NFL Wild Card Weekend: Round-robin anytime touchdown parlay

Our favorite type of bet each week in the NFL is the round-robin underdog moneyline parlay. With as many as 16 games on the board during the regular season, we'll inevitably like a handful of underdogs against the spread. We also like to take a unit and spread it around on those 'dogs, just in case they really come through and win outright.

Then the playoffs come around, and, unless you happen to like all but one underdog (unlikely to be a winning strategy), there's suddenly a hole in the betting portfolio.

Luckily, not all hope is lost on Wild Card Weekend. We can pick five anytime touchdown scorers at odds similar to an underdog moneyline and round-robin those for a modified gambit.

Last year on Wild Card Weekend, we almost pulled off the illustrious five-for-five, but Tom Brady couldn't find Chris Godwin in the end zone.

How it works

We parlay five touchdown scorers in 10 different three-player parlays. Using every combination of a three-player parlay is called a round robin. We'll use a total of 1.1 units to make 11 different bets: 10 three-player parlays and one five-player parlay, each for .1 units. You'll likely double your money if three players find the end zone. If four score, you're connecting on four separate parlays and will be very pleased with the return. If all five players score, you'll be diving into a silo of gold doubloons like a young Scrooge McDuck.

Who to play

David Njoku (+175)

David Njoku's was targeted 45 times in the five games that Joe Flacco started after joining the Browns, and he scored in three of those. No one gave up more receptions to opposing tight ends than Houston this season. That means there's a high probability that Njoku - who appears to be as difficult to tackle as a Clydesdale - will be galloping toward the end zone more than a few times on Saturday.

Raheem Mostert (+135)

The injury report indicates that, while questionable, Raheem Mostert will be healthy enough to play in Kansas City. For a game in freezing conditions - where the ball will be tough to throw and catch - the best bet to score is someone who led the entire NFL in touchdowns on a team with an elaborate menu of run plays.

Brandin Cooks (+200)

When Brandin Cooks catches the ball, he does so with his whole body. Dak Prescott knows this, so when the situation is high-leverage, and the opponent is doubling CeeDee Lamb, he looks to Cooks.

After a loss in Philadelphia, where Cooks only got two targets, Prescott threw him the ball 52 times in nine games - 37 of those were caught, and six of those for touchdowns. Odds of +150 suggest a 40% likelihood of something happening, so any payout at that or better is worth including here.

Demarcus Robinson (+320)

Puka Nacua got attention for his impact as a rookie and setting the rookie yardage record. Cooper Kupp is Matthew Stafford's reliable compadre, especially in the red zone. Meanwhile, veteran Demarcus Robinson - who had a playoff touchdown last year with the Chiefs - is the definitive third receiver on a team that plays in three-receiver sets almost exclusively. Even with touchdowns in four straight December games, Robinson should be open in the end zone in a game that is expected to be high-scoring.

Cade Otton (+420)

Behind Mike Evans, Cade Otton is the second-biggest red-zone target for Baker Mayfield against an Eagles secondary that went from bad to worse over the season. I'm sure Godwin will score to spite us from last year, but Otton should get at least one look near the goal line and is just as good of an option as the other players listed at shorter odds.

Here's how the odds look:

If you've been intrigued by some of the long shot touchdown bets from our Wild Card Weekend game previews, you can put five of them together in a round-robin for a fraction of a unit for a total payout of over 10,000-to-1. Even getting just three scorers at the shortest odds still pays out at better than 200-1.

Brevin Jordan (+600)
Dawson Knox (+700)
Bo Melton (+500)
Brock Wright (+500)
Kenneth Gainwell (+500)

Matt Russell is the lead betting analyst for theScore. If there's a bad beat to be had, Matt will find it. Find him on social media @mrussauthentic.