Three games on Christmas Day, capped off with the battle of the year in San Francisco. Plenty of drama on hand with anticipation of who scores first in each game, be it the Eagles hosting the Giants, Ravens in San Fran, or the opener in Kansas City with the Chiefs hosting the Raiders. There’s a big board of players to choose, so here are the best value plays for Christmas first touchdown picks!
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Raiders-Chiefs Christmas First Touchdown Picks
Kansas City Chiefs Touchdown Scorer
The Chiefs offense is the story this year but not for the typical storyline of domination. There have been major concerns with a unit averaging just 20 points per game under Patrick Mahomes. They take on a cornered Raiders team with nothing left to play for except spoiling Christmas for the Chiefs. A division game but Vegas still may be without both Josh Jacobs and Maxx Crosby. Either way, the Raiders would be hard pressed to score first going against the real hero of Kansas City’s season — the defense.
The best play is focusing on Kansas City and their best option outside of Mahomes. While Travis Kelce is less than 100 yards away from tight end history, the team is best fit feeding the rock to Isiah Pacheco. He slides in just under 5-1 to score first on BetRivers and will be the primary focus of the offense — at least early in the game. It’s not a typical Sunday afternoon game but rather a holiday day game, so expect this game to play to the under with Kansas City finishing right around their average of 20 points. Pacheco will get the first of only a few scores.
Raiders-Chiefs First Touchdown Picks: Isiah Pacheco +480 at BetRivers for 0.25 Units
Giants-Eagles Christmas First Touchdown Picks
Philadelphia Eagles Touchdown Scorer
The only way the New York Giants score first is if Tommy DeVito single handedly carries the load, because it’s not going to be Saquon Barkley. Not only has Barkley been kept out of the end zone in each of his last three games against the Eagles, but also held below 41 yards each game. The Eagles run defense has softened up but they are still good enough to limit Barkley once again, forcing the Giants to run their quarterback out of desperation.
Philadelphia loves to run their quarterback, especially after the bye as Jalen Hurts looks like his knee is healthy. He’s locked in each game with the tush push basically guaranteeing multiple goal line carries. While there are better numbers out there — primarily A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith — the most realistic option to score on multiple levels remains Hurts. He has a rushing touchdown in five of his last six games, including three with two rushing scores. Hurts is your best bet here, even at +380 on BetRivers.
Giants-Eagles First Touchdown Picks: Jalen Hurts +380 at BetRivers for 0.25 Units
Ravens-49ers Christmas First Touchdown Picks
San Francisco 49ers Touchdown Scorer
The 49ers get another chance to keep distance from the rest of the conference with a win over the AFC’s best in the Ravens. There are so many options to choose from within the 49ers offense making it a little overwhelming. We hit on George Kittle earlier in the year in an incredible buy-low spot and there might be a similar opportunity tonight with a teammate. It’s been two straight games without a score for Brandon Aiyuk after four in a row with a touchdown. That changes tonight against the Ravens defense that is going to look overwhelmed simply with so many weapons to cover.
By going scoreless the past two games, Aiyuk’s number is a tad inflated at +850 on BetMGM, and worth the play here. Anytime you take a 49ers player to score first there are three to four other reasons why you may go elsewhere. It’s the nature of the beast with four players at the top of their positions. But that’s the thing with Aiyuk; as streaky as he can be, when he’s on it’s as good as any receiver in the NFL — at least complimentary receiver. Expect San Francisco to work Deebo Samuel in short and quick routes, opening some deeper space for Aiyuk. Jump on him to score first.
San Francisco 49ers First Touchdown Picks: Brandon Aiyuk +850 at BetMGM for 0.25 Units
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