NFL picks, predictions, odds for Week 18: Goodbye 2024 regular season
01/03/2025 04:05 PM
Happy New Year! It's 2025, which means an exciting and hopefully fantastic new year for all our readers, and of course, the NFL playoffs. But first, we must finish the business of the 2024 regular season which kicks off with AFC North action as the Cleveland Browns take on the Baltimore Ravens and the Cincinnati Bengals battle the Pittsburgh Steelers on Saturday. So, without further ado, let's jump right into the ClutchPoints NFL Week 18 picks, predictions, and odds column.
On the AFC side, the Kansas City Chiefs, Buffalo Bills, and Houston Texans are locked into the Nos. 1-, 2-, and 4-seed. The Ravens get the 3-seed over the Steelers with a win, and the Los Angeles Chargers and Steelers will be 5/6 based on their results. The Denver Broncos are win-and-in for the No. 7 seed but if they slip up against the backup Chiefs, the Bengals or Miami Dolphins will be waiting.
In the NFC, the Philadelphia Eagles are locked at No. 2, the Detroit Lions play the Minnesota Vikings for all the NFC North marbles and the NFC bye, and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are win-and-in with the Atlanta Falcons nipping at their heels. Outside of that, the Los Angeles Rams (3), Washington Commanders (6), and Green Bay Packers (7) are all in but may have their seeding altered slightly based on results.
The NFL Week 18 schedule is a unique situation. Some games matter a great deal, others matter just to one side, and some don't matter at all outside of draft slots and pride. It's a tough slate to pick, so be careful out on those NFL streets. No one wants to start the year getting dog-walked by the oddsmakers.
We nailed the winners in Week 17, going 14-2 straight up. Picking against the spread was a little more difficult (as it always is) but we were still a winning 9-7 that way on the elongated NFL week. Heading into the last week of the regular season — and don't worry, we pick all the way through the Super Bowl! — we move to 160-96 picking winners and 130-123-3 ATS.
With that, let's get right into the NFL Week 18 picks, predictions, and odds.
Previous Weeks: Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3 | Week 4 | Week 5 | Week 6 | Week 7 | Week 8 | Week 9 | Week 10 | Week 11 | Week 12 | Week 13 | Week 14 | Week 15 | Week 16 | Week 17
Courtesy of DraftKings, here are the NFL odds.
Cleveland Browns at Baltimore Ravens (-17.5)
The Ravens playing before the Steelers in Week 18 means that Baltimore won't know if they need the win or not to capture the division and the No. 3 seed in the AFC playoffs. That means they should be going all out to win this game and host a Wild Card game. If they don't, though, it likely means they'll go to Houston, and that worked out pretty well on Christmas Day.
For the Browns, it's "1-2-3 Cancun!" time for this squad that surely can't wait for this miserable season to end. Cleveland has scored a total of 16 points in the last three weeks, and there is no reason to think they'll hit double-digits in this one. Dorian Thompson-Robinson and maybe even Bailey Zappe could see action in this one, which will be a Ravens route.
Pick: Ravens 35-9
Cincinnati Bengals (-1.5) at Pittsburgh Steelers
The Steelers haven't won a game since December 8, which uncoincidentally was the last time they scored more than 17 points. This week, they may break 20 on the horrific Bengals defense, but it's hard to imagine them completely stopping the red-hot Cincy offense.
In a season where the Bengals have Bengal-ed all year, starting out 1-4 and then winning four in a row late, it wouldn't be a shock if they choked in the end, but going 5-0 down the stretch and still missing the postseason would be very on-brand as well. We'll predict the latter.
Pick: Bengals 28-24
Carolina Panthers at Atlanta Falcons (-7.5)
This is another matchup between a team that needs this game to keep hope alive in the Falcons against a team just playing out the string as the Panthers are doing, albeit admirably, under a revitalized Bryce Young.
While Young has done enough to earn another shot next season, the Panthers are still bad and seem ready to head out for their long break. The Falcons need this game and are a different team with Michael Penix Jr. at the helm, so the NFL Week 18 picks, predictions, and odds column predicts they will have a different result than your usual Falcons teams. That means taking care of business.
Pick: Falcons 23-10
Washington Commanders (-4.5) at Dallas Cowboys
The Commanders ideally want to keep their No. 6 seed and see the Rams in the first round of the playoffs instead of slipping to seventh and getting the loser of the Vikings-Lions game, so they have the motivation to win this game. The Cowboys, on the other hand, have a coach in his last game and are talking about starting Trey Lance.
If Lance plays especially, this game will be a blowout. Even though Washington seems to love winning late, this is a game that they should take care of early and start to get ready for the postseason.
Pick: Commanders 20-12
Chicago Bears at Green Bay Packers (-10)
The Packers will want to win in order to get a better seed in the playoffs and should beat the Bears with relative ease. The biggest issue here is that halfway through this game, the Packers may know that their fate is sealed in one way or the other, which means starters like Jordan Love and Josh Jacobs get an early shower.
This game will finally put Caleb Williams and the Bears out of their 2024 misery, which is something they need. Still, with the Packers possibly packing it in early, a late backdoor cover becomes a real possibility.
Pick: Packers 27-21
Houston Texans at Tennessee Titans (-1.5)
The Titans have only won twice this season against the spread. If they lose this week, it will mark the worst record ATS in NFL history. Since we always root for history here in the. NFL Week 18 picks, predictions, and odds column, we'll take the Texans' JV squad to pull the "upset" over the Titans.
