The 2022 NFL regular season comes to an end this weekend and, ironically, the calendar has already flipped to 2023. The final slate of the 2022 calendar year was quite kind to us in this space with a spotless 5-0 record and, while that is never the expectation, it is nice when it happens every once in a while.
Famously, the final week of the regular season is a free-for-all, with many teams having nothing to play for, all kinds of uncertainty in the mix, and most eyes on the upcoming playoffs. As such, this week’s column doesn’t feature a full five-game slate because, well, you never have to bet on games you don’t want to bet on. One more time, you don’t have to bet on these games. The weirdness is palpable this week.
Before we roll through Week 18 and a reduced slate, let’s take stock of the full-season progress.
- Week 17: 5-0
- 2022 Season: 46-37-2
Come get these winners.
TEASER: Jacksonville Jaguars (-0.5) over Tennessee Titans and Minnesota Vikings (-1.5) over Chicago Bears
This is pretty square, which I don’t love, but the options are fairly limited on the teaser market in a week with so much uncertainty. Jacksonville should be able to get home against the Tannehill-less Titans in a game with real stakes. I don’t trust the Vikings at all, but the game is early in the day (1:00 pm ET on Sunday) and Minnesota has some incentive to win. Furthermore, the Bears are starting Nathan Peterman and Chicago needs to lose for draft purposes.
Indianapolis Colts (-2.5) over Houston Texans
It’s beyond disgusting to lay points with the Colts right now, but Indianapolis is the better team and the Texans have genuine tanking incentive. That’s where I’ll stop for now.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers (+2.5) over Atlanta Falcons in the first half
All indications are that the Bucs are going to start Tom Brady and a lot of key guys. There is concern Tampa Bay might pull the rip cord at some point, which explains the first half angle here. Atlanta still isn’t very good, and the Falcons aren’t playing for anything either. I’ll take the candy in the first half.