The final week of the NFL regular season is here, and we're sifting through the madness to deliver our best bets.
The Week 18 narrative: The Jacksonville Jaguars have everything to play for in Week 18, but expect the free-wheeling Tennessee Titans to give them a game and pull off the upset. Derrick Henry has plenty of juice left in the tank and should run all over the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Check out our NFL Week 18 staff best bets for our favourite picks this weekend, featuring a prop bet on Bucky Irving.
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NFL Week 18 best bets
These NFL Week 18 best bets were provided by NorthStar Bets writers Steven Psihogios and Spencer Closs.
Titans moneyline (+550): A Jacksonville win secures the AFC South crown.
I don't expect that to happen.
Tennessee is quietly playing better football lately. Since losing to the Jags, 25-3, it has won two of its last four games.
This is by far the biggest game on the Titans' schedule, and I expect them to treat it as such.
Jacksonville earned a lot of credit for its Week 16 win over the Denver Broncos, but I wasn't impressed with its victory over the Indianapolis Colts.
The Jaguars played with their food in a 23-17 win over Indianapolis. The offence routinely stalled in the red zone, going just 2-for-5 inside the 20 with an end zone interception from Trevor Lawrence.
Cam Ward, meanwhile, is starting to show why he was the first overall pick. Ward has thrown eight touchdowns to just one interception in his last four games.
I expect Tennessee to be up for this game and to stun Jacksonville.
-Psihogios
-> Bet on the NFL's Week 18 slate at NorthStar Bets!
49ers moneyline (+102): San Fran is looking like a true contender at the right time. And now they have a chance to be the NFC's No. 1 seed if they can beat the Seahawks.
At home, it's hard to pick against the 49ers. They are on a six-game win streak, averaging 35.6 points per game.
In the past four games, Brock Purdy has 15 total touchdowns (12 passing, three rushing) with just two interceptions.
Seattle has also won six straight, but won three of those games by less than a touchdown.
There's no questioning that the Seahawks are also great, but the home-field advantage and recent performances have me leaning toward the underdog.
-Closs
NFL Week 18 prop bets
Henry over 89.5 rushing yards (-117): Baltimore Ravens head coach John Harbaugh is finally figuring out that he's not going to get elite quarterback play this year.
Neither Lamar Jackson nor Tyler Huntley has shown that they're going to carry the offence. Last week, Harbaugh finally gave Henry the keys to the offence, and he didn't let him down:
- 36 carries
- 216 rushing yards
- Four touchdowns
Henry absolutely gashed the Green Bay Packers' defence.
Whether it's Jackson or Huntley under centre, it doesn't matter. The Ravens are in must-win territory, and they're not going to play around with their season.
Baltimore fed Henry in its first meeting with Pittsburgh this year. The legendary running back received 25 carries and topped this total with 94 rushing yards.
He's going to see another hulking workload on Sunday night and should breeze by this total.
-Psihogios
Irving anytime touchdown (+125): The Buccaneers running back has played nine games this season thanks to an injury, but he's been busy when active.
He's had at least 14 carries in eight of nine games with 55-plus rushing yards in six games.
Last Sunday was the outlier as Irving ran the ball just nine times for 19 yards. He did have five catches equalling 14 touches in a down week, which is nothing to dwell on.
It shows how important he is to this offence, and he'll need to get going in this game to decide the NFC South.
In nine games, he has only one touchdown, but as you can see, the volume has been there, meaning some regression to the mean should be coming.
And what better time to find the end zone? The Panthers are a below-average rush defence, allowing 122.3 ground yards per game and the fourth most rushing TDs to the position (16).
-Closs
NFL staff best bets made at 4:15 p.m. ET on 12/31/2025.
