With the Eagles and Falcons playing in the NFL season opener tonight, there's no better time to take a look at what could be some very intriguing prop bets on Thursday Night Football.


First Touchdown Scorer:

Someone is going to score the first touchdown of the NFL season, but who will it be? Both of these teams are loaded with weapons on offense, so that leaves a ton of possibilities. For the Falcons, the immediate thought for most is probably Julio Jones. The only problem is, Jones doesn't score an abundance of touchdowns. He's only scored double-digit touchdowns one time in his career and last season he only had three scores. 


Jones (+850) has the same odds as starting running back Devonta Freeman, meaning it might be wise to look at Atlanta's second and third receivers. If you think the Falcons score the first TD, there's a ton of value in Mohamed Sanu (+1100) and rookie Calvin Ridley (+1700).


On the Eagles side, Nick Foles' top target is tight end Zach Ertz (+900). With looming questions surrounding the Eagles backfield and receiving corps, leaving them out of the equation at this point seems logical.


If you want to get really risky, you could also bet on Foles scoring on a repeat of the Philly Special at +6000.

Last Touchdown Scorer:

Many expect this game to be fairly close, which means down the stretch and close to the goal line, teams will probably favor the run. Although there are questions around Eagles starter Jay Ajayi (it's looking more and more like he will play), you might want to consider the shifty Darren Sproles (+2000), who always seems to find a way into the end zone, especially late in the game. 

For the Falcons, it seems more clear cut here. Last season in the red zone, Freeman had 34 rushing attempts while Tevin Coleman had 23. Inside the 5-yard line, the ratio gets even greater, with Freeman at 14 attempts to Coleman's six. Although Freeman's odds are +750 compared to Coleman's +1100, the numbers favor the starter's chances in this spot.
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​If you're looking for a long shot here, Falcons tight end Austin Hooper (+2400) could be a good pick. He had nine red-zone targets in 2017.
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​Winning Margin:

Both of these teams have talented offenses. Although it's anticipated to be a close game, the Over/Under is set at 45, so lots of points are expected to be scored. That being said, a good winning margin bet to consider would be the 7-12 range as it pays out +650 for the Falcons and +550 for the Eagles.
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​There are dozens of similar prop bets for opening night, which, if you guess right, could pay off big. 

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David Kaestle is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, David also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username davekaestle. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in their articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.