At first glance, this would appear a relatively easy call. The Jacksonville Jaguars are an absolutely putrid football team that has lost by at least two touchdowns in four of the past five games—including a 50-10 waxing at the hands of the New England Patriots last week.

The Indianapolis Colts need a win Sunday in Jacksonville to make the playoffs, and head coach Frank Reich admitted to Zak Keefer of the Athletic that for all intents and purposes the playoffs start for Indy on Sunday.

“The playoffs start for us this week,” Reich said. “We’re expecting Jacksonville’s best. We know we’ve struggled down there, and this team (the Jags) takes a lot of pride in playing us the way they play us.”

Here’s the thing though—Reich has never beaten the Jaguars in Duval County. That pigskin oddity gives O’ Donnell some pause—just not enough to take Trevor “What Are Touchdown Passes?” Lawrence and the Jags.

“The most frightening number in this game isn’t the multi-touchdown spread, it’s that the Colts have lost in Jacksonville in their last six tries going all the way back to 2015,” he said. “Both are vastly different teams now, Indy is fighting for one of the final open playoff spots, and they’ll make the most of this opportunity against a hapless Jags squad.”

Early Prediction: Colts 34, Jaguars 20

Tennessee Titans (11-5) at Houston Texans (4-12)

Line: Tennessee -10.5

It’s all coming together for the Tennessee Titans.

The Titans have already captured the AFC South for the second consecutive season. Now, thanks to Cincinnati’s upset of the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 17, a win over the Houston Texans on Sunday will lock the Titans into the No. 1 seed in the AFC.

But wait! There’s more.

The Titans designated running back Derrick Henry to return from injured reserve, opening the door for the team’s bruising star back to re-join the Titans for the postseason push.

Still, despite all that momentum, we think the Texans will give the Titans a scare Sunday.

“Tennessee has everything to play for in this game with the No. 1 seed in the AFC on the line, but the Texans have proven to be a tougher out than people expect,” he said. “Despite their 4-12 record, Houston is 7-9 against the spread on the season. I expect the Texans to give Tennessee a fight in Week 18 and cover 10.5.”

Early Prediction: Titans 27, Texans 20

Cinncinnati Bengals (10-6) at Cleveland Browns (7-9)

Line: Browns -6

The second iteration of “The Battle of Ohio” features two teams whose fates have been juxtaposed in 2021.

The Cleveland Browns were a preseason hype darling last summer. A team some believed could make a deep playoff run. But it’s the Cincinnati Bengals who will be playing on after Week 18 after last week’s stunning win over the Chiefs gave the team the AFC North title.

The moral of this story is never, ever to believe that good things will happen in Cleveland.

This game also features a line that swung well over a touchdown on Wednesday alone. That’s when it was announced that Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow would sit out the finale, while running back Joe Mixon would miss the game as well after landing on the COVID-19 list.

Of course, it’s not like the Browns are at full strength, either. Quarterback Baker Mayfield’s season is over after he elected to have surgery on the torn labrum in his left shoulder that plagued him much of the season.

Those developments sent the line swinging wildly, from Cincinnati -3 to Cleveland -6.

Early  Prediction: Browns 24, Bengals 20

Chicago Bears (6-10) at Minnesota Vikings (7-9)

Line: Minnesota -3.5

Sunday’s season finale between the Minnesota Vikings and Chicago Bears is a meaningless battle between two NFC North foes—and a game between two head coaches in Chicago’s Matt Nagy and Minnesota’s Mike Zimmer, who could be looking for work come the following day.

As a matter of fact, according to WFAN’s Boomer Esiason, Nagy has already been informed that Sunday’s game will be his last as head coach (h/t NBC Sports Chicago). Sobleski believes that his team will send him out the right way.

OK, he believes that the Bears will at least keep it close. You take what you can get in Chicago this year.

“The Bears and Vikings are two teams going into Week 18 possibly playing for their respective coach’s job,” he said. “At least, Chicago is playing better as of late, albeit against inferior competition.

Early Prediction: Vikings 23, Bears 20

Washington Football Team (6-10) at New York Giants (4-12)

Line: Washington -7

In the local markets where Sunday’s game between the Giants and Washington is being televised, tequila should be distributed door to door.

This is a pair of bad football teams. Washington is riding a four-game losing streak of NFC East games that includes a 56-14 annihilation at the hands of Dallas, in which teammates Jonathan Allen and Daron Payne came to blows on the sidelines. The Giants, on the other hand, have lost five straight by double-digits, the last being a 29-3 drubbing at the hands of a bad Bears team.

In each of the last two games, the Giants have failed to amass 200 yards of total offense, and Sunday the G-Men will trot out Jake “Belongs in the XFL” Fromm at quarterback. Laying a full touchdown with a mediocre team that is 6-9-1 ATS this season isn’t a play for the squeamish, but for Gagnon it’s an easy call.

Early Prediction: Washington 23, Giants 6

Pittsburgh Steelers (8-7-1) at Baltimore Ravens (8-8)

Line: Baltimore -5

Now this should be a football game!

Any time the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Baltimore Ravens lock horns, you know it’s going to be a hard-fought, physical game. But in Sunday’s game, the stakes are that much higher.

Simply put, the team that wins this game has at least a chance of playing on, although both need help. Both teams need the Jaguars to upset the Colts. The Steelers need the Raiders and Chargers to not tie. The Ravens, on the other hand, need the Patriots to beat the Dolphins and the Raiders to down the Chargers.

That the Ravens are in this position at all would have seemed unthinkable a month and a half ago—after downing the Browns in Week 12, the Raiders were 8-3 and in the hunt for the AFC’s top seed. But with Lamar Jackson sidelined by an ankle injury, the Ravens have since dropped five straight, leaving their postseason hopes dangling by the slimmest of threads.

This game will be Ben Roethlisberger’s last as a Steeler.  So, are the Steelers the right side with more to play for?

“Neither of these teams are making the playoffs probably. “The Colts are going to make sure of that by beating the Jaguars. But that won’t stop this from being a knockdown, drag-out brawl of a game, as so many Ravens-Steelers matchups are. Pittsburgh has won three straight in the rivalry by a combined 10 points, and just one of the last five meetings were decided by double digits.

Early Prediction: Ravens 23, Steelers 21