Packers-Cardinals player props: Who picks up the slack for Green Bay?

The Yardbirds were a band in the 1960s, who at various times featured guitarists Jimmy Plant, Eric Clapton, and Jeff Beck. That's quite a trio. They had a hit song entitled "Over Under Sideways Down," which included the lyric "Laughing, joking, drinking, smoking, Till I've spent my wage."

That's a perfect summation of the Thursday Night Football betting experience, so we'll honor the trio of music legends with a trio of over/under and (touch)down bets to spend our wage on ... and hope they don't go sideways.

The yards bird

It was nice of the NFL to get the wrench-throwing portion of the Thursday night program out of the way early. Last week, we patiently waited a while to find out who would be available for the Browns and Broncos. This week, we know what to expect with Davante Adams and Allen Lazard both on the reserve/COVID-19 list. While that's a big void to fill for the Packers, it does open up some possibilities for prop bets in their game away to the Cardinals.

Adams missed two-and-a-half games last season, and while the first instinct is to assume another wide receiver replaced Adams' production, it's Robert Tonyan who was a big-time target for Aaron Rodgers.

Opportunity dipped for Tonyan once Adams came back, but look for the tight end to get back in Rodgers' view Thursday.

The issue for this bet might be that the Cardinals are the best team in the league against tight end production this season - they haven't given up a touchdown to one yet. But with apologies to Anthony Firkser, the best tight end they've seen all year is Tyler Higbee (four catches, 36 yards).

Pick: Robert Tonyan over 38.5 receiving yards

A TD that's definitely going to happen

In a game featuring two high-octane offenses, there are plenty of touchdown options to choose from. Picking one to hit is the hard part.

Someone has to take over those goal-line, or near-goal line, plays that Rodgers likes to run with Adams. The guy who Rodgers trusts to make the catch in tight quarters is Randall Cobb. Available at +175, Cobb's likelihood of scoring can't be accurately assessed by sportsbooks given how his role may change, especially in the red zone. So, we may be getting some value with Cobb's implied probability at 34.8%. If he assumes Adams' role, his chances of scoring should be closer to 50-50.

Pick: Cobb anytime touchdown (+175)

A TD that probably won't happen ... but maybe it does

Many Packers and Cardinals players are considered somewhat likely to score a touchdown, but we'll use this space each week to go deep down the depth chart to find someone at a relatively high price.

I didn't think AJ Dillon at +333 was deep enough down the board for this category, so here's a more suitable one: If Cobb can't get open on the designed plays, and everyone else gets locked up, you know Rodgers is fine with scooting into the end zone on a scramble.

Pick: Rodgers anytime touchdown (+600)

Matt Russell is a betting writer for theScore. If there’s a bad beat to be had, Matt will find it. Find him on Twitter @mrussauthentic.