Ricky Dimon
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Christmas may fall on a Wednesday this year, but that isn’t stopping the NFL from stealing the NBA’s thunder and infiltrating the yuletide sports schedule. Five days of football during Week 17 include a pair of games on Christmas, starting with Kansas City visiting Pittsburgh before Houston hosts Baltimore. With the both teams leading their respective divisions, Chiefs-Steelers in an especially intriguing contest. Which players will rise to the occasion and bring the gift of a TD to their team?
With the opening game of Week 17 set for 1:00 pm ET on Netflix, it’s time to take a look at my Chiefs vs Steelers TD scorer best bets. Also, be sure to check out our full NFL predictions.
Chiefs vs Steelers touchdown scorer pick: Xavier Worthy, WR, Chiefs (+250)
Odds available at FanDuel Sportsbook at time of publishing.
It’s not like Worthy is going to win Offensive Rookie of the Year, but where would the Chiefs’ offense be if they had not traded up to the first round to get him? Not in a good place – that’s for sure. Worthy is the team leader among wide receivers in catches (51), targets (89), yards (559) and touchdowns (5). The former Texas standout has also rushed for 3 TDs, including in Week 15 against Cleveland. He has found the endzone in 4 of the last 9 contests, including once this past week during a 27-19 victory over Houston. Kansas City now faces a Pittsburgh squad that is in the bottom half of the league in passing defense (220.7 yards per game allowed) and has surrendered 19 touchdowns through the air. I will happily back Worthy to score at lofty +250 odds.
Check out our Kansas City Chiefs vs Pittsburgh Steelers predictions for Christmas Day
Chiefs vs Steelers touchdown scorer pick: Najee Harris, RB, PIT (+170)
Odds available at DraftKings Sportsbook at time of publishing.
Harris has also scored 5 TDs this season and all 5 have come in the last 10 outings. The 2021 first-round pick failed to deliver a touchdown in either Week 15 or Week 16, but both of those were negative game scripts for Pittsburgh. The Steelers got clobbered by both the Eagles and the Ravens, so their RB1 was limited to a total of 15 rushing attempts in those contests. Fortunately, they now face an opponent that rarely blows teams out. And as a 2.5-point spread suggests, this Christmas Day contest is expected to be competitive. Harris will almost certainly get a lot of touches, especially since sometimes the best defense against K.C.’s offense is to keep the clock moving and force Mahomes to be off the field as long as possible. Count on the home team feeding Harris in the red zone, too. At +170, he also has great value.
Lock in our best Chiefs vs Steelers player prop bet, targeting Patrick Mahomes
