NFL Picks: Week 18 Early Line Movement and Betting Trends

NFL Picks: Week 18 Early Line Movement and Betting Trends

This article is part of our NFL Picks series.

NFL Week 18 Line Movement Breakdown

The goal of this article is to look at the key line moves for the week and determine what they mean for betting purposes. Key numbers in the NFL to watch for are 3, 7, 6, 14, and 10. When a line crosses through one of these, it is a significant move that warrants attention.

The final week of the NFL regular season is the toughest to handicap as teams who have clinched playoff spots could be resting their starters the whole game or just the first half.  But playoff seeding and home-field advantage is also a huge factor in motivation for teams. You also have teams that are still fighting for a playoff spot against teams that have nothing to play for. 

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Latest NFL Week 18 Odds

For more odds across multiple books, take a look at NFL Week 18 odds.

Kansas City Chiefs (-9.5) @ Las Vegas Raiders O/U 53.0

Tennessee Titans @ Jacksonville Jaguars (-6.5) O/U 39.0

Baltimore Ravens @ Cincinnati Bengals (OFF THE BOARD)

Tampa Bay Buccaneers @ Atlanta Falcons (-3.0) O/U 40.5

New England Patriots @ Buffalo Bills (OFF THE BOARD)

Minnesota Vikings (-4.0) @ Chicago Bears O/U 46.0

Houston Texans @ Indianapolis Colts (-3.0) O/U 38.5

New York Jets @ Miami Dolphins (-1.5) O/U 38.5

Carolina Panthers @ New Orleans Saints (-4.0) O/U 41.5

Cleveland Browns @ Pittsburgh Steelers (-3.0) O/U 39.0

New York Giants @ Philadelphia Eagles (-14.0) O/U 42.5

Dallas Cowboys (-4.5) @ Washington Commanders O/U 42.0

Los Angeles Chargers (-3.5) @ Denver Broncos O/U 40.5

Arizona Cardinals @ San Francisco 49ers (-14.0) O/U 41.0

Los Angeles Rams @ Seattle Seahawks (-7.0) O/U 41.5

Detroit Lions @ Green Bay Packers (-4.5) O/U 49.5                

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NFL Week 18 Line Movement: Tennessee Titans at Jacksonville Jaguars

This line opened Titans -3.0 in May and has moved to Jaguars -6.0 last week. It went to -7.0 and is now at -6.5.  This game is for the AFC South division title and the fourth seed in the AFC playoffs. The Jaguars are on a four-game winning streak and their offense has really caught fire in that streak. The Titans are on a six-game losing streak and will start backup quarterback Joshua Dobbs. They have scored over 16 points just once in this six-game skid.  A 9.5-point swing is significant, but not as much in Week 18. The Jaguars smelled blood and the Titans look to be dead so the favorites look like the play here.  

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NFL Week 18 Line Movement:  Tampa Bay Buccaneers   at Atlanta Falcons

This game has had some wild line movement and that is all due to Week 18 and Tampa having locked into the fourth seed in the NFC playoffs. The original opening line was Bucs -7.5 and it fell all the way to pick 'em on December 27th. On January 1st, the line moved to Falcons -7.5 as the Bucs have clinched and nothing to play for. But there was then a move down to -6.5 and another one to Falcons -3.0. Word came out that the Bucs were still going to play all of their starters in this game, but if they only played the first half I would not be surprised. 

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NFL Week 18 Line Movement: New York Giants at Philadelphia Eagles  

This has turned into a must-win game for the Eagles, who would like to capture the number one seed in the NFC to get the bye and home field throughout the playoffs. The opening line was Eagles -5.0 until December 27th when it dropped to Eagles -1.5. That was when it looked like the Eagles would not need this game and the Giants were still fighting for a playoff spot. It went to Eagles -2.0 on December 30th. On January 1st, the line went all the way to Eagles -13.5 as it was announced that Jalen Hurts would play and the Giants are locked into the sixth seed. 

The Eagles are still dealing with several other injuries and this still feels like a huge overreaction in the line move. 

NFL Week 18 Line Movement: Los Angeles Rams   at Seattle Seahawks

The Seahawks are still fighting for a playoff spot in the NFC, but they need help. The Packers will have to lose to the Lions along with a Seattle win. The interesting piece to this game is that it is scheduled for 4:25 pm eastern and the Packers/Lions game is at 8:20 pm eastern. Both Seattle and Green Bay need a win regardless of each other's outcome.

The opening line in the summer was Rams -5.5. They were coming off a Super Bowl win and the Seahawks were thought to be one of the worst teams in the league after trading Russell Wilson to the Broncos. The line moved to Seattle -3.0 on December 27th and has moved to -6.5 over the last week. The Seahawks are now -6.5 favorites for a 12-point line move. Even though the Rams have nothing to play for, they can ruin their division rival's season which is enough motivation. 

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The NFL regular season is wrapping and you can keep up with all the action with the latest NFL odds, weekly NFL picks, NFL futures, and NFL player futures from the best NFL betting sites as the playoff field gets solidified.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Michael Rathburn
Known as “Rath” in the Daily Fantasy Sports (DFS) community, he has helped run operations for two prominent daily fantasy sports startups. Michael has taken his insider knowledge and expertise in daily fantasy sports to the content side. Rath won the 2016 FSWA "Baseball Article of the Year, Online" award and was a finalist for the FSWA Best Baseball Series in 2011.
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