Week 18 has arrived. 256 games are in the books, with just 16 regular-season games left. For some teams, it’s the end of the road after this weekend. For others, it’s about finalizing seeding or resting up before the playoffs. And yet for others, it’s the last chance to make the playoffs. Let’s sort through it all and make our final NFL confidence pool picks for Week 18.
There is no Thursday Night Football or Monday Night Football this week. We’ll start with two games on Saturday, and they are big ones. The Panthers and Buccaneers begin things. If the Panthers win, they are in the playoffs; if the Buccaneers win, they’ll need the Falcons to lose to punch their ticket. The Saturday evening game might be the game of the week. The Seahawks and 49ers battle it out for NFC West supremacy, the #1 seed, and a Wild Card playoff bye week.
Week 18 NFL Confidence Pool Picks
High Confidence Picks
1.Jaguars Over Titans
2.Rams Over Cardinals
3.Broncos Over Chargers
4.Patriots Over Dolphins
5.Texans Over Colts
Jacksonville is still playing for the AFC South and playoff seeding. They’ve been on fire, taking care of business week in and week out. The Titans have been playing better, but the Jaguars have my total confidence this week.
The Rams’ playoff seeding isn’t set, so Los Angeles does have something to play for here. But even if they went with backups like Jimmy Garoppolo, I’d still take them over this horrible Cardinals team.
The Los Angeles Chargers have already declared they’ll be resting their starters. Denver is playing to win, as they have a bye and the #1 overall seed on the line. This should be a pretty easy win for the Broncos.
The New England Patriots showed the world last week that they aren’t messing around with bad teams. I fully expect them to dispatch this Dolphins team pretty easily. Show off Drake Maye, secure the MVP trophy Matt Stafford handed him. Then secure the #2 seed in the AFC.
The Houston Texans defense, and the team in general has been on a roll. This week, they get Riley Leonard in his first career start. Expect this Texans defense to feast on Leonard. The Texans are still alive for the AFC South crown as well.
Confident Picks
6.Eagles Over Commanders
7.Bills Over Jets
8.Cowboys Over Giants
9.Bengals Over Browns
10.Falcons Over Saints
At this point, we know who the good teams are and who the bad teams are. Teams like the Commanders are ready for it to be over, while teams like Philadelphia gear up for the playoffs. Give me Philadelphia to take this one home and kick off the confident list.
The Buffalo Bills are still fighting for seeding, and the New York Jets. Well, have you seen them play football this year? Come to think of it, I haven’t, Bills roll.
The New York Giants already got up for a meaningless game last week and flushed the #1 pick and the assets they could have gotten for it down the drain. I don’t see them getting up two weeks in a row, as they haven’t all year. Dallas didn’t make the playoffs, but they are clearly the better team here.
Cleveland got up last week and slayed the Pittsburgh Steelers. That was a home game that meant something for them to mess up the Steelers’ season, and the Browns have magic in the Dog Pound. This week, they are on the road, and while their defense is good, give me Burrow.
The Falcons have suddenly found life when it matters least. If Tampa wins Saturday, they can play spoiler, and I expect them to try to do so. New Orleans has been playing much better down the stretch, but I like Atlanta here.
Toss-Ups
11.Packers Over Vikings
12.Panthers Over Buccaneers
13.Bears Over Lions
14.Raiders Over Chiefs
15.Steelers Over Ravens
16.49ers Over Seahawks
Toss-Ups is a tough category this week. The Packers have locked into the seven seed, and the Vikings just suck. This will likely be another Malik Willis game, but he’s a good quarterback. Unlike NINE in Minnesota. The Packers take this meaningless game.
The Carolina Panthers win every other week. 10 games in a row doesn’t seem like a coincidence. I don’t make the rules, I’m just trying to figure them out. Carolina wins and goes to the playoffs on Saturday.
It feels like this should be a spot where the Lions come out and win randomly, that’s why this is in the toss-ups. But Detroit looks bad, and Chicago looks good. Give me the Bears to close out a strong season.
The ultimate tank bowl here. Neither team will be trying to win this game. The Chiefs found a way to lose to the Titans a few weeks ago. Andy Reid is better than Pete Carroll, and the goal is to lose. So maybe he’s better at losing on purpose.
The Ravens and Steelers are the perfect way to end the regular season on Sunday Night Football. This game truly could go either way, but this is the type of game Mike Tomlin shows up in.
Game of the week! Flip a coin and pick a winner Saturday Night. I personally think the 49ers are better, so I’m riding with them, but this could be a close game.
