Last season, the Philadelphia Eagles charged their way to a Super Bowl title without meeting much resistance along the way. Only one team even gave them a scare: the Los Angeles Rams, who came within 22 yards of beating them in the Divisional Round. So far in 2025, the Rams and Eagles have looked like arguably two of the NFC’s three best teams, so anticipation for their 1 p.m. ET clash is high.
Surely, both teams will be eager to send an early message by finding the end zone first. In that Divisional Round matchup, it was Philadelphia quarterback Jalen Hurts, who ran around the right side en route to a 44-yard score.
Let’s break down the first TD scorer odds for this afternoon’s matchup at DraftKings Sportsbook.
Rams at Eagles First Touchdown Scorer Prop Bets
Saquon Barkley First Touchdown Scorer (+400)
One season after posting arguably the best running back campaign in NFL history, Barkley is off to a relatively quiet start so far in 2025. He’s been every bit as much of a workhorse as he was last season — his 23.0 touches per game only narrowly trail the 23.6 he recorded last season — but his efficiency has been less impressive. Still, it just feels like it’s only a matter of time with Barkley, and he was ridiculous during the teams’ playoff clash last season, recording 232 all-purpose yards and two touchdowns. Barkley has received 53.6% of the Eagles’ carries within the opponent’s 20, as well as their only target.
While Los Angeles has been excellent defensively overall, its run defense has left some room to be desired. In the Week 1 win over the Houston Texans, Nick Chubb amassed 60 yards on just 13 carries, and in the Week 2 win over the Tennessee Titans, Tony Pollard turned his 20 carries into 92 yards. Though the Rams are one of just six teams not to allow a touchdown to running backs this season, they’ve conceded the third-most yards among that elite group, and they rank just 16th in overall run defense grade at Pro Football Focus. In particular, right-side defenders such as Kobie Turner and Omar Speights have been worse than their counterparts on the left, and Barkley prefers to run left.
Puka Nacua First Touchdown Scorer (+900)
Nacua hasn’t yet found the end zone through the air this season and actually only has 11 touchdowns in his two-plus seasons, but this is excellent value regardless, given how much Los Angeles’ passing game revolves around the 24-year-old. He’s been unstoppable this season, hauling in a league-leading 18 of his 20 targets for 221 yards, which ranks fourth league-wide. He scored the game’s first touchdown against Tennessee, taking an end-around down the left sideline for a 45-yard score, the second rushing touchdown of his career. As long as he continues to average 10 targets and one carry per game, he’s always going to be a great bet to find the end zone.
Philadelphia has also regressed somewhat in coverage since last season. By PFF grades, the Eagles had by far the best coverage unit in the league last season before dropping to 16th so far in 2025, a drop mostly attributable to Quinyon Mitchell, who allowed an absurd 33.3 passer rating in coverage during the 2025 playoffs but has conceded a 114.3 mark so far this regular season. It’s not just Mitchell, though; fellow rookie sensation Cooper DeJean allowed a 61.1 passer rating in the playoffs and an 82.6 mark through the first two weeks, and Andrew Mukuba has not proven an adequate replacement for C.J. Gardner-Johnson, who left for Houston. Though Nacua can line up either in the slot or outside, playing out wide would mean fewer snaps against DeJean and more against Adoree’ Jackson, Philadelphia’s worst coverage defender.
