NFL 2021 Week 18 betting picks & top odds – Sunday, January 09

The Indianapolis Colts can clinch a playoff spot on Sunday with a win over the lowly Jacksonville Jaguars. We’ve got a pick in that matchup and plays in the Cincinnati Bengals vs. Cleveland Browns and Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Baltimore Ravens games in this Sunday’s NFL Week 18 best bets.

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Indianapolis Colts (-15.5) at Jacksonville Jaguars (+15.5)

After failing to defeat the Las Vegas Raiders last Sunday, the Indianapolis Colts (9-7-0) need a win this weekend to earn one of the AFC’s wild card spots. Fortunately for the Colts, they get a fairly easy assignment facing the Jacksonville Jaguars (2-14-0). Jacksonville is 0-8 straight up and 1-7 against the spread over its last eight games and has been defeated by an average margin of 17.8 points per game over that stretch.

The Jaguars’ awful recent play including last Sunday’s 50-10 loss to the New England Patriots has prompted this massively lopsided betting line with online betting sites. There’s no question that the Colts are a considerably better team than the Jaguars, and they’ve got a 6-2 SU and 5-3 ATS record over their last eight games to show that. But Indianapolis’s last win over Jacksonville earlier this season was only by six points, and it wouldn’t be too surprising to see the Colts pull starters from the game to rest if they take a big lead here. We’ll take the points on Jacksonville here even though they have no real shot at winning this game outright.

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Cincinnati Bengals (+6) at Cleveland Browns (-6)

Joe Burrow had another monster game last Sunday to lead the Cincinnati Bengals (10-6-0) to a 34-31 win over the Kansas City Chiefs. Burrow will be one of many Bengals starters getting the day off on Sunday as the team looks ahead to its postseason matchup the following week. Cincinnati’s plan to rest most of its key players has made the Cleveland Browns (7-9-0) a 6-point favorite in this one.

We’re going to go against the grain here and take the Bengals. Cleveland has lost three straight games and has looked listless on offense for weeks with only 14.8 points per game scored over the team’s last seven games. The Browns’ starting quarterback Baker Mayfield is out injured. And Cincinnati’s backups will be motivated to play well to potentially earn some playing time in the postseason and to showcase their skills. Look for Cincinnati to keep it close in a low-scoring game.

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Pittsburgh Steelers (+5.5) at Baltimore Ravens (-5.5)

The Pittsburgh Steelers (8-7-1) defeated the Browns 26-14 last Sunday in Pittsburgh to continue their season-long Jekyll and Hyde act at home and on the road. The Steelers are 6-0-1 SU and 4-3 ATS in their last seven home games and 0-4 SU and 1-3 ATS in their last four road games, allowing an awful 38.5 points per game in those four road losses.

So it would seem like the Baltimore Ravens (8-8-0) would be the play given Pittsburgh’s road struggles, but the Ravens have had their own set of problems on the heels of five straight losses. Remarkably, four of those five losses have come by two points or less. In what will likely be the final game of Ben Roethlisberger’s career, the Steelers may call more passing plays than usual to let him shine. Couple this with Pittsburgh’s terrible road defense, and there are plenty of reasons to like the OVER 41.5 points here.

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