NFL Conference Championship Sunday: Player Prop Best Bets & Odds - January 25
All odds provided by Betway.
Colby Parkinson, TE, LAR - Over 25.5 Receiving Yards (-110) @ SEA
All of the attention on the Rams offense goes to their likely MVP QB Matthew Stafford and his star wideouts. Even that tough RB tandem gets a good bit of love. But their tight ends are really the unsung heroes of this high-powered L.A. offense. Specifically, their top tight end Colby Parkinson.
He wasn’t originally the top dog at the position. Parkinson had to work his way to this spot. He became the starting TE in L.A. over the final seven games of the regular season. During that span, he led all TEs in the NFL with six TDs. He also averaged 5.6 targets, 4.0 receptions, and 40.7 receiving yards per game during that time. In two playoff games, has recorded two catches for 34 yards and three catches for 56 yards.
Parkinson had just 14 and 21 yards in the first two games against Seattle. But overall, the Seahawks actually have a weakness for tight ends. They allowed the sixth-most receiving yards per game to TEs this season (63.5).
Despite dominating the 49ers in that Divisional Round win, they allowed 49ers TE Jake Tonges to nab five receptions for 59 yards. And he didn’t even finish the game, having been chased by San Francisco's own kryptonite: injury. Parkinson is not flashy, but this number betting sites are giving him is way too low considering he’s topped 25 yards in eight of his nine games since taking over the starting job.
Kenneth Walker III, RB, SEA - Over 85.5 Rushing Yards (-110) vs. LAR
Zach Charbonnet tore his ACL in the second quarter of Seattle’s Divisional Round win, and thereafter, Kenneth Walker III took 13 carries for 95 yards as the lone man in the backfield. And it could have been more considering the starters were pulled early in the fourth quarter.
In two other career games without Charbonnet nipping at his heels, Walker has taken 16 carries for 38 yards and 26 for 105. Make of that what you will.
What we do know what to make of is Walker’s recent form overall. Even before Charbonnet went down, the kid was on a roll. He had 116 yards on 19 carries in that Divisional Round triumph, 97 yards in the regular season finale, and 100 on just 11 carries a couple of weeks before that.
Meanwhile, the Rams have been one of the worst run defenses in the league in recent weeks. Over the final five weeks of the regular season, the Rams faced just 107 rushes, second-fewest. So their 590 rushing yards allowed were just 16th in the league—but their 5.5 yards per carry allowed were the second-most.
They gave up 160+ rushing yards in three of their final six regular season games. They gave up three rushing TDs to the Panthers in the Wild Card round before giving up another 160 on the ground to the Bears in the Divisional Round. With rough weather expected, Walker and the running game should get every opportunity to impact this game.
