NFL Week 18 Saturday game picks and predictions

Week 18 of the 2022 NFL season doesn’t feature a Thursday Night Football game, ostensibly for playoff fairness purposes. It does, however, feature a pair of Saturday games now that the college football season is all but completed. The afternoon game is between the high-flying Kansas City Chiefs and the sputtering Las Vegas Raiders, who gave San Francisco a run for their money but ultimately fell short last week. There’s also a battle for the AFC South division crown between the Tennessee Titans and Jacksonville Jaguars on Saturday night.

Let’s get right to today’s picks, which I’ll be making on a straight moneyline (aka picking the winner) basis. I’ll still provide the information on the spread and over/under, for those interested. At the bottom, I’ll show the rest of the staff’s picks for the games.

All odds are taken from DraftKings Sportsbook and are subject to change. See the current odds here.

Saturday afternoon: Kansas City Chiefs (13-3) at Las Vegas Raiders (6-10)

The pick: Chiefs (-380)

Spread: Chiefs -8 | Over/Under: 52 | Moneyline: Chiefs -380, Raiders +310

Remember the preseason, when everyone thought the AFC West would be the best division in football? Fast forward to Week 18, and only the Chiefs and Chargers have looked good. The Chiefs, once again, have run away with the division but still need a win this week to guarantee the top seed in the AFC. The Raiders, while generally competitive, simply can’t seem to win these close games. With the Chiefs playing for a bye, I think Kansas City takes care of business.

Saturday evening: Tennessee Titans (7-9) at Jacksonville Jaguars (8-8)

The pick: Jaguars (-275)

Spread: Jaguars -6.5 | Over/Under: 40 | Moneyline: Jaguars -275, Titans +230

The AFC South has suddenly become interesting with the Jaguars rebounding in a big way over the second half of the season. Trevor Lawrence is finally starting to look like the top QB he was billed to be in the 2021 NFL Draft, and Jacksonville seems to be finding their footing. It certainly helps that the Titans have largely imploded, in part due to a run of injuries. With Josh Dobbs starting for Tennessee this week, I like the Jaguars to finish the year with a victory and their first postseason berth (and winning season) since 2017.

Staff picks

What are your picks and predictions for tonight’s Saturday matchups?

Odds/lines subject to change. T&Cs apply. See draftkings.com/sportsbook for details.