NFL Week 2 Odds, Picks & Predictions: First Touchdown Scorer (2022)

With Week 1 in the rearview mirror, we now look forward to Week 2. The prop market continues to explode in popularity when betting on pro football, which is most likely a direct result of lifelong fantasy football players finally entering the betting landscape as legalization spreads.

Below, I will walk through my favorite first touchdown scorer bets for Week 2. These plays are a half-unit each, or 0.5% of your betting bankroll.

Follow me on Twitter to get all my plays on days without full write-ups.

(Odds Courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook)

Donovan Peoples-Jones (+1000)

The Cleveland Browns host the New York Jets on Sunday as six-and-a-half point favorites. Serving as Cleveland’s number one passing option, Donovan Peoples-Jones is worth a stab at this prop, considering New York’s terrible secondary.

Last week, the Jets’ secondary got torched by Baltimore’s receiving core as they surrendered all three touchdowns through the air. The first score of the game was a 25-yard pass from Lamar Jackson to Devin Duvernay.

We could see another first score through the air in this matchup. In Week 1, the Browns’ first score was a passing touchdown to Kareem Hunt.

While It was just a one-yard screen, Cleveland demonstrated how unafraid they are to throw the football with Brissett throwing 34 times. He had one favorite target in that game: Peoples-Jones.

Peoples-Jones finished with 60 yards on six catches while leading the team in targets (11), which was five more than the second most-targeted receiver (Amari Cooper). New York’s offense was as bad as you would expect last week with Joe Flacco at the helm, evidenced by the fact that their only touchdown was scored with a minute left in the game.

At 10/1, Peoples-Jones is worth a shot to score first.

Jamaal Williams (+750)

The Detroit Lions host the Washington Commanders on Sunday as one-point favorites. Despite Jamaal Williams serving as Detroit’s backup halfback, his score odds are the same as D’Andre Swift’s.

Enter the Brian Windhorst meme “now why is that?”. First of all, Swift may not even play on Sunday because of a sprained ankle that has kept him from practicing all week.

Even if he does play, he could be limited. But, for the sake of argument, let us say that he plays 100% healthy on Sunday.

If that is the case, I still like Williams at 15/2 to score first. Swift and Williams are being utilized in a very similar manner to Chubb and Hunt in Cleveland.

Like the Chubb/Hunt tandem, Swift typically does all the work to get the team down to the end zone, and then Williams comes in to vulture the touchdown. We saw this play out twice last Sunday, with Williams scoring two one-yard rushing touchdowns, one of which was the first score of the game.

The Commanders got torched last weekend on the ground, allowing 6.83 yards-per-carry with halfback James Robinson scoring each of Jacksonville’s two touchdowns.

Best of luck!

Join the BettingPros Discord Chat for Live Betting Advice >>

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Podcasts | Stitcher | RadioPublic | Breaker | Castbox | Pocket Casts

Whether you're new to sports betting or a betting pro, our How To Bet and Sports Betting Strategy and Advice pages are for you. You can get started with our How To Section - including How to Avoid the 7 Biggest Sports Betting Mistakes - or head to a more advanced strategy - like Thinking Like an Expert Sports Bettor - to learn more.

Tony Sartori is a featured writer at BettingPros. For more from Tony, check out his archive and follow him @tony_sartori.