Admin January 5, 2025
NFL Week 18 picks: Why you should consider Dolphins, Commanders, and Packers
Lorenzo Reyes is back with his three best bets ahead of Week 18 games. Find out why he likes the Dolphins, Commanders, and Packers to cover the spread.
Lorenzo’s Locks
The entire AFC North took center stage in a Saturday doubleheader.
Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens captured the AFC North crown with a 35-10 win over the Cleveland Browns. The win punctuated Jackson’s MVP push. Jackson, who’s already won two MVP awards, amassed 217 passing yards and two touchdowns as he led the Ravens (12-5) to victory.
Saturday’s finale featured the Cincinnati Bengals and Pittsburgh Steelers.
Joe Burrow and the Bengals kept their playoff hopes alive with a hard-fought 19-17 win on the road in Pittsburgh. The Bengals (9-8) have won five straight and now need help Sunday to clinch a playoff berth.
Who shined the brightest during the AFC North showdowns? And what were the lowlights? USA TODAY Sports examines the winners and losers from Saturday’s doubleheader.
WINNERS
Baltimore Ravens
Saturday’s win gave the Ravens their second consecutive AFC North title and fourth division crown in the past seven years.
The Ravens will have the AFC’s No. 3 seed in the playoffs.
Lamar Jackson
Jackson surpassed 4,000 passing yards in a season for the first time in his career. Even more impressive, he became the first player in NFL history to pass for 4,000-plus yards and run for 900-plus yards in a single season.
Jackson had a highlight touchdown pass where he looked away and celebrated before a wide-open Rashod Bateman actually caught the football in the end zone.
Jackson compiled 4,172 passing yards, 41 touchdowns, 915 rushing yards and four rushing touchdowns during the regular season. He deserves a third MVP trophy.
Derrick Henry
Henry celebrated his 31st birthday Saturday. His present? An AFC North title in his first year with the Ravens.
Henry also had two birthday parties in the end zone. The running back wore down Cleveland’s defense, rumbling for 138 yards and two touchdowns — 130 of his yards coming in the second half.
Henry rushed for 1,921 yards and 16 touchdowns this year.
Nate Wiggins, Michael Pierce, Ravens’ defense
Wiggins’ first career interception was a pick-six. The Ravens rookie cornerback jumped a pass thrown by Bailey Zappe in the first quarter and returned it 26 yards for a touchdown that gave Baltimore a 7-0 lead.
Pierce’s interception came late in the fourth quarter when the big defensive tackle dropped back in zone coverage and Zappe threw it right to him. The entire Ravens defense celebrated Pierce’s first career INT.
The Ravens’ defense had those two takeaways and held Cleveland to 230 total yards.
Bengals’ playoff hopes
Cincinnati’s win kept its playoff hopes alive. The Bengals (9-8) need the Broncos (9-7) and Dolphins (8-8) to lose Sunday to advance to the playoffs. The Bengals’ biggest obstacle is probably the Broncos. Denver is slated to host the Chiefs’ B squad on Sunday with Kansas City resting many starters.
Joe Burrow
The Bengals’ franchise quarterback tops the NFL in pass attempts, completions, passing yards and passing touchdowns.
Burrow completed his first 12 passes as the Bengals marched down the field on two straight scoring drives to start the game Saturday.
The Bengals’ QB was hit a lot but battled all night. Burrow was evaluated for a concussion in the third quarter but didn’t miss any action.
Cincinnati’s offense got stagnant when Tee Higgins injured his ankle in the second half, but it was able to make enough plays.
Burrow passed for 277 yards, one touchdown and one interception in a gritty performance.
Ja’Marr Chase
Chase has already established franchise single-season records in receptions and receiving yards. He leads the NFL in both categories.
The Bengals’ star wide receiver was a matchup nightmare for Steelers CB Cory Trice Jr. Chase tallied 10 catches, 96 yards and a touchdown.
Chargers
The Steelers’ loss opens the door for the Los Angeles Chargers (10-6) to claim the fifth seed in the AFC playoffs. If the Chargers beat the Raiders Sunday, they’ll finish ahead of the Steelers (10-7) and would face the AFC South champion Houston Texans (9-7) in the wild card round.
Sack leaders
Four of this season’s sack leaders took the field Saturday in Trey Hendrickson, Myles Garrett, Kyle Van Noy and T.J. Watt.
Hendrickson picked up 3.5 sacks to bring his total to a league-leading 17.5.
Van Noy registered a sack and has 12.5 sacks on the year.
LOSERS
Bailey Zappe, Browns’ offense
Cleveland will head into the offseason with more questions than answers at the quarterback position. The Browns’ ineptitude at quarterback and the revolving door at the position are holding the franchise back.
Zappe didn’t inspire any confidence in his first start for the Browns (3-14).
Granted, a road game in Baltimore is a tough environment for any quarterback. However, Zappe was inaccurate throwing the football and Cleveland’s offense was ineffective for most of the contest.
The Browns ended the season on a six-game losing streak. The good news is the team is destined to have a top-three pick in the 2025 draft. It’s a prime spot to draft a quarterback who can compete with Deshaun Watson, who is expected to return from an Achilles injury next season.
Steelers’ offense
Russell Wilson only completed four passes in what was a brutal first half for the Steelers’ offense. They turned the ball over on downs with under a minute to go in the second quarter after failing to get a yard on third-and-1 and fourth-and-1. The Steelers gained 75 total yards in the first half, including just 27 passing yards. They went into halftime down 13-7.
The third quarter was just as bad: Pittsburgh was held to 16 yards and one first down in a scoreless quarter.
Wilson and the Steelers’ offense did find some life in the fourth quarter, scoring 10 points in the final period, and had a chance to win the game, but it was too little, too late.
George Pickens
The Steelers’ top wide receiver had three drops Saturday.
Pickens and Wilson failed to connect on a crucial third-and-12 with under 30 seconds left that would’ve put them in position to attempt a game-winning field goal.
Pickens had one catch for no yards in the loss.
Steelers’ losing streak
The Steelers were on top of the AFC North for much of the season. They now find themselves on a four-game losing streak and cemented into a wild-card spot.
Follow USA TODAY Sports’ Tyler Dragon on X @TheTylerDragon.