Christmas is supposed to be joyful, not scary, but when Terry McLaurin takes the field for the Washington Commanders’ 1 p.m. ET clash against the Dallas Cowboys, he’ll surely hope to give Trevon Diggs nightmares.
Neither team has much to play for, as both have been eliminated from postseason contention, but at least the 30-year-old McLaurin, who’s struggled through an injury-riddled season, should be motivated to prove his worth to a team that signed him to a three-year, $96 million contract extension that effectively allows them to cut him after the 2026 season due to its structure.
The Commanders are 8.5-point underdogs for the early afternoon matchup at DraftKings Sportsbook, with the point total set to 50.5. Below, I’ve detailed my favorite prop bets centered around Scary Terry.
Best Terry McLaurin Prop Bets on DraftKings Sportsbook
Terry McLaurin 50+ Receiving Yards (-112)
With Zach Ertz now out for the season after tearing his ACL, Josh Johnson doesn’t have many other reliable options as he makes his first start since 2021, and McLaurin has been pretty good in his four games since returning from a quad injury, averaging 64.8 yards per game and topping the 50-yard threshold three times. Washington’s targets have been distributed fairly equitably between McLaurin and Deebo Samuel over the past couple of weeks, though Treylon Burks actually led the team in targets last weekend. Regardless, he could have plenty of opportunities alongside Johnson, who threw the ball at least 40 times in each of his two bulk appearances in 2021. That season, he was especially effective throwing to the short middle and deep right zones of the field, two zones where McLaurin has particularly excelled.
McLaurin could hardly ask for a kinder matchup. The Cowboys’ struggles against opposing wide receivers have been oft-discussed this season, as they’ve allowed the most yards to the position on the fourth-most yards per catch. To be fair, they’ve been excellent at getting pressure, which could incentivize Johnson to check it down to Samuel, whose average target is barely one-third as deep as McLaurin’s, but they also haven’t been great after the catch, missing the 10th-most tackles and giving up the fourth-most yards after the catch. Dallas’ poor tackling could benefit McLaurin, who averages fewer expected yards after the catch than Samuel because he catches the ball in tougher positions.
Terry McLaurin Anytime TD Scorer (+215)
McLaurin’s long odds are understandable, given that the Commanders are starting a career backup with just 13 career touchdown passes to his name, but +215 is particularly appealing for a player who set his team’s single-season franchise record for touchdown catches just last season and has found the end zone in three of his past five games. He hasn’t received a red zone target in either of the last two weeks, but neither has Samuel, and Burks has only had one. Running the ball with Jacory Croskey-Merritt or Chris Rodriguez Jr. is absolutely priority No. 1 for Washington when it gets inside the red zone, but NFL offense requires variety, and throwing it to McLaurin is a clear second choice.
Fundamentally, it all comes down to the Cowboys’ defense. In addition to allowing the third-most total yards and the third-most yards per play — allowing opponents to drive efficiently down the field — they’ve also given up scores on a league-high 50% of opponents’ drives and six more touchdowns to wide receivers than any other team. Dallas also just placed its top outside cornerback, DaRon Bland, on season-ending Injured Reserve, and while Bland didn’t have a good season, he’d allowed a lower passer rating and a lower touchdown percentage than either Diggs (four touchdowns on 21 targets) or Shavon Revel Jr. (three touchdowns on 30 targets). Plus, the Cowboys’ offense is good enough and the Commanders’ defense bad enough that Johnson will likely be forced to throw to keep up.
