First Touchdown Scorer Predictions for Thursday Night Football: Steelers vs. Bengals

My first touchdown scorer predictions for Thursday Night Football are locking in on two Cincinnati pass-catchers and a passing-down specialist in Pittsburgh's backfield ahead of tonight's Steelers vs. Bengals divisional clash at 8:15 p.m. ET (Prime Video).

My NFL picks focus on one of Tee Higgins, Kenneth Gainwell, or Noah Fant to open the scoring as part of our NFL predictions for Week 7.

🏈 Thursday Night Football first touchdown scorer predictions

NFL first touchdown scorer picks for Thursday Night Football; odds subject to change.

• Bengals pick: Tee Higgins, WR (+1400 via DraftKings) ⭐⭐⭐
• Steelers pick: Kenneth Gainwell, RB (+1000 via FanDuel) ⭐⭐⭐
• Best long shot: Noah Fant, TE (+2500 via bet365) ⭐⭐

💰 Best Steelers vs. Bengals first touchdown scorer bets: Thursday Night Football

Our NFL player prop odds tool shows the best odds for every market across legal sportsbooks in your area.

🐯 Tee Higgins, WR, Bengals (+1400) ⭐⭐⭐

Tee Higgins has made his many dollars in the NFL while primarily establishing himself as one of the league's preeminent jump-ball specialists. The 6-foot-4, 220-pound wideout showcased that ability repeatedly en route to a career-high 10 touchdowns just last season.

Of course, that came before Joe Burrow went on the injured reserve again, with the Bengals' offense seemingly joining him. But as odd as it seems to view 40-year-old Joe Flacco as a savior, his arm strength and accuracy alone make him a sizeable upgrade over anyone else the Bengals could trot out in Burrow's absence, even if the signal-caller's feet are made of stone at this point.

The entire Cincinnati offense will benefit, very much including Higgins, who tied a season high with eight targets last week during Flacco's first start with the Bengals. Now Higgins gets a chance to exploit a 27th-ranked Steelers pass defense (245 yards allowed per game) and do so while remaining the primary pass-catching option around the goal line. Higgins leads the Bengals in targets inside the 10-yard line (three). He's part of our expert touchdown predictions for Week 7 as a result.

A $10 bet at these +1400 betting odds from DraftKings would lead to a $140 profit if Higgins scores first, with an implied probability of 6.67%. Elsewhere, Gary Pearson is eyeing a Steelers wideout in his Steelers vs. Bengals prediction.

🏗️ Kenneth Gainwell, RB, Steelers (+1000) ⭐⭐⭐

The risk here is clear, and it's the mere presence of a now healthy Jaylen Warren. Kenneth Gainwell erupted for 134 yards from scrimmage a few weeks back when Warren was surprisingly listed as inactive.

But Gainwell still gets a chunk of the carries every week in the Steelers' backfield. If we exclude that week against the Minnesota Vikings when Warren was out, he's averaging 5.5 carries per game. That workload sounds modest until we combine it with Gainwell's consistent involvement as a pass-catcher, and his versatility is the weapon the Steelers look to utilize. He's tallied three games with five-plus targets, and more critically, Gainwell has been given six looks in two straight outings.

He brings that usage into a matchup against a Bengals defense that's allowed the most receiving touchdowns leaguewide to running backs (four), and the fifth-highest yardage through the air (278). A $10 wager using these +1000 odds from FanDuel would lead to a $100 payout, with an implied probability of 9.09%.

Our Esten McLaren is looking toward the opposing backfield in his Steelers vs. Bengals anytime touchdown scorer predictions.

🎯 Noah Fant, TE, Bengals (+2500) ⭐⭐

The Bengals will take a journey a little further down their tight end depth chart after placing Mike Gesicki on the injured reserve with a pectoral issue. 

Noah Fant and Tanner Hudson are on the next rung. Both will likely get action, but Fant is the favorite to receive the larger share of snaps and balls thrown his way. It's clear there's trust in him, as Fant has been targeted on 30% of his pass routes this season.

Fant has scored once this campaign, but he's shown throughout his career that the veteran can be productive in a larger role while logging four seasons with 500-plus receiving yards. And he now becomes the short-to-intermediate safety valve for the slow-footed Flacco, making Fant potentially a frequent option when the aging QB is under pressure.

That bodes well for Fant as a long shot in our first touchdown scorer predictions for Thursday Night Football, as the Steelers have given up the seventh-most yards to tight ends. If he scores first, a $10 bet through these +2500 odds from bet365 would return a $250 profit with an implied probability of 3.85%.

🎟️ Steelers vs. Bengals most-bet first touchdown scorers

Here are the top players generating bets to score the first touchdown tonight, via BetMGM.

📊 Steelers vs. Bengals first TD scorer odds: Thursday Night Football

Latest NFL odds updated live in real time.

📺 How to watch Thursday Night Football: Steelers vs. Bengals

• Date: Thursday, Oct. 16
• Kickoff: 8:15 p.m. ET
• Where: Paycor Stadium (Cincinnati)
• TV: Prime Video