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Washington Commanders running back Austin Ekeler celebrates his touchdown with quarterback Jayden Daniels and center Tyler Biadasz as we look at our First Touchdown Scorer Predictions for Thursday Night Football.
Washington Commanders running back Austin Ekeler celebrates his touchdown with quarterback Jayden Daniels and center Tyler Biadasz. Photo by Joseph Maiorana/Imagn Images.

Control of the NFC East is at stake as Week 11 gets underway this Thursday Night when the Philadelphia Eagles host the Washington Commanders. Who will be alone at the top come the final whistle? Both teams enter the clash among the top 10 in the Super Bowl odds.

Week 11 begins at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, PA at 8:15 p.m. ET on Thursday (Prime Video). The Eagles come into the game as 3.5-point home favorites at our NFL prop betting sites.

My first touchdown scorer predictions for Thursday Night Football this week will ride a recent trend of first touchdown scorers with longer odds in prime time. The most recent came last week from Miami Dolphins rookie wide receiver Malik Washington, who cashed a +7000 ticket to score first on Monday Night Football. 

Admittedly, I won’t be reaching that far down in the bag for my picks ahead of Thursday Night Football. I'm setting my eyes on two veterans with the ability to cash in on their lengthy odds. One who has recently returned from his injury, and the other will slide back down the depth chart as his teammates get healthy.

First touchdown scorer predictions Thursday Night Football: Week 11

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Commanders first touchdown scorer prediction: Austin Ekeler, RB ⭐⭐⭐

Best odds: +1500 via FanDuel | Implied probability: 6.25%

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The Commanders lead the league with 18 rushing touchdowns this season. Ekeler is responsible for four, and he's one of three Washington players with that total. He also scored the first touchdown for the Commanders against the Pittsburgh Steelers last week. 

The former Los Angeles Chargers running back has scored three times during the absence of Brian Robinson Jr. over the last two games. Robinson is set to return on Thursday, but Ekeler has remained relevant overall while being on the field for 51% of Washington's offensive snaps this season.

Meanwhile, Mike Spector is looking toward another member of the Commanders' backfield to score in his Jayden Daniels TNF player prop bets.  

It will be a tough road for any Commander to score this week, as Washington faces an Eagles defense that's allowing the fourth-fewest touchdowns per game this year (1.8).

Eagles first touchdown scorer prediction: Dallas Goedert, TE ⭐⭐⭐

Best odds: +2000 via FanDuel | Implied probability: 4.76%

Goedert came back last week after missing nearly a month with a hamstring injury. The veteran tight end caught only two passes in that game, but he managed to find the end zone once still.

The strength of this pick stems from the Commanders’ inability to keep tight ends from crossing the goal line recently. Washington has allowed three touchdowns to the position in the last two games. The Commanders have also allowed five touchdown catches overall across their last six contests. 

The matchup is also appealing to Esten McLaren, who's backing Goedert as part of his anytime touchdown scorer predictions for TNF.

It was hard for me not to go with Saquon Barkley (+400) here since he's scored the first touchdown in four of nine games this season. 

But given that long-shot picks have been scoring the first touchdown lately during prime time, let’s roll the dice and take the extra $160 profit from your $10 bet that happens again this week.

Spector is eyeing another Eagles star to score in his Commanders vs. Eagles prediction, as is Phil Wood in his Commanders vs. Eagles TNF prop bets and Saquon Barkley TNF player prop bets.

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