Congratulations! We’ve reached the final weekend of the NFL regular season, and the playoff seeding battles are coming down to the wire.
Not only are teams fighting for the top seeds, we still have a number of teams still competing for a chance to make the postseason.
Sadly, my Jets aren’t one of those teams after being eliminated from playoff contention this past weekend. However, they still made my card for the week.
So without further ado, here are my best bets for Week 18 (with odds via FOX Bet):
Herd Hierarchy: Packers, Jaguars continue climbing on Colins Top 10 of Week 18
Colin Cowherd shares his Top 10 heading into Week 18, the final week of the NFL regular season.
Lions at Packers (8:20 p.m. ET Sunday, NBC)
The Packers are surging, but let’s be clear who they’ve beaten during this streak – a Bears team that has lost nine straight; a Rams team that has the most losses of any defending Super Bowl champ; a fading Dolphins team; and the overrated Vikings.
Still, it’s tough not to like the Packers here at home to wrap up a playoff spot. Temperatures are expected to be in the 20s, not a good sign for Jared Goff, who has struggled historically in cold weather. Yes, the Lions have won outdoors four times this season – in Chicago, in New York (twice), and in Carolina – but this will be a different animal.
Lambeau will be a scene, and the Lions are 3-19 there in their last 22. That means little to Goff, who did have a good first half in Green Bay last year before wilting in the second in a 35-17 loss. That game was in September, though.
Also, if the Seahawks win earlier in the day, the Lions won’t have anything to play for. Just something to consider.
PICK: Packers (-4.5 at FOX Bet) to win by more than 4.5 points
Why Dolphins, Packers will clinch final playoff spots in Week 18
Colin Cowherd takes a look at the current playoff picture heading into Week 18 and predicts who will snag the final spot in the AFC and NFC.
Jets at Dolphins (1 p.m. ET Sunday, FOX)
The Jets season ended in Seattle last week, but Miami still has a chance to reach the playoffs. All they need is a victory and a Patriots‘ loss to Buffalo.
The bad news, of course, is that Teddy Bridgewater’s broken finger has ended his season, and if Tua Tagovailoa isn’t cleared from concussion protocol, then it’ll be down to third-string QB Skylar Thompson getting his first NFL start. The Jets saw him for all but one play back in October as he replaced an injured Bridgewater. He was passable until it unraveled in the fourth, and the Jets rolled.
But it’s deeper than that – on Sunday, Miami was missing LT Terron Armstead, top CB Xavien Howard, edge rusher Bradley Chubb, and a slew of other contributors. If that’s the case this week against the Jets, Miami is going to be in trouble against a Jets team playing for nothing.
The Dolphins were -4.5 on the look-ahead line, and now they are +1. Give me the Jets one more time!
PICK: Jets (-1 at FOX Bet) to win by more than 1 point
Eagles lose back-to-back games, will Jalen Hurts bounce back?
Craig Carton and Geoff Schwartz discuss whether Jalen Hurts can bounce back and secure a top spot in the playoffs.
Giants at Eagles (4:25 p.m., CBS)
The number has ballooned out to 14 on the news that Jalen Hurts is likely to return from injury and start for the Eagles, who need a win to lock up home-field advantage in the NFC.
The Giants have already locked in the No. 6 seed, so they really have nothing to play for, and it’s realistic to assume that Saquon Barkley will sit.
This game has the makings of the Jags-Texans from last week. That game meant nothing to Jacksonville, but Doug Pederson said he would play its starters and did. Then, up 27-0, they were pulled.
What’s the point of the Giants playing Daniel Jones much after the first quarter against a team that leads the NFL in sacks? Jones plays behind an average offensive line, and the Eagles are chasing the NFL sack record.
I can’t lay 14 with the Eagles here, but at the same time, taking the Giants is nearly impossible. The most likely game scenario here is that the Eagles take a two or three-touchdown lead, and it’s all backups on both sides in the fourth quarter.
PICK: Over 42.5 points scored by both teams combined at FOX Bet
Jason McIntyre is a FOX Sports betting analyst, and he also writes about the NFL and NBA Draft. He joined FS1 in 2016 and has appeared on every show on the network. In 2017, McIntyre began producing gambling content on the NFL, college football and NBA for FOX Sports. He had a gambling podcast for FOX, “Coming Up Winners,” in 2018 and 2019. Before arriving at FOX, he created the website The Big Lead, which he sold in 2010.
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