FOX Bet Super 6: NFL Week 18 picks to win $100,000
By Jason McIntyre
FOX Sports Betting Analyst
What an NFL season it's been. It feels like just yesterday we were kicking off the first week of the first ever 18-week season. Now, here we are, at the first ever Week 18 in the NFL.
With the end of the 2021 NFL regular season upon us, FOX Bet is giving away $100,000 of Terry Bradshaw's money absolutely for free in the Sunday Challenge Regular Season Finale. All you have to do is download the FOX Bet Super 6 app, enter the NFL Sunday Challenge and make your picks on six games from Sunday's Week 18 slate. If you're right, you'll have a shot at the grand prize!
To help you get to the pay window, here are my thoughts on this week's Super 6 games, with all NFL odds via FOX Bet.
Washington Football Team @ New York Giants (1 p.m. ET Sunday, FOX)
These are two teams that have had terrible seasons and could be looking to major overhauls this offseason. Do the Giants keep coach Joe Judge? He got the dreaded vote of confident in recent weeks, only to watch a listless offense behind Mike Glennon go nowhere. Two turnovers to start the Bears game snowballed, and they ended up with a pathetic 13 first downs and 151 yards. How bad was it? In a blowout, Saquon Barkley had his first 100-yard game of the season, without having a carry eclipse 10 yards.
Jake Fromm is expected to start at QB this week, but it probably doesn’t change much. Washington was once 6-6 after wins over the Bucs and Raiders, but COVID and injuries crushed the team down the stretch, and they’ll face big questions about whether Taylor Heinicke is their future QB. If he loses to the Giants, you can forget that option. Pick: Washington to win by 7-9 points
Chicago Bears @ Minnesota Vikings (1 p.m. ET Sunday, FOX)
A meaningless game, postseason-wise, as the Vikings got eliminated from playoff contention last week. It could be the final game for each team’s head coach, too. Matt Nagy has been on the hot seat in Chicago all season, and despite two playoff trips out of the four seasons he’s been there, he doesn’t have a win, and the team has regressed from the 12-4 start in his first season.
It sounds like rookie Justin Fields will be back at QB. Fields will be playing to impress prospective coaches, and he’ll be surrounded by veterans possibly playing their last game a Bears uniform (Allen Robinson, Akiem Hicks, Jimmy Graham).
The same is largely true for the Vikings, who have gone two straight seasons without ever being above .500 for Mike Zimmer. After a successful eight-year run, with two playoff wins and an appearance in an NFC title game (with Case Keenum under center!) it feels like the end. Seven starters on the defense are free agents.
It’s a difficult game to handicap because you don’t know the motivation of either side, but you have to lean the Vikings giving Zimmer a proper send off. Pick: Vikings to win by 3-4 points
Green Bay Packers @ Detroit Lions (1 p.m. ET Sunday, FOX)
The Packers have the No. 1 seed locked up, and there’s nothing to play for here. If Green Bay elects to sit Aaron Rodgers, Aaron Jones and DaVante Adams, you’re looking at three weeks between games, which could make for a rusty playoff opener. So maybe the Packers play their starters for a series before giving way to Jordan Love and company.
Betting the Lions pre-flop has been an adventure: In the second half of the season, they either hang around and cover (or win!) or get blown away (see at Denver, at Seattle). They’ve won their past two home games, and covered three straight in Detroit. The last time the Lions beat the Packers was — you guessed it — the final week of the season in 2018, as they held DeShone Kizer to 175 yards of total offense in a 31-0 blowout.
Detroit’s starters — chiefly, receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown — are playing for roster spots next year to impress the coach; the Packers are busy planning their bye week. Pick: Lions to win by 3-4 points
Cincinnati Bengals @ Cleveland Browns (1 p.m. ET Sunday, FOX)
Given the beating Joe Burrow took against the Chiefs — sacked five times, knee injury late — it’s difficult to imagine him dropping back in the pocket 30 times against a team with Myles Garrett that ranks in the top half of the league in pressure rate while barely blitzing (26th).
The Browns were a colossal disappointment this season, going from a chic Super Bowl pick to a flaming disaster, largely because Baker Mayfield woefully underperformed while playing for a lucrative contract. This may be his final chance to impress the coaching staff — or other teams in the league in case the Browns try to move on. He can’t do any worse than the MNF stinker, right? Pick: Browns to win by 3-4 points
New Orleans Saints @ Atlanta Falcons (4:25 p.m. ET Sunday, FOX)
The Saints have an outside shot of making the playoffs, but they’ll need help: A win plus a 49ers loss to the Rams. This won’t be an easy one, despite the Saints being favored by 4.5. In the last meeting, the Falcons dominated for three quarters before Trevor Siemian erupted for 22 points in the 4th quarter and the Saints lost a close one 27-25. Atlanta averaged 6.4 yards per play and got into the red zone five times.
Matt Ryan has been playing terrific of late, perhaps auditioning for teams to come and get him, the way the Rams plucked Matthew Stafford from a disaster in Detroit and made LA a Super Bowl contender once again. Ryan hasn’t thrown an interception since Thanksgiving week. But his offensive line better hold up this week — 11 sacks allowed in the past three games — as the healthy Saints buried Sam Darnold seven times last week.
In the final week of the season, gambling lines are tilted toward teams that "need to win" because those are the teams the public will bet. Look for the scrappy Falcons to keep it close, and maybe pull off the victory. Pick: Falcons to win by 5-6 points
San Francisco 49ers @ Los Angeles Rams (4:25 p.m. ET Sunday, FOX)
It's the biggest game of the weekend in the NFC, as it will greatly shape the conference playoff picture. The Rams need a win to secure the division title and ensure a home playoff game. The 49ers need a win to extend the season.
San Francisco’s Kyle Shanahan has owned Sean McVay in recent years, winning five straight against him. In this year’s first meeting, Jimmy Garoppolo was flawless (15-of-19, 2 TDs) and Matt Stafford threw a first quarter pick-six that the Rams couldn’t recover from. Stafford has thrown four pick-sixes this year; Aaron Rodgers only has three in his entire career.
The 49ers will have to start Trey Lance again if Garoppolo’s finger remains a problem, and Lance vs this aggressive Rams front (five sacks vs Tyler Huntley last week) will be a problem. The 49ers secondary, already a huge liability, is getting hit with Covid and that’s sub-optimal heading into a matchup against the top receiver in the NFL this year (Cooper Kupp) and surging Odell Beckham (five TDs in the last six games).
San Francisco is getting bet here, but give me the Rams getting back on track at home after a tough two-game road stretch. Pick: Rams to win by 3-4 points
J-MAC'S SUPER 6 PICKS FOR WEEK 18
Washington to win by 7-9 points
Vikings to win by 3-4 points
Lions to win by 3-4 points
Browns to win by 3-4 points
Falcons to win by 5-6 points
Rams to win by 3-4 points
Jason McIntyre is a FOX Sports betting analyst, and he also writes about the NFL and NBA Draft. He joined FS1 in 2016 and has appeared on every show on the network. In 2017, McIntyre began producing gambling content on the NFL, college football and NBA for FOX Sports. He had a gambling podcast for FOX, "Coming Up Winners," in 2018 and 2019. Before arriving at FOX, he created the website The Big Lead, which he sold in 2010.
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