Bleacher Report’s Expert Week 18 NFL Picks

Buckle up, NFL bettors. Week 18 could take you on a wild ride this weekend.

Bleacher Report’s NFL expert panel, which includes analysts Brad Gagnon, Gary Davenport, Brent Sobleski, and Maurice Moton, along with editors Wes O’Donnell, Ian Hanford, and Vince Michelino from B/R Betting Strategy, needed extra time to filter through coachspeak to figure out which playoff teams may sit starters or limit workloads for key players, a huge factor in several matchups.

You also have to wonder if overwhelming favorites in games with playoff implications will pull starters early to preserve key playmakers for Wild Card Weekend.

Our crew sorted through all the potential motives to break down the last full slate of the regular season.

As you can see in the standings below, our panelists have a lot at stake. O’Donnell is clinging on to a four-game lead for first place. Behind him, there’s a five-game difference between second and sixth place.

Here’s the leaderboard with last week’s records in parentheses, followed by our experts’ analysis of the games.

1. O’Donnell: 140-110-6 (8-6-2)

2. Hanford: 136-114-6 (6-8-2)

3. Sobleski: 135-115-6 (8-6-2)

4. Moton: 133-117-6 (9-5-2)

5. Davenport: 132-118-6 (10-4-2)

6. Michelino: 131-119-6 (5-9-2)

7. Knox: 129-121-6 (8-6-2)

8. Gagnon 123-127-6 (9-5-2)

Consensus picks: 119-92-2 (7-4-2)

Lines are from DraftKings as of Wednesday, Jan. 1, at 4 p.m. ET. Check DraftKings for the latest odds info. Information on public betting trends is courtesy of the Action Network. ATS records are provided by Team Rankings.