Cincy Jungle staff picks for Week 18 and open thread

The regular season is about to end, and the NFL playoffs will begin soon. A ton of teams have secured their spots, but there are still a few games where teams may as well be playing a playoff game, and even more where seeding is on the line.

The AFC will feature the battle between the Jacksonville Jaguars and Tennessee Titans for the AFC South division and a home playoff game. The Titans seemed poise to repeat as they started off the year very strong, but then once they lost to the Cincinnati Bengals in the middle of the season, it has just been all downhill from there. The Jaguars climbed into this position based on Trevor Lawrence coming into his own as well as the entire team finding their footing.

The other game that will be on everyone’s television is the Bengals hosting the Baltimore Ravens. I’m not going to get into the lunacy of how this game could result in a tie if the Ravens win. This could very well be a bloodbath. Quarterback Lamar Jackson has been ruled out already, and this Cincinnati team is ready to take out their anger over the complete mess that is the updated AFC playoff format that shafted the Bengals.

Quarterback Joe Burrow broke the franchise’s record for yards in a game last year, and with a win securing the chance to likely host Baltimore at Paycor stadium again the following week for the Wild Card on the line, we could see a game where the Bengals just don’t take their foot off the pedal.

Here is who our staff is taking, as well as today’s open thread! Check out the odds for this week’s game courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook.