Prediction: There will be touchdowns scored Sunday. Guaranteed.
And a lot of them. Also guaranteed.
So we hereby present the First TD Scored in each of the Rams and Patriots games this season:
RB Todd Gurley had the first touchdown in four of the Rams’ first seven games this season, but has done that just once since. He may or may not have a knee injury - he says not - but his postseason production has been down. He is in the +700 range for first touchdown but we are shying away. Just not worth the money if he doesn’t get the touches early.
By the way, both of the Rams’ two playoff opponents scored the first TD in their games so far. On the year, LA scored the first TD in just nine of 18 games.
The Patriots, meanwhile, broke the plane first in 13 of their 18 games, and by six different players. Four of those have short odds, but the other two -- WR Cordarrelle Patterson and RB James Develin -- each did score TD No. 1 in back-to-back contests this season and should pay out well if they get the opportunity here. We are seeing Patterson at up to +3100 and Develin at up to +6500.
Now, don’t ignore the Any Touchdown Scored Prop. It pays a lot less, but you have a stake through the entire game.
Here are how the 126 TDs (regular season and postseason) scored by the Rams and Patriots break down by player:
You can see the usual suspects are at the top of the lists, but we are leaning toward the players that have started to find the end zone more often in the postseason for each team -- the Rams’ C.J. Anderson and the Patriots’ Rex Burkhead.
Anderson, a late-season pick-up, has four TDs in his four games as a Ram, including two in the Wild Card game. Burkhead has three postseason TDs for the Pats, after scoring just one in the regular season.
Pick: First TD Cordarrelle Patterson ($1/+3100)
Pick: First TD James Develin ($1/+6500)
Pick: Any TD C.J. Anderson ($5/+105)
Pick: Any TD Rex Burkhead ($5/160)