For the second time this season, Aaron Rodgers squares off against the franchise he grew up supporting in the San Francisco 49ers. Rodgers delivered a win when the two teams met back in Week 3 and is expected to come out on top again with the Packers 6-point favorites.
The Niners are the team no one in the NFC wants to play right now though, having got hot in the second half of the season. Their Wild Card victory over the Dallas Cowboys was their 8th win in their last 10 games so they travel to freezing-cold Lambeau Field in good form.
These two teams have shown over the course of the year that they can pack a punch on offense with both ranking in the top five for total offense DVOA. That results in bettors having plenty of choice when it comes to the touchdown scorer markets and we’ve been through the field to pick out our favorite bets.
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First touchdown scorer: Deebo Samuel, WR, San Francisco 49ers (+700)
This turned out to be a harder decision than I imagined and eventually became a coin flip between the 49ers’ Deebo Samuel and Allen Lazard of the Packers. Lazard has really taken off in the second half of the season and has scored the opening touchdown in three straight Green Bay games. He’s priced at +900 and I will personally be having a small stake on him continuing his TD streak. But how can you pick almost anyone over Deebo Samuel, who is the sun that the 49ers’ offense revolves around?
He enters this game as, alongside Cooper Kupp, the most exciting offensive talent in the NFC right now having scored the 10th touchdown in a red-hot 9-game stretch against the Dallas Cowboys in the Wild Card round. His unique ability to hurt you through the air or on the ground marks him as a truly unique and dangerous talent.
As a receiver, Samuel leads the NFL in yards per reception with 18.2, leading to him recording 1,405 yards and 6 touchdowns on the year. Not bad, but it is his rushing stats which are truly staggering given he’s a wideout by trade. Samuel has 365 yards and 8 touchdowns on 65 rushing attempts, his powerful frame helping him to average 6.2 yards per carry.
He’s a handful for any defense to stop but a Packers defense that has struggled to stop the run all year could be in trouble. We saw the 49ers march down the field and score with their opening drive last week in Dallas and I’d expect them to do the same if they get the ball first.
Anytime touchdown scorer: Jauan Jennings, WR, San Francisco 49ers (+350)
Selecting the ever-improving Jauan Jennings to score a TD at anytime isn’t my way of saying that the Niners are going to walk this game because they won’t. I just like the odds for Jennings, who has carved out a nice little role for himself in the receiving corps.
With the 49ers being a run-first team, you have to take your opportunities when they come if you are a pass catcher, and Jennings has done just that. He’s had at least 3 receptions in 4 of his last 6 games and was a clutch target in the must-win game against the Los Angeles Rams in Week 18. He had 2 touchdown receptions on that afternoon, taking his tally for the season to 5 and is a nice option to get in the end zone again on Saturday.
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 end zone, 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 Tom Brady throws a touchdown pass to Mike Evans, wagers placed on Evans as an anytime touchdown scorer will cash. However, those placed on Brady 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 Patrick Mahomes, Lamar Jackson, Kyler Murray, and Josh Allen 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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