Phil Agius
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This week’s TNF matchup breaks the trend by being a game between two teams that people might actually enjoy watching. We’ve had some clunkers in this slot (who can forget the Panthers vs Bears matchup from Week 10?) but we have a chance of some decent entertainment this week if the Seattle Seahawks can just step up on their last couple of efforts when they face the Dallas Cowboys. Picking TD scorers has not been easy in recent primetime games, with only 1 scored in the Bears-Vikings game on Monday and 3 (scored by just 2 players) in the Ravens-Chargers game on Sunday Night Football in Week 12, but this game (like most Cowboys games) has the potential to make betting this market more pleasurable again.
Be sure to also check out all of our NFL picks for this week’s game, but now let’s take a look at my favorite anytime touchdown scorer picks for Thursday Night Football.
Jaxon Smith-Njigba, WR, SEA (+375, Bet365)
The Seahawks look set to be without starting RB Kenneth Walker once more on TNF, which leaves rookie Zach Charbonnet leading their ground attack. He clearly has talent, but odds of just -110 with FanDuel aren’t great for a player who has yet to score a touchdown in the NFL, and nor does the best current offer of +130 with BetMGM for that matter. I much prefer the value we’re getting with another Seahawks rookie, wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba, who has nice big odds of +340 at FanDuel. Unlike Charbonnet, JSN has already opened his NFL account with 2 receiving TDs, which might not sound a lot, but it’s only 1 behind DK Metcalf, who has had 23 more targets but only 5 more receptions.
The former Ohio State star has not yet made the impact in the NFL of his college teammates Garrett Wilson and Chris Olave, but that kind of efficiency should earn him the trust of his quarterback and head coach and get him increasingly involved in the offense. The Cowboys’ top defensive backs will likely be deployed stopping Metcalf and Tyler Lockett, which should mean chances for Smith-Njigba to make his mark in the national spotlight.
Read our full Seattle Seahawks vs Dallas Cowboys predictions
Brandin Cooks, WR, DAL (+260 at FanDuel)
Brandin Cooks has reached the end zone in 4 of the Cowboys’ last 6 games after adding a 31-yard score in the Cowboys’ 45-10 Thanksgiving Day rout of the Commanders. With QB Dak Prescott having amassed 17 TD passes in his last 5 games, the opportunities should be there for Cooks to add to his tally against a Seahawks defense that has been almost equally vulnerable to scores by RBs and WRs this season.
Cooks has scored in 3 straight home games for the Cowboys and has a total of 13 catches on 15 targets for 245 yards and 2 TDs in those games against the Giants and Commanders. While there are no plus-money offers for the Cowboys’ leading receiver, CeeDee Lamb, to score a touchdown, Cooks can be had at much more attractive +260 odds with FanDuel, even though he is just +190 at BetMGM.
Check out our Week 13 NFL power rankings and Seahawks vs Cowboys player props picks
