Phil Agius
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The Christmas Day showdown between the Denver Broncos and the Los Angeles Rams (4:30pm ET, CBS) is not quite what the NFL schedule-makers had in mind when they pencilled it in as the centerpiece of the Christmas Day triple bill.
The Broncos were supposed to become a major force this season after adding QB Russell Wilson in a mega-trade, while the Rams were about to embark on a bid to win back-to-back Super Bowls. Instead, both teams arrive in Week 16 as Christmas turkeys, already eliminated from playoff contention with matching 4-10 records and 3 more games still to endure before their miserable 2022 seasons end.
Both teams will be hoping for a spark on Sunday afternoon, though, so let’s take a look at the best touchdown scorer bets to be made for the Broncos vs Rams matchup.
Be sure to check out our full Broncos vs Rams predictions
Denver Broncos touchdown scorer best bet: Greg Dulcich (+360)
Odds available at FanDuel Sportsbook at time of publishing.
While those betting on many of the Week 16 games will be worried about where there will even be a touchdown scored due to the winter storm, there are no such problems for the offenses in sunny California. The outlook for both teams might be depressing, but the weather conditions should be just fine. The Broncos offense will be back to normal this week too with the return of starting QB Russell Wilson, and while normal service for the Denver offense has been frankly awful for most of the season, Wilson had never looked better in a Broncos uniform than he did when he was hurt in the 34-28 loss to the Chiefs.
Tight end Greg Dulcich has at times looked likely to emerge as a favorite target for Wilson when everything is going well and he has value at +360 odds to score a touchdown against the Rams. Dulcich looked set to have a real breakout year when he was featured in the Broncos’ 21-17 win over the Jaguars in London, leading the team with 87 receiving yards. The rookie’s seam-stretching potential led the team to completely sideline expected preseason starter Albert Okwuegbunam this season and Dulcich has shown us why. He has had 40+ receiving yards in 5 of his 9 starts, clearing 85 twice, and while his only score came in October against the Chargers, it seems only a matter of time before he is in the end zone again. Dulcich had only 2 targets with backup QB Brett Rypien starting last week, but had seen 8 targets from Wilson in each of the previous 2 games, with 9 receptions for 127 yards.
Los Angeles Rams touchdown scorer best bet: Van Jefferson (+320)
Odds available at FanDuel Sportsbook at time of publishing.
Reports of a Baker Mayfield career revival may have been exaggerated. While the former Browns and Panthers quarterback did a phenomenal job with his late touchdown drive to win the game against the Raiders on his Rams debut, that probably said more about the Raiders than anything else. It was hard for Mayfield to get anything going against the Packers in his second appearance, when he posted just 111 passing yards and was sacked 5 times.
While he still looks prone to the occasional horrible interception (1 in 2 games for the Rams so far, 6 in 7 games for the Panthers) and has a bad habit of walking himself into slow-motion sacks, Mayfield can still throw a pretty ball. We saw that with that winning TD pass against the Raiders, which was hauled in by Van Jefferson, and Jefferson looks a likely TD scorer for the Rams on Sunday. With the phenomenal Cooper Kupp and Allen Robinson on IR and Ben Skowronek also likely to miss the rest of the season, Jefferson is pretty much the only established wideout left on the Rams. While he hasn’t been setting any receiving yards records this season, Jefferson has 3 TDs in 7 games and should get plenty of opportunities this week with LA likely to be in catchup mode.
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 Joe Burrow throws a touchdown pass to Ja’Marr Chase, wagers placed on Evans as an anytime touchdown scorer will cash. However, those placed on Rodgers as an anytime touchdown scorer will not (unless he also runs for a TD). 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 end zone himself, either as a runner or a pass-catcher.
In the age of the mobile quarterback, QBs such as Josh Allen, Patrick Mahomes, Lamar Jackson and Kyler Murray 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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