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Expert Monday Night Football betting predictions, best MNF prop bets, and odds analysis for the Wild Card Round. Free Monday Night Football picks and player props for tonight's game, including our top pick for an anytime touchdown.
Hello everybody, and welcome to the Wild Card Round edition of Monday Night Football bets and props, where we will discuss props on Kenneth Gainwell, Nico Collins, and more! The NFL season is now into the playoffs, and we here at RotoBaller could not be more thrilled to bring you some of the best content in the market. We are excited to bring betting content to all those interested in every slate each week.
This weekly article will focus on the Monday night slate, and I will provide several betting angles for the scheduled games. I will typically offer at least one play on the game's total or spread, as well as at least three player or game props, including at least one anytime touchdown prop. Although this article will be published each week on Sunday evenings, you can always feel free to check out our Discord channel to see plays posted throughout the week.
This week's matchup features the Houston Texans at the Pittsburgh Steelers at Acrisure Stadium in Pittsburgh, PA. Without further delay, let's get into tonight's picks for what should be an awesome Wild Card edition of Monday Night Football!
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Wild Card Round Monday Night Football Betting Odds
Houston Texans @ Pittsburgh Steelers
Spread: Texans -2.5 (-122, NOVIG)
Total: 37.5 (Over -116, NOVIG)
The Houston Texans will travel to Pittsburgh to face the Steelers in a story of two totally different teams as far as their overall makeup is concerned.
Houston will enter this contest having ripped off nine consecutive wins and is backed by what is considered to be the best defense in the league. They rank first overall in terms of total yards allowed, as well as second overall in points per game allowed. Additionally, their offense is quite respectable as well, as they rank in the top half of the league, averaging just under 24 points per game.
The Steelers, on the other hand, are middling on both sides of the ball, as they rank 15th overall on offense in terms of points per game scored by averaging just over 23 points per game, and 17th overall on defense, allowing nearly 23 points per game.
This should be a really fun matchup in the Steel City on Monday night.
Wild Card Round Monday Night Football Betting Picks
The oddsmakers seem to think this game will be rather low scoring with the current total set to 37,5. This is by far the lowest total on the board for Wild Card Weekend, and conventional wisdom would suggest taking the over for this reason, but I think a solid case can be made for the under here.
As aforementioned, this Houston defense is stout. They allow the second-fewest points per game, allowing just over 17 points per game. Across their nine-game winning streak, they have allowed an average of just over 19 points per game.
The strong suit of this Texans' defense is not so easily discernible, as they rank fourth and fifth-best overall in terms of rushing yards per game allowed (93.7) and passing yards per game allowed (183.5).
They should be able to slow down a Steelers' offense that averages just over 305 total yards per game and ranks eighth-worst in the league in this category. The Steelers should also find success on defense against this Texans' offense, especially at home within the elements on Monday night.
On the season, Houston averaged just under 20 points per game on the road compared to over 27 points per game at home. This game looks to be an old-fashioned brawl, and the under looks rather tempting, especially at plus odds.
The Pick: UNDER 37.5 (+101, NOVIG)
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Wild Card Round Monday Night Football Player Props
Dalton Schultz OVER 43.5 receiving yards (-111, NOVIG)
While I do like the under in this game, there are definitely some props we can look at for overs, and one of those is Dalton Schultz's receiving yards. Schultz's prop is currently set to 43.5 receiving yards, and this is a number he has gone over six times since Week 9, which encompasses 10 games.
Over that span, Schultz has seen an average of over 6.5 targets per game, which is good news when facing this Steelers' defense. On the season, Pittsburgh has been rather susceptible to the tight end position. Overall, they have allowed the fourth-most receptions and fifth-most receiving yards to the position.
On average, Pittsburgh allows nearly 66 receiving yards per game to tight ends. They have also allowed seven tight ends to eclipse this total on the season. This figures to be a tight game with the spread currently sitting at three in favor of Houston, and it would make sense that they move the ball through the air on shorter passes here.
CJ Stroud to Dalton Schultz for six more
AZvsHOU on FOX/FOX Onehttps://t.co/HkKw7uXVnt pic.twitter.com/ODwgIJnkMg
— NFL (@NFL) December 14, 2025
Kenneth Gainwell UNDER 32.5 receiving yards (+100, NOVIG)
The Texans' defense has been superb all season, as evidenced by the stats listed above, and while they have allowed an average of nearly 32 receiving yards per game to the running back position this season, this number still feels a bit high on Gainwell.
Yes, Gainwell saw nine targets last week and turned those into eight receptions for 64 yards; however, D.K. Metcalf was serving the second game of a two-game suspension, which left more targets for Gainwell. Additionally, Baltimore was notoriously bad at allowing receiving yards to backs, as they ranked second-worst in the league in this category.
Ultimately, Gainwell has only eclipsed this total in five games this season, and this feels a bit high now that Metcalf is back in the lineup. Pittsburgh may be trailing in this game and have to rely on the pass late, but they will likely try to look downfield a bit more, which could take targets away from Gainwell here.
Wild Card Round Monday Night Football Anytime Touchdown Bet
Nico Collins ANYTIME touchdown (+144, NOVIG)
Initially, I was going to look back to Schultz for the anytime touchdown, given that the Steelers have allowed the fourth-most touchdowns to tight ends this season, but adding another player, especially Nico Collins, seems like a solid option as well.
Collins is, without a doubt, the top target earner in this Houston passing attack, as he has seen an average of over nine targets per game this season. He has also been targeted around the end zone, as noted by his 19 red zone targets, while amassing six receiving touchdowns.
Pittsburgh, on the other hand, has allowed 17 receiving touchdowns to wide receivers, which ranks tied for eighth-worst in the league. They have also been burned by wide receivers in the red zone recently, as they have given up five receiving touchdowns to the position over their previous three games.
This feels like a good spot for Collins to work his way into the end zone once again, and at +144 on NOVIG, I think we are getting at least some value here.
Nico Collins increases the @HoustonTexans' lead ‼️
HOUvsBAL on CBS/Paramount+https://t.co/HkKw7uXnxV pic.twitter.com/gXMDiT2pDa
— NFL (@NFL) October 5, 2025
