NFL Week 8 Touchdown Scorer Best Bets
Los Angeles Rams running back Kyren Williams extended his streak of games with at least one touchdown to 10 with a receiving score in Thursday night’s 30-20 victory over the Minnesota Vikings. Williams tied the team record for consecutive games with a touchdown. The Baltimore Ravens’ Derrick Henry, who has 10 touchdowns overall, will look to join Williams as the only players who have scored at least one touchdown each game this season on Sunday at the Cleveland Browns.
Below, our experts offer their best bets outside of Henry on the first touchdown and anytime scorers for Week 8, as well as one longshot anytime touchdown scorer to consider:
Predictions
Pick #1: Derrick Henry, RB, Baltimore Ravens (-295)
Pick #2: Allen Lazard, WR, New York Jets (+300)
Pick #3: First TD Scorer Jahmyhr Gibbs, RB, Detroit Lions (+550)
Pick #1: Derrick Henry, RB, Baltimore Ravens to Score a Touchdown (-295)
In the biggest shocker of Week 7, at least for the anytime and first touchdown scorer prop bets, the Ravens Derrick Henry did not find the end zone on the ground. Henry did rush for 169 yards on just 15 carries, averaging 11.3 yards per. It was the first time this season that Henry did not score a rushing touchdown in a game. However, he did have a 13-yard touchdown reception from Lamar Jackson in the fourth quarter of a 41-31 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Henry has rushed for 873 yards and eight touchdowns through seven games. That total is more than 200 yards ahead of the league’s second-leading rusher, San Francisco’s Jordan Mason. Henry remains a great betting option for scoring an anytime TD and first TD (+300) as the Ravens travel to Cleveland to take on the Browns. Cleveland allows 128 yards a game on the ground but only 87.5 yards per game in the last two contests. The team has surrendered eight rushing touchdowns this year but none in the previous two weeks. They haven’t allowed a 100-yard rusher yet this season. Henry will test all those stats on Sunday, and I'm confident he'll find the end zone at least once.
Pick #2: Allen Lazard, WR, New York Jets to Score a Touchdown (+300)
Lazard followed quarterback Aaron Rodgers from Green Bay to New York last season. The sixth-year wideout from Iowa State is on pace to have his most productive season. He has 30 catches for 412 yards and five TDs for a disappointing Jets team that has lost four in a row and is 2-4 overall.
Lazard had two TDs in a season-opening loss to the San Francisco 49ers and scored once in a 24-3 victory over the New England Patriots and in losses to the Vikings and Buffalo Bills. He was shut out of the end zone for the first time in three weeks in a 37-15 loss at the Pittsburgh Steelers Sunday night. His five TDs lead the team.
The Jets’ opponent this week is the lowly Patriots, a team they handled at home in Week 3. Lazard opened the scoring in that game on a 10-yard pass from Rodgers. He finished with three catches for 48 yards in that game.
Look for Lazard to find the end zone and add to his team-leading tally on Sunday in New England.
Pick #3: Jahmyr Gibbs, RB, Detroit Lions to score the First Touchdown (+550)
We recommended his backfield partner, David Montgomery, last week but it was Gibbs who did the bulk of the damage for the Detroit Lions in their last-minute 31-29 victory over the previously undefeated Minnesota Vikings. Gibbs ran for a season-high 116 yards and scored two TDs in the win.
Gibbs ran for 945 yards and 10 TDs as a rookie last year, and he exhibits all the tools to be Detorit’s feature back as needed. He leads the team with 464 yards rushing this year and is tied with Montgomery for the team lead with six total TDs.
The Lions are 4-0 when Gibbs has a touchdown. He has scored four TDs in the last three games and is a strong candidate to find the end zone first against the Tennessee Titans on Sunday afternoon.
