NFL Week 18 best total bets: Can Eagles get back on track?
Welcome to the final week of the NFL regular season. Doesn't it feel like yesterday when summer was coming to a close and we were dishing out preseason futures?
Week 18 can be a tricky one to navigate. Our Matt Russell provided a betting guide to help you out. Check out Part 1 and Part 2. Here, we'll touch on how to traverse the overs and unders.
Many starting quarterbacks are resting for teams that are locked into their playoff seed. We already have an array of backups playing due to an absurd amount of injuries, but there'll be even more this week. How exciting!
That'll likely lead to ugly football, which has become commonplace this campaign. Totals have been down all season, and this week is no different. Because of the uncertainty at quarterback and an approaching Wild West-type of Week 18, we only have two total bets for the final week of the campaign.
Eagles @ Giants over 41.5 points
The Eagles have lost four of their last five and look more like a non-playoff team than a Super Bowl contender. But it's their defense that's held them back. Philadelphia's offense has still been great against bad units. The Eagles won 33-25 when they met the Giants two weeks ago.
Philadelphia has scored 30-plus points in back-to-back weeks, and Sunday shouldn't be any different against the NFL's fifth-worst scoring defense.
This isn't a must-win for the Eagles. They're pretty much locked into the NFC's No. 5 seed unless the Cowboys somehow lose as double-digit favorites. But Philadelphia is still expected to play its starters to get back on track before the postseason.
The Giants aren't good offensively, but the Eagles have the league's fourth-worst scoring defense. However, in the teams' 33-25 meeting a couple of weeks ago, New York's defense scored two touchdowns: a pick-6 and a fumble recovery on a punt return. That unit won't produce the same output.
The Eagles will carry the scoring, but if the Giants can contribute at least double-digit points against a porous defense, this should go over the total.
Chiefs @ Chargers under 35.5
This could've been one of the season's most exciting, meaningful games between Patrick Mahomes and Justin Herbert. Instead, Blaine Gabbert and Easton Stick will start at quarterback. The Chiefs already locked up the No. 3 seed, and Herbert is out due to a season-ending injury.
The Chargers scored a measly nine points last week against the Broncos. They might reach double figures Sunday, but the Chiefs have a solid defense - even if some of their starters sit. That'll create challenges for Stick and Los Angeles' offense.
Kansas City's offense, which has struggled even with Mahomes under center, won't look the same with a backup quarterback.
This total is the lowest of any game this weekend. Nearly 69% of the Chiefs and Chargers' games have gone under this season. They'll continue that trend with a low-scoring, boring, and meaningless Week 18 contest.
Sam Oshtry is a sports betting writer at theScore. You can follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @soshtry for more betting coverage.