Week 18 NFL Survivor Pool Tips: Best Picks and Strategies to Stay Alive

The final week of the 2024 NFL season kicks off Sunday, with several high-profile match-ups with playoff implications.

It also features teams who may or may not play their starters and a playoff favorite who should be on upset watch.

Ahead of Week 18, find out the best picks and strategies to stay alive in survivor pools with this preview.

The schedule and moneyline for Week 18 in the NFL are as follows:

Saturday, January 4

Cleveland Browns (+960) at Baltimore Ravens (-1650) (4:30 p.m., ESPN/ABC)

Cincinnati Bengals (-120) at Pittsburgh Steelers (+100) (8:00 p.m., ESPN/ABC)

Sunday, January 5

New York Giants (+145) at Philadelphia Eagles (-175) (1:00 p.m., CBS)

Buffalo Bills (-148) at New England Patriots (+124) (1:00 p.m., CBS)

Chicago Bears (+310) at Green Bay Packers (-395) (1:00 p.m., FOX)

New Orleans Saints (+575) at Tampa Bay Buccaneers (-850) (1:00 p.m., FOX)

Carolina Panthers (+340) at Atlanta Falcons (-440) (1:00 p.m., FOX)

Washington Commanders (-218) at Dallas Cowboys (+180) (1:00 p.m., FOX)

Jacksonville Jaguars (+180) at Indianapolis Colts (-218) (1:00 p.m., FOX)

Houston Texans (-112) at Tennessee Titans (-108) (1:00 p.m., CBS)

San Francisco 49ers (+164) at Arizona Cardinals (-198) (4:25 p.m., FOX)

Kansas City Chiefs (+440) at Denver Broncos (-600) (4:25 p.m., CBS)

Seattle Seahawks (-218) at Los Angeles Rams (+180) (4:25 p.m., FOX)

Los Angeles Chargers (-265) at Las Vegas Raiders (+215) (4:25 p.m., CBS)

Miami Dolphins (-122) at New York Jets (+102) (4:25 p.m., FOX)

Minnesota Vikings (+124) at Detroit Lions (-148) (8:20 p.m., NBC)

Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook

With the regular season concluding Sunday and several playoff positions clinched, there are teams that will have no reason to play starters if they do not want to.

The Kansas City Chiefs are one such team, with the only motivation to get Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce, and other key veterans snaps being the time off between games (potentially 20-plus) before their first playoff appearance.

The AFC West champs and No. 1 overall seed in their conference is an 11-underdog against a Denver Broncos team that needs to win to cash its ticket to the postseason.

Considering Mahomes' recent ankle injury and his experience in the postseason since entering the league, it would be surprising to see him play much past the half, if at all. That may be why Denver is the Moneyline favorite at -600.

Whether the Chiefs want to see their division rivals in the postseason may determine how much we see their stars play Sunday.

Another team with seemingly nothing to play for is the last division champion crowned in Week 17, the Los Angeles Rams.

Formerly 1-4, the team rolled late in the season, finishing 9-2 and winning the NFC West with a victory over Arizona and some strength of victory help, making their Week 18 battle against Seattle meaningless.

Matthew Stafford could benefit from rest and one would assume there will be a steady dose of Blake Corum in the backfield, spelling stud running back Kyren Williams. Cooper Kupp likely will not play much, if at all, and Puka Nacua will likely see his touches limited.

They are the underdogs at home against the Seahawks and with good reason. Any bettor risking it on the Rams is banking on the coaching of Sean McVay and hoping Jimmy Garoppolo can navigate the offense and deliver a victory.

Baltimore enters Week 18 with a simple scenario for winning the AFC North: beat Cleveland and it's theirs.

The oddsmakers think it is a guarantee, with a 17.5-point spread and the Ravens at (-1650) in the Moneyline. There is good reason to believe that Baltimore, at 11-5, will steamroll the Browns.

Cleveland is 3-13 and playing out the stretch, with a third-string quarterback in Dorian Thompson-Robinson who, despite the effort, has the offense performing significantly worse than Jameis Winston did during his time under center.

Still, one look at the Ravens' record against the Browns during Lamar Jackson's stint with the team, which began in 2018, suggests the two teams play each other harder than one would expect, given the trajectories of the two organizations since then.

In the 13 match-ups since Jackson's rookie season, 12 of which he has played in, the Ravens are just 7-6. During the 2023 MVP season and a potential back-to-back campaign in 2024, their last two have seen the Browns upset the more dominant squad.

Jackson has 16 touchdowns to eight interceptions against the division rival in his 12 starts.

This Browns squad does not appear to have the fight in it that their predecessors did at this point in the season.

Based on the history between the teams that dates back to Art Modell moving the Browns to Baltimore and renaming them, and the style of play on the field, not to mention the considerable pressure the Ravens will be under Sunday to sew up the division, taking the massive underdog Cleveland (+950) may be a worthwhile and profitable risk.