered six offensive touchdowns to opposing running backs. Half of those six touchdowns have come as the first score for Seattle's opponent in three of the past four games, including last week.
Seattle Seahawks First TD Scorer: AJ Barner (+650)
Let's take a dart-throw pick and bet on AJ Barner to score the first Seahawks touchdown on Sunday night. The veteran hasn't found the end zone this season. However, Jaxon Smith-Njigba has accounted for 63.6% of the team's receiving touchdowns. Yet, Barner had six receiving touchdowns last season, ranking second on the team. More importantly, Seattle recently lost Elijah Arroyo to a season-ending injury, opening up more tight end targets for Barner.
Why do I like backing Barner to score the first Seahawks touchdown at +650? Because of the matchup against the Chiefs. Kansas City has surrendered only four passing touchdowns. However, all four have gone to tight ends, making it the fifth-most receiving-touchdown position in the NFL. Evan Engram, Tyler Warren and Ian Thomas caught three of those touchdowns. All three were the first touchdowns of the game for the Chiefs' opponents.
Anytime TD Scorer: Jaxon Smith-Njigba (+115)
If the Seahawks lost Jaxon Smith-Njigba to an injury, their entire offense would collapse. The former Ohio State star leads the team in receptions (49), targets (66), receiving yards (717), receiving touchdowns (7) and first-down receptions (36), leading the league in every category but targets. His seven receiving touchdowns account for 63.6% of Seattle's total and 43.8% of the team's offensive scores. More importantly, the superstar has scored at least one touchdown in 66.7% of the games this season.
Furthermore, more aggressive bettors should back Smith-Njigba to score twice at +900. He has scored at least two touchdowns twice this season, matching the number of games without a touchdown. The Chiefs haven't surrendered a receiving touchdown to opposing wide receivers this season. However, they have faced five of the worst wide receiver units in the NFL. Expect Smith-Njigba to score at least once on Sunday night.
To Score 2+ Touchdowns: Kenneth Walker III (+425)
Normally, I give a second pick for an anytime touchdown scorer. However, we are shaking things up this week. Sunday night is a revenge game for Walker after the Seahawks chose to pay Rashid Shaheed over him this past offseason. Walker has been arguably the NFL’s top running back this year. His eight offensive touchdowns are the second-most in the league. More importantly, scoring twice isn't anything new for the superstar running back.
Walker has failed to find the end zone in only one game this season. By comparison, the former Michigan State star has scored two touchdowns in every other game, including three consecutive contests. Therefore, betting on him to score twice at +425 feels like easy money. Meanwhile, Seattle has surrendered two touchdowns to opposing running backs in two of their past three games, including last week. More aggressive bettors should back Walker to score three touchdowns at +1900.
Mike Fanelli is a featured writer at BettingPros. For more from Mike, check out his archive and follow him @Mike_NFL2.