There are so many different ways to make your picks for Week 18 of the NFL season on DraftKings and DraftKings Sportsbook. The DraftKings Pick ‘Em Pools are one of the best ways to get in on the action.
DraftKings has huge NFL Pick ‘Em Pools for Week 18. You can enter the $5 NFL Week 18 Spreads Pool with $4,000+ in prizes here. You can also enter the $100 NFL Week 18 Spreads Pool with $3,000+ in prizes here.
NFL Pick ‘Em Pools
This is the last week to get in on an NFL pick ’em pool. Here are my five favorite selections to use this week in NFL against the spread pools.
Week 18 Picks
Bengals -7.5 vs. Browns — The Bengals are taking on the Browns in one of the few games of the weekend with no playoff implications. These two teams faced off in Week 1 in Cleveland, and now finish the season facing each other in Cincinnati. The Bengals won that first meeting 17-16, with Joe Flacco at quarterback for the Browns, two quarterbacks removed from the current starter, Shedeur Sanders. That was also before Joe Burrow’s injury derailed the Bengals season, an injury that Burrow has since returned from.
If the Bengals come to play, they should roll against the Browns. Cleveland is coming off an upset win over Pittsburgh. The Browns are 0-6 ATS following a win, failing to cover by over 11 points per game, since the start of last season. The Cleveland defense has also been completely different at home compared to on the road. They are allowing 18.1 PPG in Cleveland and allowing 28.3 PPG away from home this season. Burrow should be able to move the ball and put up points, forcing Sanders to try to keep up. That should lead to mistakes from Sanders that the Bengals can capitalize on. This should be a double-digit win for the Bengals to close a disappointing season.
Falcons -2.5 vs. Saints — The Falcons and Saints are both eliminated from playoff contention, yet this could be one of the biggest games of the weekend. The Panthers and Buccaneers face off on Saturday afternoon with the NFC South on the line, sort of. If the Panthers win, they win the division no matter what. However, if Tampa Bay wins, they will need to spend Sunday afternoon sweating out this game. If the Buccaneers beat the Panthers, and the Falcons beat the Saints, it will be a three-way tie for the NFC South. The way that the tiebreaker works, the Panthers would win the division despite losing Saturday’s game against Tampa Bay.
If Tampa Bay wins, Atlanta will definitely be motivated to win on Sunday. While Carolina will ultimately win the tiebreaker, Atlanta would be able to say that they tied for the best record in the division, a nice moral victory after a poor season. The Saints’ four-game winning streak has been a great story, with Tyler Shough playing well at quarterback. However, those wins came against the Panthers, Titans, Bucs and Jets. Since Week 10, those defense ranks 19th, 23rd, 27th and 32nd in defensive EPA/dropback. Shough has not faced a serious defense on this win streak, and the Falcons have one of those.
Last week against the Rams, Atlanta showed how good its defense can be when healthy and prepared. The Falcons have pass rushers who can get after Shough and force him into mistakes. The Saints have no real running game without Alvin Kamara, and now Chris Olave will be out. The Saints have no serious skill position players, so Shough will need to play flawlessly to win this game. Bijan Robinson should dominate this game and get the Falcons the win and cover.
Raiders +5.5 vs. Chiefs — This pick is simply a fade of the Chiefs. The Raiders have been awful this season, but this Chiefs team has lost five straight games, including getting streamrolled by the Titans. They have no offense with Chris Oladokun at quarterback, and Kansas City should hold out any players with nagging injuries such as Xavier Worthy, Kareem Hunt and several starters on the offensive line. The Chiefs will want to lose this game to improve their draft stock, while the Raiders are already locked into a top-two pick with the Giants, who are likely not interested in drafting a quarterback. The Chiefs have more motivation to tank, and for once, the Raiders have the quarterback advantage. This should be an ugly game, so with one team getting this many points, it’s hard to pass them up.
Buccaneers -2.5 vs. Panthers — The Buccaneers are 1-7 SU and 0-8 ATS in their last eight games. Baker Mayfield’s play has fallen off a cliff, and he is likely playing hurt. The Tampa Bay defense has seen a serious drop-off, and the offense has not gotten a boost from the return of Mike Evans and Bucky Irving. All of that being said, they should win this game against Carolina. It seems different because this is such a pivotal “must-win” game in the final week of the season, but it’s really the ultimate buy-low spot on Tampa Bay.
The Buccaneers were just three-point favorites on the road in Carolina two weeks ago. The Bucs lost that game by three points, but the box score was basically dead even. Baker Mayfield threw an interception on a miscommunication with Mike Evans in the final minute in Carolina territory, with the Bucs driving to tie or win the game. If Tampa Bay picks up just one first down there instead of the interception, they likely kick a field goal to send the game to overtime, and if they win in overtime, this is a whole different story. Now, Tampa Bay is only favored by 2.5 points at home? That is an unwarranted overadjustment, especially considering the Panthers were dominated by the Seahawks in the one game between that one and this one.
In his career, Bryce Young is 10-12 in home games, but 4-19 on the road. Baker Mayfield is much more experienced in these must-win games. The Buccaneers also have more experienced coaches and skill position players who could pull off the one big play needed to break this game open. I’ll back Tampa Bay to break its eight-game ATS losing streak and finally get a win and cover to give themselves a shot heading into Sunday.
Seahawks -1.5 @ 49ers — The Seahawks and 49ers are battling for the NFC West and the No. 1 seed. This is a massive game that means the difference between a first-round bye and home-field advantage throughout the NFC playoffs, versus having to go on the road in the first round. These teams played in Week 1 of this season, and the 49ers won on the road in Seattle. However, since that game, the 49ers have dealt with a lot of injuries on the defensive side of the ball. The San Francisco defense has serious issues, ranking 24th in the NFL in defensive EPA/play and 30th in defensive success rate this season. Sam Darnold has really only struggled this season against teams with a great pass rush, like the Rams, Colts and Texans. The 49ers should not get much of a pass rush, allowing Darnold time to make plays.
Both of these offenses are elite, ranking top eight in the league in success rate. However, the defensive disparity is massive. Seattle ranks second in the NFL in defensive EPA/play and fourth in defensive success rate. They have managed to slow down basically every offense they have faced this season, including the 49ers in the first matchup this season. Both offenses should have some success, but the 49ers’ defense could wear down, while Seattle’s defense should come up with a couple of key stops to secure the win.
