Betting Recap – Week 18
OVERALL NOTES
| Straight Up | 9-7 | | Against the Spread | 6-10 | | Straight Up | 8-8 | | Against the Spread | 9-7 | | Over-Under | 11-5 | |
| Straight Up | 170-101-1 | | Against the Spread | 131-138-3 | | Straight Up | 139-132-1 | | Against the Spread | 127-142-3 | | Over-Under | 127-142-3 | |
THE LARGEST UNDERDOGS TO WIN STRAIGHT UP
- Jaguars +14 (ML +650) vs. Colts, 23-20
- Dolphins +6 (ML +220) vs. Patriots, 33-24
- Seahawks +5.5 (ML ) at Cardinals, 38-30
- Lions +4 (ML ) vs. Packers, 37-30
THE LARGEST FAVORITES TO COVER
- Bills -15.5 vs Jets, 27-10
- Buccaneers -11 vs. Panthers, 41-17
- Cowboys -6 at Eagles, 51-26 (Sat.)
- Washington -6 at Giants, 22-7
THE BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT OF THE WEEK
The Chicago Bears-Minnesota Vikings (+3.5, 45) was a tough one to watch if you were holding a Bears ticket, catching +3.5, or an UNDER ticket.
The Bears took a 3-0 lead after the first quarter, and the UNDER looked to be in good shape. Chicago scored 11 more unanswered points for a 14-0 lead with just 31 seconds left in the first half before Minnesota finally broke through for a field goal with zeroes on the clock at halftime. That was just 17 total points in the first half.
We had another 10 total points in the third quarter, with the Bears clinging to a 17-10 lead after 45 minutes. The Vikings tied it up 17-17 early in the fourth quarter before taking a 24-17 lead midway through the final quarter. There went the Bears +3.5 cover. It got worse for UNDER bettors, as the Vikings had a pick-six with 4:54 to go, taking a 31-17 lead. That's how it wrapped up, and OVER bettors can send their thank you notes to CB Patrick Peterson for his touchdown.
THE BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT OF THE WEEK - PART II
The Cincinnati Bengals-Cleveland Browns (+6.5, 38) saw both the line and the total turn late.
The Browns fired out to a 14-0 lead early in the second quarter, as QB Case Keenum was looking good early on, subbing for QB Baker Mayfield, who elected to have surgery on his torn labrum. However, in the second quarter, S Trayvon Henderson scooped up a fumble by Keenum and returned it 29 yards late in the second quarter to slice the lead to 14-7. If you had the Browns -3.5 or the UNDER 19.5 for the first-half line, you were seething.
The Bengals cut the lead to 14-10 late in the third quarter, but the Browns pushed the lead back to 21-10 with 7:14 to go in the fourth quarter. It looked like the Browns might be good to go for the cover. However, QB Brandon Allen, subbing for the resting QB Joe Burrow (knee), hit WR Chris Evans for a four-yard touchdown with 2:26 to go, cutting the lead to 21-16. As such, anybody holding the Browns -6.5 were left disappointed.
The Bengals elected to go for two, trying to cut the lead to three. However, the Bengals misfired on the two-point conversion, and UNDER bettors hung on, while OVER bettors were left to mutter bad words. It was like losing twice.
TOTAL RECALL
The lowest total on the board in Week 18 was the Washington Football Team-New York Giants (36.5), as QB Jake Fromm made the start for Big Blue. We had a field goal in the first quarter and a field goal in the second quarter, both for Washington, and that was all of the scoring. It was 6-0 at the break. A pick-six by DB Bobby McCain made it 12-0 late in the third quarter, as they failed on the two-point conversion. The Giants finally got on the board early in the fourth, with the WFT posting 10 points to close it out. But there were just 29 total points, and the UNDER was never really in doubt.
The second-lowest total on the board was the Bengals-Browns (38) game, and we told you how that went (see above).
As far as the highest total, the Los Angeles Chargers-Las Vegas Raiders (50) game was expected to be a shootout in a winner-take-all matchup on Sunday Night Football. The Raiders posted a 10-0 lead through 15 minutes, and the UNDER was on target. Vegas took a 17-14 lead to the break, and suddenly the OVER was on pace. After just a field goal for the home side, we had 34 points on the board, and UNDER bettors had hope again. Unfortunately for UNDER bettors, we saw 24 total points in the final 15 minutes of regulation, and nine more points in overtime, as the Raiders won it 35-32.
In the primetime games, the OVER went 2-0. The OVER hit Saturday night, as the Dallas Cowboys piled up 51 points on the Philadelphia Eagles (46) to hit the OVER on their own Saturday night. We then had the Chargers-Raiders epic battle for another OVER. The UNDER finished 28-21-1 (57.1%) through 50 primetime games. In 2020, the UNDER was 28-19-1 (59.5%) in 48 primetime contests. In 2019, the UNDER went 31-17-1 (64.6%) during primetime games.
Where to place a bet this NFL Season?
- Use our exclusive BetMGM Bonus Code VIBONUS1500 to unlock BetMGM’s welcome offer for new sportsbook users!
- Compare the latest NFL Odds from the best sportsbooks before placing a bet on this week's games.
- Check out the North Carolina Sportsbooks just before they launch legal online sports betting.
Daniel Dobish
Dan is a handicapper and sports betting expert for VegasInsider with years of experience writing for a number of top publications in the industry. More from Daniel Dobish 
NFL APR 23, 2024
