NFL Wild Card: Best Prop Bets for Cowboys vs. Buccaneers
Wow. What a playoff weekend that was! But it's not over yet, we still have the last leg of "Super Wild Card Weekend," a special edition of "Monday Night Football" that pits the Dallas Cowboys against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. That means there's one more game during the Wild Card Round to offer some prop bets for.
Dallas is favored by 2.5 points with an over/under of 45.5. To be completely honest with you, I am not really sure how to handicap this game as I could see it unfolding in so many different ways. But what I love about prop bets is that we really don't have to worry about which team wins or loses or the total points. We just have to worry about individual performances.
And in that, I definitely have some confidence. So let's run through three of my favorite prop bets for Monday night's NFC Wild Card Game. Bet within your limits, but I have no problem making a unit bet on each of the following.
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Mike Evans Over 64.5 Receiving Yards (-115)
In Evans' last game (Week 17), he was targeted a dozen times. He caught 10 of those for a whopping 207 yards. In his last three games, he's averaging more than 106 receiving yards per game.
The Cowboys meanwhile allowed the ninth-most yards to WRs during the regular season, including 71 to Evans when these two teams met way back in Week 1.
This number (71) will work. Make the bet.
Dak Prescott Over 1.5 Passing Touchdowns (-110)
Prescott is on the hot seat with his lack of playoff wins, but I think he can have at least a solid game. He has after all thrown for two or more touchdowns in eight of his last 10 games.
Dallas is one of the better red-zone passing offenses. Meanwhile, Tampa Bay is one of the worst passing defenses in the red zone. The Buccaneers surrendered the fourth-most touchdown passes during the regular season.
Dalton Schultz Over 37.5 receiving yards (-114)
Let's put this very nicely and say that Tampa Bay has not been super stout against tight ends.
The Buccaneers allowed the 13th-most receiving yards to go along with nine touchdowns to the position during the regular season. Also recall that when Dallas played Tampa Bay played back in Week 1, Schultz burned the Bucs with seven receptions for 62 yards.
Schultz meanwhile has notched more than this number (37.5) in seven out of 15 games. However, he has fared worse on the road (30 receiving yards per game). So this is a bit of a tough bet, to be honest, but I feel like it's a pretty low hurdle. Furthermore, Schultz typically plays well in big games (he had seven catches for 89 yards against San Francisco last year in the playoffs), so I'm willing to take a chance.
— Written by Mark Strausberg, a member of the Athlon Network Contributor, who despite his youthful exuberance and good looks has been playing fantasy sports before Wildcats or Hoosiers even made it to VHS. Got a fantasy sports question or thought? Hit him up on Twitter @MarkStrausberg.
