The final week of the NFL regular season is upon us! 16 games will be played over Sunday and Monday and as always, our NFL expert Tom Kelly has you covered with his betting tips for every game below!
Week 17 continued the three week revival for our tips, with an 11-5 result taking us to 128-125 on the season. There are three primetime games again this week, with two coming on Sunday morning and just one Monday lunchtime. It’d be nice to have another strong week and finish with more wins than losses for the season.
NFL Week 18 Betting Tips
Kansas City Chiefs at Denver Broncos
Empower Field at Mile High, Sunday 8:30am AEDT
The 11-5 Chiefs have wrapped up the AFC West, but they still need to win this week if they want to hold off the Titans and others for the #1 seed in the AFC. They may still be without RB Clyde Edwards-Helaire, but Darrell Williams does a good job filling in that role anyway. Stinging from last weeks loss to the Bengals, it’s still clear that this is not quite the dominant outfit of the past few seasons and while clearly one of the top few teams, they are beatable on any given day.
The 7-9 Broncos have lost their last 3, and are destined to finish at the bottom of the division. With QB Teddy Bridgewater continuing to have concussion issues, the team will likely rely on a banged up Drew Lock again. Unless the game gets out of hand, they will try to lean heavily on the running game of Melvin Gordon and Javonte Williams as they have for most of the season.
It will be bitterly cold in Denver, and although the Chiefs will come to play, I think the combination of the Broncos defensive strength and running game can keep this one close enough to beat a 10 point spread.
Dallas Cowboys at Philadelphia Eagles
Lincoln Financial Field, Sunday 12:15pm AEDT
The Cowboys are another 11-5 team that has their division wrapped up, with a 2 win buffer over the Eagles. After losing to the Cardinals last week, they can’t catch the Packers for the #1 seed in the NFC, so they have very little to play for this week. With the likes of Ezekiel Elliot, Amari Cooper and various others likely to benefit from a rest, I doubt they come into this game anywhere near full strength.
As it turns out, the Eagles have also clinched a playoff spot after winning their last 4 games to stand at 9-7. That means they also have nothing to play for this week, and will likely rest various starters, especially with Jalen Hurts and others playing through injuries.
It’s hard to read too far into this one, I’ll take the home team with a 7 point head start and trust that neither team will be able to get too far ahead without some of their stars.
Los Angeles Chargers at Las Vegas Raiders
Allegiant Stadium, Monday 12:20pm AEDT
This game is perhaps the most interesting of the lot this week, with both teams at 9-7 and essentially in a “win and get in” situation. Both can still possibly make it if they lose and other results go their way, but it’s unlikely. The Chargers had a big win over the Broncos last week, helping to slightly repair the major damage from heir loss to the Texans the previous week. Justin Herbert continues to flash his ridiculous talent and his supporting cast is close to full strength.
The Raiders have flown under the radar somewhat in a tumultuous season which saw coach Jon Gruden sacked and various players go missing. Three gritty wins in a row has got them into this position, with all three results coming by 4 points or less. With the home field advantage and the likelihood of finally getting Darren Waller back from injury, there is a very real opportunity for them to cause an upset.
At the end of the day, the likes of Justin Herbert, Austin Ekeler and Keenan Allen inspire a lot more confidence than Derek Carr, Josh Jacobs and Hunter Renfrow. While the Raiders thrive on being underrated, and the Chargers have their issues at the line of scrimmage and defensively, I still can’t see the Chargers failing to get the job done in such a high stakes situation.
Other Tips
Kansas City Chiefs at Denver Broncos - See Above
Dallas Cowboys at Philadelphia Eagles - See Above
Green Bay Packers at Detroit Lions - Lions +3.5 ($1.90 at Sportsbet)
Chicago Bears at Minnesota VIkings - Vikings -3.5 ($1.85 at Sportsbet)
Indianapolis Colts at Jacksonville Jaguars - Colts -15.5 ($1.90 at Sportsbet)
Tennessee Titans at Houston Texans - Texans +10 ($1.90 at Sportsbet)
Washington Football Team at New York Giants - Giants +7 ($1.90 at Sportsbet)
Pittsburgh Steelers at Baltimore Ravens - Steelers +5.5 ($1.89 at Sportsbet)
Cincinnati Bengals at Cleveland Browns - Browns -6 ($1.90 at Sportsbet)
New England Patriots at Miami Dolphins - Dolphins +6.5 ($1.90 at Sportsbet)
New York Jets at Buffalo Bills - Bills -16.5 ($1.90 at Sportsbet)
Carolina Panthers at Tampa Bay Buccaneers - Buccs -8 ($1.90 at Sportsbet)
New Orleans Saints at Atlanta Falcons - Falcons +4.5 ($1.89 at Sportsbet)
Seattle Seahawks at Arizona Cardinals - Cardinals -6.5 ($1.87 at Sportsbet)
San Francisco 49ers at Los Angeles Rams - Rams -4 ($1.85 at Sportsbet)
Los Angeles Chargers at Las Vegas Raiders - See Above
