First Touchdown Scorer Predictions for Monday Night Football: Cowboys vs. Raiders TD Picks

My Cowboys vs. Raiders first touchdown scorer predictions for Monday Night Football try to take advantage of two weak defenses while featuring Tre Tucker, Jake Ferguson, and a long shot in Dak Prescott.

It's all part of our NFL predictions for Week 11, with the Cowboys entering as the narrow 3.5-point visiting favorites while traveling to Las Vegas for tonight's matchup that begins at 8:15 p.m. ET from Allegiant Stadium.

✅ First touchdown scorer predictions: Cowboys vs. Raiders

See all of our experts' NFL picks for Week 11.

💰 Best Monday Night Football first touchdown scorer bets

🔥 Tre Tucker, WR, Raiders (+1400) ⭐⭐⭐⭐

It's tempting to sprint toward Brock Bowers here for my Raiders pick, as he's only one game removed from erupting for 127 yards and three touchdowns. But for all their glaring warts defensively while fielding the league's third-worst pass defense (254.4 yards allowed per game), the Cowboys have actually been keeping opposing tight ends reasonably in check while giving up just three touchdowns thus far to the position.

So instead, let's turn to the Raiders' top option at a position that's repeatedly been roasting Dallas, with the Cowboys getting torched while permitting a league-worst 16 touchdowns to wide receivers. That's come despite the opposition targeting its wideouts just 152 times, the third-fewest.

Tre Tucker has been inconsistent, as has the entire Raiders' wide receiver corps. But we're still in the early days after the Jakobi Meyers trade, which frees up more targets for Tucker. Meyers was given five red-zone targets before his departure, and now Tucker can inherit much of that work against a feeble Cowboys secondary.

Putting down $10 on him to score first tonight could lead to a $140 return through these odds from bet365, with an implied probability of $140.

Elsewhere, Phil Wood also expresses concern over Bowers in his Cowboys vs. Raiders player props, and Esten McLaren sees value in a different Raiders receiver as part of his anytime touchdown scorer predictions for Monday Night Football.

🔥 Jake Ferguson, TE, Cowboys (+1000) ⭐⭐⭐

The Raiders' defense is eerily similar to Dallas' unit. While they're not on the Cowboys' level in terms of incompetence when defending anything airborne, Las Vegas has endured plenty of its own struggles too and sits 17th after giving up 214.2 passing yards per game. Las Vegas has been effective when facing tight ends too while giving up just two touchdowns and 375 yards to the position (the third fewest).

However, Jake Ferguson remains viable as a sheer volume play. The chances of the Cowboys getting into scoring position early against a defense that surrenders 24.4 points per game (20th) are favorable. That alone makes Ferguson appealing, as his 14 red-zone targets are second among tight ends and tied for sixth overall leaguewide.

If he comes through again down toward the goal line and scores first for his seventh touchdown this season, a $10 bet would lead to a $100 profit based on the +1000 betting odds from bet365, with an implied probability of 9.09%.

Our Gary Pearson is locking in on another Cowboys pass-catcher in his Cowboys vs. Raiders prediction.

🔥 Dak Prescott, QB, Cowboys (+3500) ⭐⭐⭐

There was a time earlier in his career when Dak Prescott was a more consistent threat as a runner. He strung together three straight seasons with six rushing touchdowns to begin his time in the NFL, two of which featured 300-plus rushing yards (topping out at 357).

He's understandably much more selective with his rushing now during his age-32 season after several injuries, though the veteran still isn't too far removed from 242 rushing yards in 2023. He'll likely finish around there again this season while sitting on 121 yards now, and Prescott faces a mediocre 15th-ranked Raiders run defense that's been susceptible to quarterback rushing touchdowns while giving up three, not far off the league-worst Kansas City Chiefs and their five. The signal-caller is the ideal candidate if you're looking for a viable long-shot pick to score first tonight.

A successful $10 bet using these juicy +3400 odds from FanDuel would lead to a $340 payout, with an implied probability of 2.86%.

👀 More Monday Night Football picks: Cowboys vs. Raiders 

📊 First touchdown scorer odds: Cowboys vs. Raiders

See live NFL odds for every game this season.

📺 How to watch Monday Night Football: Cowboys vs. Raiders

• Date: Monday, Nov. 17
• Kickoff: 8:15 p.m. ET
• Location: Allegiant Stadium (Paradise, Nev.)
• TV: ABC/ESPN

💡 More MNF predictions

• Cowboys vs. Raiders prediction
• Cowboys vs. Raiders player props
• Cowboys vs. Raiders anytime touchdown scorer predictions
• Cowboys vs. Raiders first touchdown scorer predictions
• Cowboys vs. Raiders same-game parlay
• CeeDee Lamb player props
• Ashton Jeanty player props
• Cowboys vs. Raiders AI predictions
• Cowboys vs. Raiders best bets