Cowboys vs. Buccaneers: Wild Card Weekend Touchdown Scorer Prop Bet Picks (Monday)
To close out Wild Card Weekend, we have a Monday night matchup between the Dallas Cowboys and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. These two teams met in Week 1, with Tampa Bay winning 19-3, as both offenses struggled. However, plenty has changed since opening weekend.
Over the next 16 games, the Cowboys averaged 29 points per contest, while the Buccaneers scored fewer than 21 points in 62.5% of their matchups. Monday night's game should be different from the Week 1 contest.
Millions of dollars will get bet on this game. However, which touchdown prop bets should you bet? Let's take a look.
NFL Wild Card Weekend Betting Guide >>
Touchdown Scorer Prop Bet Picks: Cowboys vs. Buccaneers
All props are from DraftKings.
Cowboys First TD Scorer: Ezekiel Elliott (RB) +390
The Buccaneers have one of the top run defenses in the NFL, giving up 4.4 yards per rushing attempt and only six rushing touchdowns to running backs during the regular season. However, they haven't been perfect at stopping opposing running backs. The first touchdown scored against Tampa Bay has been by a running back in 17.7% of the games this year, including three weeks ago by James Conner. More importantly, Zeke led the team with 12 scrimmage touchdowns in 2022. More importantly, the star running back had the first Dallas touchdown in 41.2% of the games this season, including five of the past eight contests.
Buccaneers First TD Scorer: Mike Evans (WR) +550
Tampa Bay has struggled to run the ball this year, totaling only five rushing touchdowns during the regular season, the fewest in the NFL. However, they had 26 passing touchdowns, the 12th-most in the league. Evans led the way with a team-high six receiving touchdowns. Yet, it was his worst yearly performance since the 2017 season when he had five. While that is far from ideal, the star receiver has been Tom Brady's most consistent weapon this year. Evans scored the first Tampa Bay touchdown in 17.7% of the games this season, including the Week 1 matchup against Dallas. Meanwhile, the first touchdown scored against the Cowboys has been by a wide receiver in 52.9% of the contests this year, including two straight games.
Anytime TD Scorer: CeeDee Lamb (WR - DAL) +140
After Dallas traded away Amari Cooper in the offseason, Lamb became the No. 1 wide receiver for the Cowboys. The former Oklahoma star didn't disappoint, as he had nine receiving touchdowns this season, the most on the team. Furthermore, he had the third-most scrimmage touchdowns on the team behind the two star running backs. More importantly, Lamb has been on fire the past three weeks, averaging 8.7 receptions on 10.7 targets for 90.7 receiving yards and a touchdown per game. While he struggled in the Week 1 matchup against the Buccaneers, the superstar receiver had 11 targets. Meanwhile, Tampa Bay gave up 16 receiving touchdowns to wide receivers this year, the seventh-most in the NFL, including six over the past four weeks.
Anytime TD Scorer: Dalton Schultz (TE - DAL) +225
Typically I try to pick an anytime touchdown scorer from both teams, but Schultz is an excellent value this week. The star tight end was second on the team with five receiving touchdowns this season despite struggling with Dak Prescott out of the lineup. Similar to Lamb, Schultz has played well lately. Over the past two weeks, the star tight end has averaged 5.5 receptions on 9.5 targets for 44.5 receiving yards and a touchdown per game. Meanwhile, the Buccaneers surrendered nine receiving touchdowns to tight ends during the regular season, the fifth-most in the NFL. Furthermore, tight ends had two receiving touchdowns over the past two weeks against Tampa Bay, the most in the league during that span.
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Mike Fanelli is a featured writer at BettingPros. For more from Mike, check out his archive and follow him @Mike_NFL2.