The final week of the NFL regular season is rarely short on intrigue. If you need a reminder, just look back at last year when the 2-14 Jaguars upset the Colts to prevent their AFC South rivals from making the playoffs.
We also witnessed the most electric near-tie in NFL history as the Raiders outlasted the Chargers in overtime of a game that would’ve sent both to the playoffs if it ended in a stalemate.
Here are the current Week 18 NFL odds and lines for the 2023 season.
Week 18 NFL Odds & Lines
Week 18 NFL odds are courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook unless otherwise noted and are current as of Tuesday, Jan. 2, at 10 a.m. ET. Be sure to keep tabs on all of our current NFL odds leading into NFL Week 18.
Week 18 NFL Games
Pittsburgh Steelers @ Baltimore Ravens (Jan. 6, 4:30 p.m.)
Steelers -4 (-106) @ Ravens +4 (-114)
The Steelers just need to beat the Ravens and hope that the Dolphins beat the Bills or the Titans defeat the Jaguars to make the playoffs.
The good news for Pittsburgh is that Baltimore has already locked up the No. 1 seed, so it’ll be resting starters in this game, which is why the Steelers are four-point favorites.
Go with the team with more at stake here in Pittsburgh.
Houston Texans @ Tennessee Titans (Jan. 6, 8:15 p.m.)
Texans +1.5 (-120) @ Colts -1.5 (-102)
Here we have a clash with major playoff implications between two surprising AFC South teams.
The winner of this game will lock up an AFC wild-card spot. There’s also the chance that a win for either side would secure the AFC South, as long as the Jaguars lose to the Titans.
I’d bet on rookie sensation C.J. Stroud leading his team to a huge road win here.
Atlanta Falcons @ New Orleans Saints (Jan. 7, 1 p.m.)
Falcons +3.5 (-110) @ Saints -3.5 (-110)
The Falcons-Saints game is another one with a huge impact on the playoffs.
Atlanta can win the NFC South by beating the Saints and hoping that the Buccaneers lose to the Panthers. This is its only path to a postseason berth.
On the other side, the Saints can make it through two paths. New Orleans wins the division with a victory over Atlanta and a Tampa Bay loss. The Saints can get a wild-card spot if they beat the Falcons and Arizona knocks off Seattle.
Home-field advantage gives the Saints the edge here.
Cleveland Browns @ Cincinnati Bengals
Browns +5.5 (-115) @ Bengals -5.5 (-105)
This is a meaningless game between two AFC North division rivals.
The Browns have already locked up the top wild-card spot with no hope of winning the division, so they’re likely to be resting starters here.
The Bengals have been eliminated from the playoffs, so they’re just playing out the year. We could see Cincinnati still play most of their starters, which is why it is favored here. The Bengals look like the safer side in this spot.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers @ Carolina Panthers
Buccaneers -5.5 (-110) @ Panthers +5.5 (-110)
The Bucs can lock up the NFC South with a win over the Panthers this week. If Tampa loses this game, either New Orleans or Atlanta would win the division and the Bucs would be out of the playoffs.
This is a great chance for Bryce Young and the Panthers to end what’s been an extremely disappointing season on a high note.
Baker Mayfield is banged up for this game, which is bad news for the Bucs. I’ll take Carolina plus the points in this one.
Jacksonville Jaguars @ Tennessee Titans
Jaguars -5.5 (-108) @ Titans +5.5 (-112)
The Titans have a chance to play spoiler against the division rival Jaguars here.
Jacksonville can win the AFC South with a victory, but if it loses, there’s a good chance that it will be out of the playoffs. The Jags would need the Steelers to lose to the Ravens in that scenario.
Mike Vrabel always has the Titans playing hard, especially at home. I think they put a scare in the Jags here. Give me Tennessee plus the points.
Minnesota Vikings @ Detroit Lions
Vikings +4.5 (-105) @ Lions -4.5 (-115)
This is an NFC North clash between the Vikings and the Lions, who don’t have much to gain in playoff seeding. Detroit can move to the No. 2 seed with a win and Cowboys loss, but that’s not a lot of motivation to risk injury to your starters.
There’s a good chance that Detroit will be resting players in this game. On the other side, Minnesota can get to the playoffs with a win followed by losses by the Packers, Saints, and Seahawks.
