Sam Darnold Picks, Predictions & Best Bets for Monday Night Football

The Texans' defense is no pushover, but Sam Darnold’s toughness should help him keep the offense moving as we break down our top picks for the Seahawks QB.

Ed Scimia - Contributor at Covers.com
Ed Scimia • Betting Analyst
Oct 19, 2025 • 16:07 ET • 4 min read
Sam Darnold Seattle Seahawks NFL
Photo By - Imagn Images. Seattle Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold (14) warms up before the game.

Sam Darnold will try to lead the Seattle Seahawks to victory when they face off against a ferocious Houston Texans defense on Monday Night Football.

Scoring against Houston has been difficult for any opponent, but I do expect Darnold to move the ball, which is way I’m targeting his yardage prop in my Texas vs. Seahawks predictions.

Let’s look at how I think how his night might play out in my free Sam Darnold odds for Monday, October 20.

Sam Darnold prop pick

Sam Darnold best bet: Over 221.5 passing yards (-110 at bet365)

This game is a battle of strength on strength. Sam Darnold has led a Seattle Seahawks offense that has been one of the best in the league, averaging 2.77 ppg and an NFL-high 6.4 yards per play. Darnold is completing 70.8% of his passes and has 11 touchdowns on the year while averaging 256.8 yards per game through the air.

But on the other side of the ball, the Houston Texans are playing outstanding defense week in and week out. Houston hasn’t given up more than 23 points in any game this year, holding opponents to a league-low 12.2 ppg. It’s hard to find a weakness in this defense, as they’ve been tough against the run and are holding opponents to a 58.8% completion rate through the air.

So who comes out on top in this matchup? Most likely, we’ll land somewhere in the middle. Even the Seahawks will have trouble consistently scoring against this Houston defense, but I do believe Darnold can move the ball. The Seahawks are leading the league in yards per passing attempt (9.2) and completion (13.0), with Darnold throwing for at least 242 yards in each of his last three games.

I won’t bank on Darnold throwing touchdowns or hitting a number of completions against the Texans, but I’m betting that his yardage numbers will continue to impress.

Sam Darnold same-game parlay

Sam Darnold Over 221.5 passing yards

Sam Darnold Over 1.5 passing TDs

Seahawks -2.5

Over 40.5

While I have less confidence in Darnold to keep the Seattle scoring engine humming against the Texans, it’s certainly possible – and the Seahawks don’t have to do too much to hit some targets that make for a juicy SGP.

Let’s bet on Darnold to throw at least two touchdown passes, leading the Seahawks to cover and hit the Over at just 40.5 points – all of which are realistic if Darnold has a good day behind center.

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Ed Scimia - Covers.com
Betting Analyst

Ed Scimia has been writing about the gaming industry for over 15 years. He graduated from Syracuse University with degrees in Magazine Journalism and Political Science in 2003, and has covered major gambling events like the World Series of Poker in his career. Since joining Covers in 2022, Ed has offered his sports betting analysis primarily on MLB, NFL, college football, and college basketball games, but is willing to take on any sport.

His betting strategy focuses more on finding line value based on deviations from the market rather than traditional handicapping, primarily shopping between DraftKings, FanDuel, and Fanatics in his home state of Connecticut, though he’s not afraid to do deep game analysis to find profitable bets at any book.

Outside of gambling, Ed is an avid curler who competes in mixed doubles on the World Curling Tour and runs a popular curling YouTube channel, Chess on Ice. That experience has come in handy during the Olympics, when he has proven to be a successful curling bettor as well. 

Ed's advice to new bettors is to always open multiple sportsbook accounts and check the odds at each before placing any bet. Successful sports betting is about consistently beating the closing line value, which requires finding spots where one book is offering odds far better than the rest of the market and jumping on those opportunities.

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