Grab a glass of eggnog, settle in with your folks around the fireplace and boot up your streaming service — we’re winding down on Christmas with some NFL action! This week’s Thursday Night Football matchup features an AFC West showdown between the Denver Broncos (12-3) and Kansas City Chiefs (6-9). While the home team’s offense will likely struggle without Patrick Mahomes or Gardner Minshew under center, Denver’s offense scores the ninth-most touchdowns per game and brings some intriguing betting lines to consider on the road here.
Here are my top anytime TD scorer bets for Broncos vs. Chiefs on TNF Week 17 on DraftKings Sportsbook!
RJ Harvey (-120)
While RJ Harvey is the chalkiest pick on the board for this week’s edition of Thursday Night Football, there’s a very clear reason for that. The rookie running back didn’t assume a full-time role until after incumbent starter J.K. Dobbins’ injury in Week 11, yet Harvey leads the team with 11 total touchdowns on the campaign — four more than the next-closest player, Courtland Sutton, who has seven to his name. What’s the reason for that? Well, head coach Sean Payton found the “joker” player he can deploy as a jack of all trades. Harvey is beginning to find his stride as a runner, while his receiving chops have been displayed even when he was playing in a part-time capacity.
Excluding the Week 11 game in which Dobbins was injured and Harvey split time with Jaleel McLaughlin and Tyler Badie, it’s obvious that putting the ball in the hands of the rookie second-round pick is a priority. Over the last four games in the lead role, Harvey has taken 56 carries and drastically outpaced his backfield mates of whom McLaughlin sees the second-most carries with 17. That’s a very reliable workload to begin with, but the red-zone role is even more important. Harvey has 13 rush attempts and three targets in the red zone over that span, scoring five total touchdowns across those four games. The next-closest player is McLaughlin with just three total red-zone touches. With a nose for the end zone, we’re looking at a reliable touchdown scorer in Harvey, even against what’s been a pretty strong Chiefs defense allowing just 2.1 touchdowns per game, fifth-best in the league.
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DEN Broncos D/ST (+500)
To compensate for the chalky play on Harvey above, there’s a long-shot pick I’m targeting that brings a ton of appeal in this one. Surprisingly, it’s not even a player. Instead, we’re looking towards the Broncos’ D/ST units to make a massive play and score a touchdown via fumble, interception, or kickoff return.
While Denver doesn’t force a ton of takeaways with just 0.8 per game, 27th in the NFL, the matchup this D/ST group sees looks too great to ignore. The Broncos’ defense is already extremely strong and undeniably one of the three best units in the entire league. Now, they get a date against the Chiefs’ QB3 at best since Patrick Mahomes is out for the season with an ACL tear and Gardner Minshew suffered a knee injury last week. Chris Oladokun took over at quarterback last week once Minshew went down and performed well for the most part, completing 11/16 passes for 111 yards. However, he took four sacks for 44 yards and the Kansas City offensive line is already a bit injured to begin with. Against a Denver pass rush with a league-leading 63 sacks, Oladokun will likely be pressured throughout the day and forced into making some mistakes. Whether a fumble return or a pick-six to reigning DPOY Pat Surtain II, Riley Moss or Talanoa Hufanga, there should be an opportunity or two for the Broncos’ defense to score. The +500 odds are worth a sprinkle.
Most-Bet Anytime TD Scorers for Broncos vs. Chiefs on TNF
TBD, stay tuned for updates once available!