This makes it safer to go with the underdog Vikings plus the points, since they have more at stake here.
New York Jets @ New England Patriots
Jets +2.5 (-110) @ Patriots -2.5 (-110)
This is an AFC East clash between two teams that are merely playing out the year.
I lean to the Jets in this spot since the Patriots have a chance to get back to the No. 2 pick if they lose and the Commanders win. That would put New England in a position to take the second-best quarterback in the draft in Drake Maye.
Let’s go with the Jets +2.5 here.
Chicago Bears @ Green Bay Packers (Jan. 7, 4:25 p.m.)
Bears +3 (-104) @ Packers -3 (-118)
The Bears are on quite a roll right now, going 5-2 in their last seven games, with their only losses coming in blown leads against the Lions and Browns, two playoff teams.
While Chicago is eliminated from the playoffs, it has a chance to spoil the Packers’ postseason hopes with a win here.
Green Bay just needs a victory over the Bears and it’s in, but I like Chicago to ruin those hopes here. The Bears are playing at such a high level right now.
Dallas Cowboys @ Washington Commanders
Cowboys -13.5 (-110) @ Commanders +13.5 (-110)
The Cowboys can win the NFC East with a victory here, taking on a tanking Commanders team that now holds the second pick in this year’s draft.
While Washington may be able to cover this large point spread, I can’t see it winning and ruining its chances at securing potential franchise quarterback Drake Maye.
For that reason, it feels safer to take the Cowboys in this spot.
Denver Broncos @ Las Vegas Raiders
Broncos +2.5 (-110) @ Raiders -2.5 (-110)
The Broncos and Raiders go at it in a divisional clash between two teams that are eliminated from playoff contention.
Broncos’ quarterback Jarrett Stidham will try to get a win against his former team, while you can bet that Raiders’ head coach Antonio Pierce will have his team playing hard.
This game can go either way, but I’ll roll with the Raiders here as I love what Pierce has done with this team.
Kansas City Chiefs @ Los Angeles Chargers
Chiefs +2.5 (-110) @ Chargers -2.5 (-110)
The Chiefs are short underdogs against Easton Stick and the Chargers, which tells you everything that you need to know about this game.
Kansas City has nothing to play for and will likely be resting starters, which gives Los Angeles the slight edge in this game.
Take the Chargers -2.5 in this one.
Los Angeles Rams @ San Francisco 49ers
Rams +3.5 (-110) @ 49ers -3.5 (-110)
The Rams have already clinched a wild-card spot, while the 49ers have locked up the No. 1 seed in the NFC, so there’s not much at stake in this game.
We could see both teams rest their starters in this one, making it difficult to handicap a winner.
In this case, it’s best to just go with the underdog, especially past the key number of three points. Take the Rams +3.5 here.
Philadelphia Eagles @ New York Giants
Eagles -5.5 (-105) @ Giants +5.5 (-115)
The Eagles can win the NFC East by defeating the Giants and hoping that the Cowboys somehow lose to the Commanders.
That feels like an unlikely scenario with how Washington has played lately. Both of these games are at the same time, but you have to think that if Dallas has a double-digit lead in the second half, we could see Philly take its starters out of the game.
For that reason, Giants +5.5 looks like the safer side.
Seattle Seahawks @ Arizona Cardinals
Seahawks -3 (-105) @ Cardinals +3 (-115)
The Seahawks need to beat the Cardinals and hope that the Packers lose to the Bears in order to make the playoffs.
Arizona is coming off an upset win over the Eagles, which has taken it out of the No. 2 spot in the draft.
The Cardinals will look to finish on a high note by spoiling their division rival’s playoff chances, but I lean the Seahawks here. Look for Pete Carroll to have Geno Smith and company ready to bounce back from a disappointing loss to the Steelers.
Buffalo Bills @ Miami Dolphins (Jan. 7, 8:20 p.m. SNF)
Bills -3 (-108) @ Dolphins +3 (-112)
The Bills can win the AFC East by knocking off the Dolphins on Sunday Night Football.
Buffalo can still make the playoffs with a loss, but it would need the Steelers or Jaguars to lose.
Miami is hurting on defense right now, losing edge rusher Bradley Chubb for the season to go along with Jaelan Phillips. That’s bad news against Josh Allen and company.
