Ricky Dimon
NFL
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Week 18 in the NFL is here. No, that’s not a misprint; it’s actually Week 18. To commemorate these never-before-seen festivities, let’s issue the final regular-season installment of our best anytime touchdown scorer bets.
Which players are going to come up big with potential playoff spots on the line? Who is going to take advantage of bad defenses just going through the motions with nothing – except draft picks – to play for? Following a pair of Saturday games, we will find out most of the answers to those questions on Sunday.
With that, let’s take a look at 4 anytime TD scorer prop bets that should be made in Week 18.
Favored to score – Josh Jacobs, RB, Las Vegas Raiders (-105)
I don’t absolutely love backing a guy who is questionable at minus money, but in this case it’s the smart move. Hey, if Jacobs doesn’t play, at least you get your money back. But it sounds like he will be good to go for the Raiders’ home game against the Chargers on Sunday Night Football. Los Angeles is 30th in the league against the run and has allowed 21 touchdowns on the ground. Jacobs has 8 rushing TDs this season and 3 have come in the last 6 games. In the biggest game of the 2021 campaign, you have to think the Raiders’ running back is going to play – and play well.
Slight underdog – Stefon Diggs, WR, Buffalo Bills (+130)
The Bills secure the AFC East title with a win over the Jets (or a New England loss to Miami), so they will obviously be going all out on Sunday. It’s actually hard to believe that a player like Diggs is plus money against an opponent as bad as the Jets. I would actually play this all the way below even money to something like -110. New York is 29th in the NFL against the pass, 31st in yards per pass attempt allowed, and has given up 26 passing touchdowns. Diggs has 9 TDs this season, 2 in the last 3 games, and caught 8 of 13 targets for 162 yards and a score in the previous head-to-head matchup.
Bigger underdog – Terry McLaurin, WR, Washington Football Team (+175)
McLaurin has gone six consecutive games without scoring a touchdown. I hate the “he’s due” argument, but…he’s due! It’s the last week of the season for Washington, which won’t be heading to the playoffs; McLaurin doesn’t want to end it in the middle of this scoring drought. The Giants should be just what the doctor ordered to satisfy those hopes. New York is quite simply the worst team in football at the moment – if you only take the last five games into account as opposed to the whole 2021 campaign. The Giants are in the bottom half of the NFL in passing defense and have surrendered 27 TDs through the air. In the previous meeting between these two NFC East rivals, McLaurin caught 11 of 14 targets for 107 yards and a score.
Longshot – Jared Cook, TE, Los Angeles Chargers (+275)
Las Vegas is in the middle of the pack in passing defense, which means both Cook should be productive along with quarterback Justin Herbert. The Raiders are even worse when it comes to defending tight ends; they are allowing the 28th-most fantasy points to that position. In the Chargers’ first win over the Raiders, Cook caught 6 of 7 targets for 70 yards and a touchdown. He also reached pay-dirt three weeks ago against the Giants.
Anytime Touchdown Scorer FAQs
What does “anytime touchdown scorer” mean?
Anytime touchdown scorer is a popular player prop bet that NFL bettors can wager on throughout the season. But what is it, and how do you win?
As the name suggests, placing a wager on the anytime touchdown scorer market is when you tip a particular player to score a touchdown during a game. This can be a rushing or receiving touchdown for an offensive player, or you can wager on a team’s defense/special teams to score a touchdown by interception return and fumble return or kickoff and punt returns.
If your player or defense scores a touchdown, you win! The odds will differ from player-to-player depending on the sportsbooks’ calculated probability of that player scoring.
Does anytime touchdown scorer include passing touchdowns?
Not for a quarterback, no. A player must get into the endzone, himself, in order to qualify as an anytime touchdown scorer. If a quarterback throws a touchdown pass, only the player who caught it counts as the scorer. If Tom Brady throws a touchdown pass to Rob Gronkowski, wagers placed on Gronkowski as an anytime touchdown scorer will cash. However, those placed on Brady as an anytime touchdown scorer will not. See below for more on what the anytime touchdown scorer market means for quarterbacks.
What does anytime touchdown scorer mean for a QB?
For a wager on a QB to be an anytime touchdown scorer to cash, he must follow the same rules as a running back, tight end, or receiver. He must get into the endzone himself, either as a runner or a pass-catcher.
In the age of the mobile quarterback, QBs such as Kyler Murray, Lamar Jackson, Patrick Mahomes, and Josh Allen are often seen rushing in for a touchdown on any given Sunday. And don’t forget the occasional Philly Special, either. QBs can sometimes catch passes for TDs, too.
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