TNF player props: Bourne, Henry to be big targets vs. Falcons
With Thursday Night Football making its way to Atlanta, we're channeling Usher to get the vibe right for the start of Week 11.
In a matchup where both the Patriots and Falcons may want to take it "Nice and Slow" from a pace perspective while on a short week, we're looking for "More" player prop winners.
"The Voice" of reason
Long before he took a seat in the spinny red chair on NBC, Usher connected with Lil' Jon and Ludacris for one the most imitated hooks in R&B history. We're looking for a similarly successful collaboration between Mac Jones and one of his receivers Thursday.
A.J. Terrell has quietly been a pleasant addition to the Falcons' secondary since being drafted in 2020; teams aren't even targeting the Clemson product. I'd expect to see more of him against Jakobi Meyers. With Kendrick Bourne going for better than 33 yards in each of his last five games, he should get more than the four targets he's averaged during that span.
Are we going to win this bet? Based on our 3-0 record on our conservative TNF prop bet: "Yeah!"
Pick: Kendrick Bourne over 32.5 receiving yards
A TD that's definitely going to happen
Hands up, "Confessions I" - we missed our first touchdown try last week, but we're still 2-1 since we started this TNF prop endeavor. There are no theoretical locks on the board that "make me wanna" bet on a Falcon here. So, we'll look toward Patriots tight end Hunter Henry for a touchdown.
With a season-high 82% of the snaps last week, Henry registered a pair of touchdowns, giving him seven scores in his last seven games. Jones is clearly looking for the massive red-zone target, so we will, too.
Pick: Hunter Henry anytime touchdown +175
A TD that won't happen ... but maybe it does
Here's "Confessions II" - we haven't won any of our three long-shot touchdown bets yet. However, cash just one, and we're set for the season. Until that glorious moment where this low-stakes bet hits, I'm OK with letting it "Burn."
With so much unpredictability in the Falcons' Calvin Ridley-less pass offense, Tajae Sharpe (+500) is interesting as his replacement. But this is the place for us to get "Caught Up" on a big price.
You've likely never heard of Jakob Johnson, who's definitely a backup singer to the Patriots' frontmen, but he's a fullback who's seen more than a third of New England's snaps in the last five games. Primarily a blocker, with others getting attention at the goal line, can't you see Josh McDaniels with a play-calling remix, getting Johnson a carry or a target for a short-yardage score?
Pick: Jakob Johnson (+2500)
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.