Chiefs vs. Raiders First Touchdown Scorer Picks: 3 Juicy Bets for Monday Night Football
Week 5 of the 2022-23 NFL season is almost behind us, but we’ve got one more enticing matchup to go before we can turn the page to Week 6. On Monday Night Football, the Kansas City Chiefs and the Las Vegas Raiders will face off in what should be a high-scoring affair.
There’s no better way to cap off a weekly slate in the NFL than by hitting a juicy first touchdown scorer bet on Monday Night Football. So, let’s check out the three players I’m eyeing to score the first TD in Monday night’s AFC West showdown.
Davante Adams +850
The Chiefs have the best rush defense in the NFL through four games, as they’re allowing a league-low 65.8 yards per game on the ground. If the Raiders are going to keep up with Patrick Mahomes and this high-powered offense, it has to be through the air.
That’s good news for Davante Adams fantasy owners. The star wide receiver is averaging nearly 12 targets per game with his new team, and he’s found the end zone three times in four games. Las Vegas needs to be aggressive in the first quarter to avoid an early deficit, so I think Adams will be heavily involved in the first few drives of the game.
Darren Waller +1800
After kicking off the season with 79 receiving yards in Week 1 and 50 in Week 2, Darren Waller has sputtered in the pass-catching department since with just six catches and 46 yards over the last two weeks. That needs to change Monday night if the Raiders have any hope of keeping up with the Chiefs.
As I stated above, I expect this to be a pass-heavy game plan for the Las Vegas offense. Although Waller has only one receiving touchdown so far this season, it makes no sense that he’s priced behind Hunter Renfrow (+1700) and equal to backup tight end Foster Moreau (+1800) to score the first touchdown.
I’ll take the value on an elite red zone weapon in what should be a pass-happy first quarter for the Raiders.
Jody Fortson +3000
When looking at this Kansas City offense, most bettors are going to target Travis Kelce (+650), Clyde Edwards-Helaire (+700), or JuJu Smith-Schuster (+1000) to score the first touchdown on Monday night.
But not me.
Jody Fortson, the backup tight end in this offense, is almost strictly used in the red zone as a pass-catcher. He’s received just three targets over the first four games of the season, but he’s turned two of them into touchdowns. Kelce has scored only one more TD than Fortson despite his 34 targets and 26 catches so far this season.
When the Chiefs reach the red zone, Andy Reid loves to use his stars as decoys. That opens up the middle of the field for players like Fortson, who is a prime candidate to score on one of the Chiefs’ patented tight end counters near the goal line. Give me 30/1 on the player whose one job in the passing game is to score touchdowns inside the 10.
All betting odds courtesy of FanDuel as of 10/10.
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