The First Ever Week 18 Picks (And More)

ROBBINS NEST

By Lenn Robbins,The New York Extra/TheNYExtra.com

The End. And the end?

Is this the end of Russell Wilson’s tenure in Seattle? Derek Carr in Las Vegas? Ben Roethlisberger in Pittsburgh? Kirk Cousins in Minnesota? Jared Goff in Detroit? Jimmy Garoppolo in San Francisco? Daniel Jones in New York? Baker Mayfield in Cleveland? Matt Ryan in Atlanta? Tom Brady in Tampa (hey, the GOAT will be 45 next season)? And, of course, Mr. Lightning Rod himself, Aaron Rodgers in Green Bay?

And, did we mention that for the first time ever, we have a Week 18 in which the three final Wildcard spots will be determined as well as the rest of the playoff spots and seeding.

The final week of the 2021 regular season comes with more intrigue and storylines than ever before. Which makes picking Week 18 as fascinating as it gets.

Take the Chargers-Raiders game: If the Colts somehow lose to the Jaguars, and the Chargers and Raiders tie, that’s right, tie, BOTH get in.

And one year after turning in one of the most retched seasons in NFL history in which the Washington Filibusters, Pork-Barrelers, Admirals (oops! Pick a name, any name) won the NFC East with a 7-9 record, the Amtrak Division will give us two playoff teams – Dallas and Philly, this season.

With all this drama, with so much on the line, we hope to end the regular season on the plus side, fully cognizant of the possibility that any and all winnings could be lost in the playoffs. But hey, you gotta be in it to win it.

Chiefs -10 at BRONCOS – Mile High is a tough place to play but the Broncos have nothing to play for, except perhaps, Vic Fangio’s future. Hard to imagine any coach succeeding without a topflight quarterback, such as Patrick Mahomes. Denver has played hard and there’s a lot to like about where the franchise is headed. Chiefs, however, are playing for the No.1 overall seed.

$ EAGLES +5 over Cowboys – Mike McCarthy petitioning the league for an extra timeout in case he burns one. Nick Sirianni on the other hand, deserves some consideration for Coach of the Year. Neither team has a terrific resume in terms of quality of wins and with the game in the Insane Asylum known as Lincoln Financial Killing Field, plus the points, we’ll take the Birds. Warning: Monitor Dak’s status.

LIONS +11 over Packers – Neither team has much incentive to win. Pack has wrapped up the No.1 seed. Lions don’t want to win and risk the outside chance of getting the No.1 pick in the draft. Detroit’s two wins and tie have come at Ford Field. Warning: Monitor Aaron Rodgers’ status.

Bears +3 over VIKINGS – It’s hard enough to figure out if Mike Zimmer can get the Vikes to play when they actually have something to play for. This could be (should be) his last game as Minny’s coach. On the other sideline, we have Matt Nagy who has been on the hot seat since reclining on a beach chair last summer.

$ Colts -15.5 over JAGUARS – Many Jax fans will be dressing up as clown versions of team owner Shad Khan. This season can’t end soon enough. Colts still have something to play for.

Titans -10 over TEXANS – Many Texans fans will be dressing up as clown versions of team owner Janice McNair. Titans still have something to play for.

Washington Football Team -6.5 over GIANTS – Joe Judge working on his 2,000-word post-game speech explaining the inner workings of several NFL teams, except the Giants because he’s not exactly sure what’s going on in East Rutherford. WFT focused on Feb. 2 announcement of new name. Go figure.

RAVENS +4 over Steelers – Yes, we get it: Pittsburgh still has a real chance to make the playoffs and Ravens, who have a miniscule chance, would be nuts to play Lamar Jackson. This is more hunch over logic. Just can’t see Baltimore not playing hard and Pittsburgh having a Big Ben emotional letdown.

Bengals -3 over BROWNS – Baker “The Commercial Maker” Mayfield has opted for surgery and is checking his Progressive policy to see what is covered. Bengals still have something to play for. Over/Under on Ja”Marr Chase’s receiving catches and yards is 11 for 187.

Patriots -6.5 over DOLPHINS – Fish have a chance to sneak in. Pats have a chance to win the division. Miami’s resume is not impressive having lost and/or been blown out by every quality team on its schedule.

$ BILLS -16 over Jets – Yes, Gang Green has played better over the last third of the season. Unlike many of the previous seasons when that was the case, there’s reason to believe it can carry over to next season. That’s next season. Bills playing for division title this season.

Buccaneers -8 over PANTHERS – Bucs can’t improve their playoff position (No.3 seed) but one gets the impression the Matt Ruhle experiment will end up as another chapter in the Failed College Coaches in the NFL tomb.

FALCONS +4.5 over Saints – Is this Matty Ice’s last game in Atlanta? That could make this an emotional block party. Saints are going back to Trevor Siemian as the season-long quest to find a successor to Drew Brees continues to its herky jerky unsatisfactory conclusion.

Seahawks +6.5 over CARDINALS – Toughest call of the week. Cards have nothing to play for and will not play Kyler Murray. But the Seahawks shot whatever emotional juice they had left in last week’s home finale. Russell Wilson showed he’s still got it so we’ll take the better QB and the points.

RAMS -4.5 over 49ers– Jimmy Garoppolo might play. Or might not. Which means you should put your money elsewhere because both teams have something to play for and both are physical hombres. Kind of like the Rams in their regular season finale. For all the talk about Matt Stafford’s struggles, he’s second to Brady in yards passing (4,648) and touchdown passes (38). Call this a Matt Statement game.

RAIDERS +3 over Chargers – The Raiders weren’t supposed to be here, right? They lose their coach about midway through the season, their young emerging WR is involved in a horrific and deadly automobile accident. And yet they will play the last game of the regular season on prime time, at home, getting points. Go figure.

Home team in CAPS

$ Best bets

Last Week: 12-3-1; Best Bets: 3-0.

Season, 129-120-4; 25-13.