Navigate

NFL Week 18 Odds, Picks & Predictions: Longshot Bets (2023)

by |

The final week of the NFL season is here, which means it’s time to throw out almost every stat from this season. Some teams are fighting for their playoff lives, others are taking the week off and there are a few who hope to play spoiler for their division rivals.

Here are the best long-shot bets of Week 18 of the NFL season.

Get instant alerts when a line reaches your target via the BettingPros App >>

Best NFL Week 18 Longshot Bets

Cincinnati Bengals -20.5

The Cleveland Browns are locked into the fifth seed in the AFC. Considering how many injuries they’ve already had this season, they can’t afford more before the playoffs. They’ve already announced that they’ll be benching their starters and Jeff Driskel will start at quarterback.

The Bengals have lost back-to-back games and have certainly had their problems without Joe Burrow. Since they won’t be in the playoffs, they’ll be playing their full team and players will be feasting on backups as they play for incentives.

This is a lot of points, but the Browns may not score on Sunday. Look for the Bengals to score at least 27 against a backup defense, just like they did in their first three games with Jake Browning as the starter.

Justin Fields 100+ rushing yards

For the second consecutive season, the Green Bay Packers enter Week 18 in a win-and-in situation. Yet, for the second consecutive season, they’re also facing a division rival that has gotten hot to end the year.

The Chicago Bears are playing for nothing but pride, but they have a real chance to end the season of their division rivals. A big part of the reason they have that opportunity is Fields, who leads the team in rushing despite missing four games this season. He’s only rushed for more than 100 yards once this season, but he did run for 97 against the Arizona Cardinals two weeks ago.

The Packers have one of the worst rush defenses in football. Unfortunately, the Bears don’t have a running back to take advantage of that weakness. Instead, they’ll look to Fields to earn them the victory. The young quarterback will rush for 100 yards for the second time this season, as fights to save his job ahead of the 2024 NFL Draft.

Dallas Cowboys and Washington Commanders both score 25+ points

After this past week’s controversial win over the Detroit Lions, all the Cowboys need to do is beat the Commanders to win the NFC East. Earlier this season, the Cowboys beat the Commanders 45-10, so they should have no problem winning again. However, this is going to be a very high-scoring game and both teams are going to do their part.

The Commanders have faced an impossible schedule in the back half of the season, which is a big part of the reason they’ve lost seven games in a row. Catching the Cowboys after a dramatic victory is exactly what they needed to have any hope of closing the season on a high note.

The Cowboys haven’t scored more than 20 points in three weeks, but they’re about to face the worst-scoring defense in football. They will likely score in the 40s on Sunday. Meanwhile, the Commanders will take advantage of the unfocused Cowboys early, then put some more points on the board late when the game is out of reach and the Cowboys start resting their starters as they look ahead to next week’s playoffs. 

Make sure to check out our other best bets for Thursday:

Transform your betting strategy with Automated Line Tracking across all major markets and sports >>


Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Podcasts | RadioPublic | Breaker | Castbox | Pocket Casts

Phil Wood is a featured writer at BettingPros. For more from Phil, check out his archive and follow him @Phil_Wood_Jr.

Try Premium for FREE in our mobile app

BettingPros App