After Baltimore Ravens lost New England Patriots in Week 16, their hopes of winning the AFC North all but evaporated. They will need to win in the playoffs to have any chance. Green Bay Packers on the road and have Pittsburgh Steelers lose to the unfortunate Cleveland Browns at 17 weeks.
As fate would have it, both of those results came to fruition, with the Ravens and Browns overcoming underdog status to win their games and set up a winner-take-all showdown for the AFC North between Baltimore and Pittsburgh in Week 18. The Ravens opened as 3-point favorites against the Steelers on DraftKings.
Entering Week 17, Pittsburgh had -1400 odds to win the division compared to +800 for the Ravens. DraftKings said 87% of the money came to the Ravens from the AFC North last week, while BetMGM said it got 83% of the money from Baltimore backing over the same period, although the Ravens are still the smallest liability for the division as a whole.
It's been quite an odyssey for the Ravens to get to this point. Entering the season as the odds-on favorites, they briefly lost favorite status to Pittsburgh heading into Week 7 before returning to the top of the odds table for several weeks. Then the Steelers' head-to-head win over Baltimore in Week 14 advanced them to a loss to Cleveland.
With the division on the line, the Ravens opened at -170 on the money line. Despite some concerns about injuries surrounding Lamar JacksonBookmakers have Baltimore as the favorite to make field goals.
“We don't think there's much difference between [backup QB Tyler] Huntley and this version of Jackson that looks like an injured version of Jackson,” John Murray, vice president of Westgate SuperBook in Las Vegas, told ESPN. “The Ravens offense looked as good as ever on Saturday, Huntley knows the offense well, and Lamar hasn't been right all season. I don’t see it as a big deal.”
Joey Feazel, head of football at Caesars Sportsbook, sees a little more contrast between Jackson and Huntley, saying he expects the game to move closer to the pick if the former is eliminated.
Ravens-Steelers won't be the only game up for the division title next week.
Entering week 11, Tampa Bay Buccaneers were -1200 to win the NFC South while Carolina Panthers were +1200 – both teams will meet in the division in Week 18. The Bucs opened as 3.5-point home favorites against the Panthers, according to DraftKings odds.
The match is the culmination of opposing trends for the division rivals. Tampa Bay has failed to cover the spread in eight straight games, which is the longest active ATS losing streak in the NFL and the longest in franchise history, according to ESPN Research. Meanwhile, Carolina made a full comeback from a long +2500 position to win the NFC South in Week 5.
In another race in a close division, if San Francisco 49ers win Chicago Bears on Sunday Night Football they will face Seattle Seahawks in Week 18 for the NFC West title and first place in the conference.
NFL Odds and Endings
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Despite boring games that weren't broadcast on traditional TV channels, the NFL overtook the NBA in betting interest at Christmas. At Caesars Sportsbook, the NBA exhibition games generated only nearly half the amount of money that was bet on the NFL game with the smallest bets between Dallas Cowboys And Washington commanders. “The NFL is still king at the end of the day, as the three low-stakes NFL games easily outperformed all NBA games,” Fiesel said.
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Derrick Henry was the DraftKings player with the most 2+ touchdowns during Saturday's two-game sweep…he scored four times in the Ravens' big win over the Packers.
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Cincinnati Bengals recipient Ja'Marr Chase openly stated his goal ahead of Week 17. “I think the biggest thing on the list is to score another touchdown… I think I'm late since Week 7,” Chase told reporters last week. DraftKings players who listened were rewarded. More money was bet on Chase to score a touchdown on Sunday than any other DraftKings player. He caught two touchdowns in a 37-14 rout of the Bengals. Arizona Cardinals.
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Thanks to a thrilling victory over Buffalo Bills, Philadelphia Eagles (+3.5) has now won six straight games as an underdog, including the playoffs, its longest such streak since 2010, according to ESPN Research.
Season wins on the line in Week 18
[Totals based on BetMGM openers]
College Football Odds
