First Touchdown Scorer Predictions for Thursday Night Football: Seahawks vs. Cardinals
There could be a whole lot of passing early when the Seattle Seahawks and Arizona Cardinals clash tonight at 8:15 p.m. ET (Prime Video), and that's factored heavily into our first touchdown scorer predictions for Thursday Night Football.
Our NFL picks are eyeing two Seahawks pass-catchers in Jaxon Smith-Njigba and AJ Barner, with the latter an intriguing long shot to score first. Constant red-zone threat Trey McBride is also featured from the Cardinals.
The Seahawks are the 1.5-point betting favorite for this NFC West matchup at State Farm Stadium to kick off our NFL predictions for Week 4.
🏈 First touchdown scorer predictions for Thursday Night Football
NFL touchdown scorer picks based on latest NFL odds; subject to change.
- Trey McBride to score the first touchdown (+1000 via bet365) ⭐⭐⭐
- Jaxon Smith-Njigba to score the first touchdown (+950 via DraftKings) ⭐⭐⭐
- AJ Barner to score the first touchdown (+2800 via DraftKings) ⭐⭐
💡 More Thursday Night Football picks
💰 Best Seahawks vs. Cardinals first touchdown scorer bets
Here are my favorite Seahawks vs. Cardinals first touchdown scorer picks for Thursday Night Football.
🟢 Seahawks first touchdown scorer prediction: Jaxon Smith-Njigba, WR (+950) ⭐⭐⭐
Like our other pick below, this bet is rooted in volume. But it's volume of a different kind, as instead we're hoping to capitalize on the opposition's clear tendency to exploit the Arizona Cardinals' glaring weakness.
The Cardinals' pass defense is woeful. It's allowing the third-most passing yards per game (264.3) despite all of the team's three contests so far being close and within one score.
A clear desire to pounce on Arizona's pass-funnel ways has led to the Cards needing to deal with a league-high 79 targets to receivers. That makes the Cardinals one of just two teams at 75-plus targets, with the Denver Broncos in third at 69.
It's a tendency that brings all top Seahawks pass-catchers into play to score first - none more prominent than Jaxon Smith-Njigba, who leads the team with 29 targets, far ahead of Cooper Kupp at 15.
Smith-Njigba reaching pay dirt first would translate to a $95 profit on a $10 bet with an implied probability of 9.52%.
Our Gary Pearson also thinks Smith-Njigba is set to thrive and explains why in his Seahawks vs. Cardinals prediction.
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🌵 Cardinals first touchdown scorer prediction: Trey McBride, TE (+1000) ⭐⭐⭐
Trey McBride leads the Cardinals in targets through three games, and it's not especially close. He sits at 24 with Marvin Harrison Jr. a fair distance back at 17. More importantly for our purposes, he's matched Harrison in red-zone looks with both pass-catchers getting three so far - and McBride turning one into his first touchdown of the season.
That came after he finished seventh among all pass-catchers last season with 20 red-zone targets, which improves to third when we focus on tight ends. Even better, he tied for the position lead in targets inside the 10-yard line during the last campaign.
So now one of the league's most heavily used tight ends where it matters most gets to face a Seahawks defense tied for the most touchdowns given up to TEs so far this season (three).
If McBridge crosses the goal line first, a $10 wager at these +1000 odds through bet365 would lead to a $100 profit with an implied probability of 9.09%.
If you're liking McBride's matchup but don't want to take on the risk that always comes with this first-touchdown bet, our Esten McLaren is also favoring him in his anytime touchdown scorer predictions for Thursday Night Football.
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🎯 Best long shot to score first touchdown: AJ Barner, TE (+2800) ⭐⭐
Much of the same thinking used for the Smith-Njigba pick applies here, though as the far longer odds from one of our best sports betting sites imply, this bet requires a little more hoping and dreaming.
But that's the fun of this market, as long as it's approached with the proper sprinkle. And if we assume the Seahawks will be looking to fire away at a woefully leaky Cardinals secondary, that approach will require spreading the ball around to everyone, very much including tight end AJ Barner.
Seattle pass-catchers have been given eight red-zone targets in total early this season, and Barner was on the receiving end of one that he turned into a touchdown. He's efficient with his red-zone chances, too, having scored four times last year on seven targets.
If this long-shot play cashes at these +2800 betting odds from DraftKings, a $10 wager would lead to a $280 profit with an implied probability of 3.45%.
📈 Thursday Night Football first touchdown scorer odds
Our NFL player prop odds tool shows the best odds for every market across legal sportsbooks in your area.
📺 How to watch Thursday Night Football: Seahawks vs. Cardinals
- When: Thursday, Sept. 25
- Kickoff: 8:15 p.m. ET
- Where: State Farm Stadium (Glendale, Ariz.)
- How to watch: Prime Video
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