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No one remembers the second person to run a mile in less than four minutes. We’re a society obsessed with firsts. First man on the moon. First to market. First person to make it through an entire listening of Kanye West’s “Jesus is King” album without throwing up. “Talladega Nights” was right: “if you ain’t first, you’re last.”
The first player to score a touchdown in Super Bowl LVII will stamp their imprint on the game and increase their team’s chances of winning. They’ll also be cashing one of the most popular prop bets offered by sportsbooks. Before you place your wager at BetMGM, let’s take a look at all the players who have scored their team’s first touchdown for both the Chiefs and Eagles this season.
[When betting on first touchdown scorers, you can wager on the game’s first touchdown scorer or a specific team’s first touchdown scorer. The odds posted next to each player are their odds to score the game’s first touchdown.]
Andy Reid’s offense leads the league in points per drive, EPA per play, and success rate. They’re pretty good! The Chiefs have scored the game’s first touchdown in 12 of 19 contests this year, including each of their last five. Just five of the first 19 touchdowns recorded by Kansas City have been scored by wideouts.
Travis Kelce (+650), 8 first touchdowns
Zeus set a career-high in tuddies and deserves his own episode of “Hoarders” after hogging nearly half of his team’s first touchdowns in 2022. The Eagles have been outstanding against tight ends, though, allowing only four scores to the position this year. No tight end has caught a touchdown versus Philly since Week 9.
McKinnon logged nine touchdowns in his final six regular season appearances, but has yet to find paydirt in these playoffs.
The former Giant has more ailments than The New England Journal of Medicine and hasn’t exceeded 32% of offensive snaps since Week 10.
Everyone’s favorite fantasy whack-a-mole, Hardman is the smaller reincarnation of Michael Floyd we never asked for yet secretly yearn after. Unfortunately, it sounds like he won’t be playing in the big game.
Isiah Pacheco (+850), 1 first touchdown
Pacheco led the Chiefs in carries in both of their playoff tilts and is a talented pass-catcher. Philadelphia’s run defense ranks 19th in DVOA.
It hasn’t been a terrible year for Smith-Schuster, but it’s safe to say he didn’t reach his ceiling in this offense. Like Toney and Hardman, he’s dealing with an injury he sustained in the AFC championship game.
The Eagles have scored the game’s first touchdown in 13 of their 19 outings, including seven of their last nine. Only four of their team’s first touchdowns have been notched by a wideout. Philly’s last six games have seen a different player cross the end zone first for the Eagles.
Jalen Hurts (+800), 6 first touchdowns
Philadelphia’s Super Bowl fate may depend on Hurts’ effectiveness as a runner. Kansas City surrenders the third-most rushing yards per game to quarterbacks.
Miles Sanders (+800), 4 first touchdowns
Sanders may not be a workhorse, but he’s dominated the Eagles backfield with 287 carries this season and leads the team in red zone opportunities.
A.J. Brown (+1000), 2 first touchdowns
Justin Jefferson is the only receiver this year with more yards after the catch than Brown. The Chiefs’ pass defense ranks 16th in DVOA and has allowed the fifth-most YAC.
Kansas City surrenders nearly half a touchdown per game to tight ends, eighth-worst in the league. Goedert is a sneaky pick for first touchdown while the Chiefs secondary deals with Philly’s three Batmans.
DeVonta Smith (+1200), 1 first touchdown
Smith’s one-handed “catch” in the NFC championship game butterfly-effected the Eagles directly into the Super Bowl. An S-tier technician, it wouldn’t be shocking if he has a huge game.
Gainwell has done just that in the playoffs, racking up 195 total yards and a score.
Boston Scott (+2800), 1 first touchdown
If the Eagles were playing the Giants, this would be a slam dunk value play. The running back has 20 touchdowns in his 66-game career and 11 of those are against the G-Men. You can probably guess which team got him on this list.
Defense/Special Teams (+3000), 1 first touchdown
No team’s defense or special teams unit has scored a touchdown against the Chiefs this season.
Quez Watkins (+3300), 1 first touchdown
“Fast Batman” spent the majority of the season darting around in the shadows, and enters this game with just 33 catches and a trio of scores. The Chiefs are weakest through the air, so this isn’t the worst bet you could make.
Stats provided by Pro Football Reference, CBS Sports, Football Outsiders, NBC Sports, and rbsdm.com (garbage time removed).