Week Eighteen

Baylor -4 – Miss.
Notre Dame +2 – HIT!
2024 NCAA 9-10-1
2024 NFL 11-13-1
NCAA 117-120-6
NFL 154-131-11
270-252-17

Jaguars +4.5 at Colts
Small sample size but for as bad as the Jaguars have been, Doug Pederson is 4-1 vs the Colts. Now they get a Colts team in turmoil after they are eliminated form the Playoffs. The rumor mill is giving off energy that the Colts HC and QB might be off the team after this game as they try and reset. Rumors are fun, feels like the Jaguars have the locker room edge, but I also give them the scheme edge. Doug Pederson calls his best games vs cover 3 system and that’s what the Colts run. There’s a reason he’s 4-1 vs them, and it feels Lawrence has his best games v Indy. Mac Jones will be behind center for the Jags but he’s been more than fine lately. Mac Jones is “above average” and there’s room for him in today’s NFL. Hey, he might even be auditioning for his next team so the game film really matters and the Colts will have a first hand view of him this weekend. If this was AFC North Joe Flacco (Ravens and Browns) I’d be all over the Colts, but he didn’t look the same midseason and I think his aura has ran out.

Chiefs +10.5 at Broncos
You cannot bench everyone in the NFL with there being only a 53 man roster. The Chiefs will be sitting people, most notably Patrick Mahomes, but they will field a team that I think will still be competitive. First off, the Chiefs are the best coached team in the NFL. Andy Reid is a leader of men, and he’s very smart when it comes to offense. He lets Steve Spagnola, who might be the best defensive coordinator, run the defense. The players will be in position to succeed and I see the defense still giving rookie Bo Nix some trouble. Carson Wentz is semi broken but he’s been resting all year and should have his mind right. Reid probably won’t call the same kind of game with the QB switch, but Wentz is more than capable. Patrick Mahomes is out of this world good, but you don’t go 15-1 without having a complete team. Denver is on a two game losing stream and I think they come away with the win, but they will be tested for 60 minutes.

Rams +7 v Seahawks
The Rams will be without some key pieces like QB Matthew Stafford, but Jimmy G did start in the 2019 Super Bowl. He also has a lot to prove if he wants a chance at starting again in the NFL. He’ll lead the Rams who will face a Seahawks team who has nothing to play for. They won’t be resting guys but they have to overcome the emotional let down of being eliminated last week. The Rams have given up 24 points in the last THREE weeks. This wasn’t one shutout and two strong weeks, it was three strong weeks where no team cracked double digits. Again, sounds like they will rest players but again, you cannot sit everyone. The Rams are one of the hotter teams in football and I think they cap off their season with a win vs a divisional foe who has nothing to play for.

Thank you,
Goose