The final curtain… Week 18 of the NFL season is here and that means the final weekend of the regular season with the final playoff spots to be confirmed.
Gridiron guru Ben Steele‘s got his game face on and has put together marvellous Multi-Match Bet Builder for the crunch 6pm games.
NFL Sunday Multi-Match Bet Builder
6pm: New Orleans Saints @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Mike Evans over 94.5 receiving yards
Bucky Irving over 87.5 rushing yards
6pm: Carolina Panthers @ Atlanta Falcons
Bijan Robinson anytime touchdown
6pm: Buffalo Bills @ New England Patriots
Buffalo Bills -3
- A Multi-Match Bet Builder with these selections pays at approximately 8/1 with Paddy Power. CLICK OR TAP HERE TO ADD TO YOUR BETSLIP.
New Orleans Saints @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Mike Evans Over 94.5 Receiving Yards
Mike Evans can enter rarified air among wide receivers on Sunday. He is 85 yards away from an 11th consecutive season with 1,000+ receiving yards, a feat only ever achieved by the legendary Jerry Rice, widely regarded as the greatest WR of all time. Evans, who has played his entire professional career in Tampa, last failed to reach 1,000 yards in a season while still in high school and will know that a good showing will be huge for his team’s playoff chances.
Tampa, who only need a win to secure the NFC South title and the 4th seed in the playoffs, are heavy favourites against a New Orleans team riddled with injuries and come into the game with their offence in great form. Quarterback Baker Mayfield and his colleagues have combined for over 400 yards of offence in their last five games, I expect Evans to be a sizeable chunk of that output on Sunday.
Bucky Irving Over 87.5 Rushing Yards
While Evans is a veteran still at the top of his game, running back Bucky Irving is proving to be a huge asset for Tampa in his rookie season. With 1,033 rushing yards and seven touchdowns Irving leads all rookie running backs in every major statistic. Additionally, while his backfield mate Rachaad White is a slightly more talented pass catcher Irving has also been a solid receiver too, picking up 25 yards a game.
In the last three games Irving has averaged 131 total yards a game and picked up 105 yards against New Orleans last time out. Facing a Saints defence who have struggled against the run look for Irving to top his rushing yards line.
Carolina Panthers @ Atlanta Falcons
Bijan Robinson Anytime Touchdown
The Atlanta Falcons will be hoping their big rivals, the New Orleans Saints, can do them a favour and beat Tampa Bay, giving them a chance to sneak into the playoffs with a win over the Carolina Panthers. While keeping an eye on the score in Tampa a big part of the gameplan will be Bijan Robinson who has thrived since Michael Penix Jr took over the position of starting quarterback.
Robinson has found the endzone 13 times this season but four of those touchdowns have been in the last two weeks with Penix Jr under center. Robinson, who has been the focal point of the offence since arriving in Atlanta last year, will fancy his chances against one of the worst run defences in NFL history. Look for at least, one touchdown from the Falcons number 7 in the last game of the season.
Buffalo Bills @ New England Patriots
Buffalo Bills -3
A bit of an anomaly game here. The Buffalo Bills have nothing to play for having secured the AFC’s second seed with a win over the New York Jets last week; the New England Patriots on the other hand will know a loss guarantees them the first overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. The Bills are expected to rest a lot of their key starters, including MVP favourite Josh Allen, but there is a lot of speculation that the Patriots may well do the same.
New England are in an interesting position of having drafted a quarterback, Drake Maye, in the 2024 draft who has shown signs of promise as part of a terrible team this year so picking first would allow them to reassess and pick another QB or demand a king’s ransom in a trade deal from a team desperate to pick a new signal caller. With that in mind, and the Bills backups looking to make a name for themselves before the playoffs I’m backing Buffalo to cover the spread in a win.
NFL Sunday Betting Tips
6pm: New Orleans Saints @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Mike Evans over 94.5 receiving yards
Bucky Irving over 87.5 rushing yards
6pm: Carolina Panthers @ Atlanta Falcons
Bijan Robinson anytime touchdown
6pm: Buffalo Bills @ New England Patriots
Buffalo Bills -3
- A Multi-Match Bet Builder with these selections pays at approximately 8/1 with Paddy Power. CLICK OR TAP HERE TO ADD TO YOUR BETSLIP.
*All prices are bang up to date with our snazzy widgets, while odds in copy are accurate at time of publishing but subject to change.
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