Hot Events: Road to NFL Playoffs

The end of the NFL regular season is upon us. Some teams turn the page on the calendar year to find themselves secured in the playoff seeding, while other teams try to let go of a forgettable 2024.

Then of course, a select few teams that still don’t fully know how the new year is going to start for them. Will the Detroit Lions secure first place in the NFC and a first round bye? Can Joe Burrow complete the Bengals comeback and make the playoffs? Will Baker and the Bucs clinch their 4th NFC South title in a row? All this and more as we dive into our top picks heading into Week 18.

But before we do, we have a huge announcement.

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Just keep an eye out for the email in your inbox next week and submit your round-by-round predictions for a chance at the $10,000 prize pool!

Now, onto the picks for Week 18.

Minnesota Vikings vs Detroit Lions

HOT BET: Detroit Lions Moneyline + Gibbs & Jefferson Anytime Touchdown (+400)

The Detroit Lions have the chance to win their second NFC North title in a row and the #1 seed in the conference with a win over the Minnesota Vikings. This is their second matchup this season as theLions were able to edge out the Vikings in a 31-29 victory back in Week 7.

This time around, the Lions are a lot more banged up as their roster has been decimated with injuries. Many think that because of their health, this has knocked them down a rung in Super Bowl conversations. But if last week's win over San Francisco taught us anything, is that the ‘next man up’ mentality is dialed and this Lions squad will be going full throttle against Minnesota on Sunday. In a Week 17 matchup that Dan Campbell didn’t have to play his starters in a game that wouldn’t really affect the standings for them, they floored the gas in a revenge game against the 49ers and came out on top 40-34.

You can expect an even bigger effort against the Vikings on Sunday. The Lions bye week came early in the season at Week 5 and this team wants nothing more than an extra week to prepare for the playoffs. Detroit is favored by 3 points on the spread which could actually get covered by the Vikings. We think it could come down to another game winning field goal by Jake Bates which is why we’ll stick with the moneyline. Add in a Jahmyr Gibbs and a Jermar Jefferson touchdown and that sweetens the deal . Gibbs has scored in every game since David Montgomery went down, coming off back to back 100 rushing yard games. Even though Minnesota’s rush defence is good, we saw them take a small step back last week in their win against Green Bay.

Speaking of defence, it wouldn’t be the worst idea to sprinkle a little on the over 55.5 points (-116) seeing how Detroit has given up over 30 points in 3 of their last 4 games.

New Orleans Saints vs Tampa Bay Buccaneers

The Pick: Tampa Bay Buccaneers -13.5 (-113)

Last week was not as close as we expected as the Bucs boat-raced the Panthers. We expect them to do the same this week against the brutal Saints with the NFC South title on the line. The Commanders did their part in beating the Falcons who are facing the Panthers at home this week. If Tampa wins, they're in, much like Week 18 of last year.

The Bucs already slapped around the Saints in Week 6 with a 51-27 win. New Orleans is also coming off 3 losses in a row, the most recent to the even lowlier Las Vegas Raiders who got their 4th win of the season. The Saints haven’t scored over 20 points since their bye back in Week 12. Derek Carr is unlikely to start which means we’ll see Spencer Rattler at QB who has been pretty underwhelming. Mix that with the contract incentives on the line for players like Mike Evans, you know Baker and the Bucs are going to come out the gates hot and finish the season strong.

Cincinnati Bengals vs Pittsburgh Steelers

The Pick: Cincinnati Bengals Moneyline (-131)

A lot on the line for both teams in this AFC North showdown on Saturday. The Steelers still have a chance to take the division with a win against the Bengals. Cincinnati still has an outside chance of making the playoffs but they’ll need a lot of help. They need to beat the Steelers for starters, and have losses from the Denver Broncos and the MIami Dolphins.

The Bengals have won 4 straight with their last loss dealt to them by none other than the Pittsburgh Steelers back in Week 13. Russell Wilson and the Steelers have been sputtering since their last meeting, losing their last three in a row. Wilson hasn’t cracked 225 passing yards since their last matchup against the Bengals where he went off for 414 in a 44-38 winning effort. Although Cincinnati’s achilles heel this season has been their defence, they’ve managed to tighten things up a little with 9 interceptions and a couple pick-sixes since Week 13.

It’s going to take another MVP performance from Burrow and the Bengals. It’s a shame their record is what it is, otherwise Joe would have a much stronger case for the award this year. Look for him to connect with his top receivers in Ja’Marr Chase who has more receiving yards than every New England receiver combined, along with Tee Higgins who has 5 touchdowns in the last 3 games. They’ll need to rely on the passing game a little bit more if their RB1 Chase Brown is ruled out, which won’t be a problem for Burrow. He’s now gone 8 straight games with 3 or more passing touchdowns, which is unheard of.