After many primetime games of lackluster performances and low-scoring affairs, tonight should be fun as the Los Angeles Chargers host the Dallas Cowboys on Monday Night Football. As usual, we worked up a same game parlay that we’re hopeful will cash.
At roughly +800, target the available profit boosts to make this +1200.
Let’s ride.
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Leg 1: Austin Ekeler 25+ Receiving YardsAustin Ekeler returns tonight from an injury he suffered back in Week 1, and all indications are that he will not have any limitations holding him back from a full workload. We somehow had to work Ekeler into this parlay, and we trusted his work through the air more than on the ground. In Week 1, he went for 47 yards off of four receptions, and across 18 games last year, he eclipsed 25 yards in 13. As he recovers from injury, it’s much easier to keep him protected as a receiver than between the tackles as a runner, so we anticipate him beating this number.
Mike Williams tore his ACL back in Week 3, elevating Josh Palmer up the depth chart where he led the team in targets in Week 4 with eight. After a Week 5 bye, Palmer was a late-Sunday addition to the Chargers’ injury report with a groin injury, putting his availability for tonight into question. If he does play, it’s hard to imagine him seeing a full workload, so tonight should finally be the night Chargers’ first-round draft pick Quentin Johnston does something. As the potential WR2 for a pass-heavy offense in a game with a projected total north of 50, I’ll live with taking Johnston for 25+ yards all day.
Leg 3: Justin Herbert OVER 11.5 Rushing YardsJustin Herbert is not a runner, but we believe he could rack up some yards on the ground tonight. Through the first three games, his ground yardage total went 11, 0, and 17, which isn’t anything to write home about, but in Week 4, he ran 12 times for 27 times. Looking deeper into those numbers, if we take out the kneels, he had eight carries for 38 yards, something we love to see as we only need 12 yards from him tonight. Additionally, the Cowboys have allowed the fourth most rushing yards per game to opposing quarterbacks, aided by their high blitz rate. Given Herbert’s uptick in volume and his opponent, we’ll bank on his over here.
The Cowboys passing offense has been pretty up and down this season, but up against the Chargers tonight, there’s expected to be a ton of volume to go around. Over the past three weeks, Michael Gallup has been tied with CeeDee Lamb for the team lead in targets and has had at least three catches in two of three games. Lamb’s production has been unreliable, so we’ll ride out the WR2 making his presence known.
Jake Ferguson has emerged as Dallas’ top tight end this season, averaging nearly six targets per game and especially being a favorite option for Dak Prescott in the red zone. Still, we need three catches, which he has managed to pull off in four consecutive games. The Chargers have defended tight ends well on paper, but three games were against nobodies at the tight end position. When the Chargers played TJ Hockenson in Week 3, he hauled in eight receptions, leading us to believe that we shouldn’t have to worry about Ferguson’s threshold of just three.
All Odds Courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook
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