Pick: Texans 14-10
Jacksonville Jaguars at Indianapolis Colts (-5)
Neither of these teams are any good, and the Colts suffered one of the worst losses of the season in Week 17, losing to the previous No. 1 pick-holders, the Giants in an embarrassing beatdown. With Joe Flacco again under center, there is no real reason to think the results will be much different against another bad team. In what likely is Doug Peterson's last game in Duval, the NFL Week 18 picks, predictions, and odds column likes him to get a W on the way out.
Pick: Jaguars 24-23
Buffalo Bills (-2.5) at New England Patriots
This may be the weirdest game on the board, as each team may be secretly hoping the other wins. On the Patriots side, lose and you have the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. For the Bills, since they are 100 percent locked into the No. 2 seed, they'd probably rather take the L and hurt a division rival's draft position. Either way, the Pats will be more motivated to drop the game, and the Bills will oblige because they are the better team from top to bottom.
Pick: Bills 28-10
New York Giants at Philadelphia Eagles (-3)
With Saquon Barkley out, the all-time NFL single-season rushing yards record is safe, as is the Eagles' NFL playoff spot. They will have little to no motivation to win this game, and as we saw last week — even though they shouldn't — the Giants will. This game could easily go either way, but the NFL Week 18 picks, predictions, and odds column has a sneaking suspicion that Brian Daboll does a little more damage to his (or the next coach's) draft pick by winning this one outright.
Pick: Giants 16-14
New Orleans Saints at Tampa Bay Buccaneers (-13.5)
The Buccaneers have a smile mandate this weekend: Win and you're in. Luckily, they are playing the Saints, who may be the worst team in the league down the stretch. This will be a Baker Mayfield romp on the way to the postseason, and while Vegas keeps creeping this line up, it almost can't go high enough, even in a divisional matchup.
Pick: Buccaneers 31-13
Kansas City Chiefs at Denver Broncos (-10.5)
This is one of the most influential games on the board right now, as the Broncos get into the playoffs with a win. Period. That means it is a kitchen sink game for Sean Payton and his rookie QB, Bo Nix.
On the other sideline, Andy Reid is resting his most important players — including Patrick Mahomes — but even with Carson Wentz, he will give the Broncos a real gameplan to contend with. This should go Denver's way, but don't sleep on the KC backups. They will not make it easy for their division rivals.
Pick: Broncos 20-19
Los Angeles Chargers (-5.5) at Las Vegas Raiders
The Chargers want to get the best seed possible, so they will want to win this game. However, if the Steelers win on Saturday, LA may not have anything to play for. Since we won't know if that will happen until the weekend, we'll protect ourselves a bit by splitting the difference here in the NFL Week 18 picks, predictions, and odds column. Let's go Chargers to win but the "red-hot" Raiders to cover.
Pick: Chargers 18-15
Seattle Seahawks (-5) at Los Angeles Rams
The first season of the Mike Macdonald era in the Pacific Northwest was an up-and-down affair. They started hot at 3-0, then dropped 5-of-6 before going on a four-game win streak to get back in the hunt. Ultimately, tiebreakers did them in and rendered this game meaningless, but the building blocks are there.
Sean McVay will be resting his players, especially his 36-year-ols signal-caller, in preparation for a tough game against one of the NFC's dangerous Wild Card teams. One of the Rams’ biggest flaws this season is a lack of depth, so this could be a route.
Pick: Seahawks 26-10
Miami Dolphins (-1.5) at New York Jets
If you've looked at social media at all ahead of the Week 18 NFL slate, you'll see Jets fans and in-the-pocket reporters trying to convince you that the vibes are still high in the green part of New Jersey. That simply can't be the case as most of Gang Green seems to just desperately want to get away from the Aaron Rodgers circus.
Still, what is our Dolphins’ formula? If it's cold or against a good team, we take the opposition. The Jets are not a good team by any means, but it will be 35 with the chance of snow at MetLife on Sunday, which means the Dolphins should lay an egg.
Let it be clear, the NFL Week 18 picks, predictions, and odds column does not like either of these teams, but we do have a "'Phins Phormula" (patent pending) that seems to work well, so we'll go with that.
Pick: Jets 17-16
San Francisco 49ers at Arizona Cardinals (-4.5)
Sure, the Cardinals might be the team playing slightly better heading into Week 18 and it would be just like the Cards to finish on a high note after throwing away their playoff chances, but Kyle Shanahan and the Niners need a win, too.
After losing the Super Bowl, the 49ers have had everything that could go wrong go wrong, including going 1-6 in their final seven games. Still, there are some proud players left on the 49ers roster, and even if Joshua Dobbs starts, look for Shanahan to scheme his guys up just enough to take a win away from the always frustrating (and James Conner-less) Cardinals.
Pick: 49ers 21-20
Minnesota Vikings at Detroit Lions (-2.5)
The Grand Daddy of 'Em All ends the 2024 regular season as the winner of the Vikings-Lions tilt heads to a bye week while the other gets ready to travel to the home of the NFC South winner as the No. 5 seed. So, this is a big one.
What Sam Darnold and company have done in the Land of 10,000 Lakes is admirable, and if things break right, there is no reason they can't make a Super Bowl. That said, Dan Campbell and the Lions are still rolling, and even with a banged-up defense, Detroit will have enough to win this and get the week of rest their depleted roster is desperate for.
Pick: Lions 30-27
The post NFL picks, predictions, odds for Week 18: Goodbye 2024 regular season appeared first on ClutchPoints.
