Dec 30, 2025
3 min read
Several NFL divisions will be up for grabs in Week 18 of the NFL season after a wild Week 17.
After the Baltimore Ravens lost to the New England Patriots in Week 16, their hopes of winning the FC North almost evaporated.To have any chance, they would have to beat the playoff-bound Green Bay Packers on the road and the Pittsburgh Steelers would have to lose to the Cleveland Browns in Week 17.
As fate would have it, both results came to fruition, with the Ravens and Browns overcoming the disadvantage to win the game and set up a win-win AFC North showdown in Week 18 between Baltimore and Pittsburgh.In DraftKings, the Ravens open the road against the Steelers with a three-point advantage.
Heading into Week 17, Pittsburgh had significant odds of -1,400 to win the division compared to +800 for the Ravens.DraftKings reports that 87% of receipts went to the Ravens in the AFC North last week, while BetMGM said it received 83% of Raven sponsorships over the same period.general division
It was quite an odyssey for the Ravens to reach this point.After entering a season of contention, they briefly fell to favorite status in Pittsburgh before Week 7 before returning to the top of the table for several weeks.Then, the Steelers' back-to-back win over Baltimore in Week 14 kept them ahead until they lost to Cleveland.
With the division on the line, the Ravens open up on the cash line.Despite the injuries from Lamar Jackson's grooming, the bookies are keeping the Baltimore favorites as a field goal.
"We don't feel a lot of difference between [backup QB Tyler] Huntley and this version of Jackson, who seems to be an injured version of Jackson," John Murray, vice president of Westgate SuperBook in Las Vegas, told ESPN."The Ravens offense looked as good as ever on Saturday, Huntley knows the offense well and Lamar hasn't been right all season. I don't see it making much of a difference."
Joey Fazell, head of football at Caesars Sportsbook, sees a bit more of the difference between Jackson and Huntley, saying he predicts the former will be closer to the pick if the former is ruled out.
The Ravens-Steel won't be the only championship game next week.
Entering Week 11, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers were -1200 to win the NFC South, and the Carolina Panthers were +1200.Both teams will end up in the division in Week 18. According to DraftKings draft, the Bucks opened as 3.5-point home favorites against the Panthers.
The combination is the culmination of opposing trends for the teams.Tampa Bay has failed to cover the spread in eight straight games, the longest active ATS losing streak in the NFL and the longest in franchise history, according to Research.Meanwhile, Carolina came back from odds of just +2500 to win the NFC South in Week 5.
Also, with the San Francisco 49ers defeating the Chicago Bears on "Sunday Night Football," they will face the Seattle Seahawks in Week 18 for the NFC West title and the conference's No. 1 seed.Seattle opened as a 1.5-point road favorite over San Francisco.
NFL odds and ends
Although the negative competitors did not appear in comic shops, the NBL killed the Cowboys Cowboys in the Damands final."NBLABLE day, even three NFL games at the same time than a handful of games," According to FAZEL.
Derrick Henry led the Kings draft with two touchdowns in two games on Saturday.He scored four touchdowns in the Ravens' big win over the Packers.
Cincinnati Bengals receiver Ja'Marr Chase opened up about his goals heading into Week 17. "I think the biggest thing on the list is another performance ... I think I'm late from Week 7," Chase told reporters last week. DraftKings listened and the bettors were rewarded. DraftKings has multiple bets on Chase's touchdown tomore than any player on Sunday. He scored two touchdowns in the Bengals' 37-14 victory over the Arizona Cardinals.
Coming off a thrilling win over the Buffalo Bills, the Philadelphia Eagles (+3.5) have won six straight games, including the playoffs, since 2010.
Total season earnings for week 18
(Totals based on BetMGM starters)
Cowboys at New York Giants (7-8-1) 7.5
Packers (9-6-1) by Minnesota Vikings 9.5
Vikings (8-8) 8.5 vs. Packers
New Orleans Saints (6-10) 6.5 Atlanta Falcons
Bilean (11-5) 11.5 vs New York Jets
College football patchwork
In bowl games (including four first-round playoff games), the favorite is 14-13.The average of 17 of the 27 games was 3.4 points below the total.
New Michigan coach Kyle Whittingham is 141-118-4 (.544) against the spread as a head coach in his FBS career.Dos is the ninth career.Dos is the ninth of head coaches with at least 200 games since 2000.
Best coach against the spread (since 2000; minimum 200 innings)
Birnin Meyer: .578
Nick Saban: ॥568.
Bronco Mendenhall: .560
Paul Johnson: 557
Bill Snyder: .556
Sore: .555
Ken Numtal: .545
Bob Stops: .545
Kyle Whittingham: .544
