Oddball: Week 18 Recap

Congratulations to Kirk on back-to-back Oddball Championships! His induction into the Sports Gambling Hall of Fame is forthcoming in honor of this momentous achievement.

Oddball is our weekly NFL gambling competition where we each get $100 every weekend and try to outdo each other. As the official loser, Matt has to do the TB12 diet for a week. It will be quite a punishment for his pasta-loving palette, but well-deserved after a terrible season.

In his first-ever Oddball season with a negative total, Matt posted a record 10-straight losing weeks, but miraculously didn't set the record for most money lost. That honor goes to Kirk's 2023 campaign where he dropped $776.55.

Matt's Picks

$100.00 wagered -$100.00 lost -$716.76 for the season

For a moment, football was fun again. My desperation parlay survived the early window in dramatic fashion, with Tyler Shough kool-aid-manning his way through the backdoor against the Falcons and the Texans completing their late-game comeback. I was fired up heading into the late afternoon. But like everything else in this cursed year, it was not meant to be.

Last Gasp Parlay (+1304)

Panthers Alt Line +3.5 ✅ Saints Alt Line +3.5 ✅ Vikings ML ✅ Jaguars ML ✅ Texans ML ✅ Chiefs ML ❌ Broncos ML ✅ Patriots ML ✅ Eagles ML ❌

Panthers — Kings of the backdoor. Backdoor covered this game and backdoored their way into the playoffs. Losing to the Bucs and needing a meaningless victory for the Falcons is just a hilarious way to clinch a division title. Can't wait for them to either shock the Rams with an outright upset or lose by 28. No in between.

Saints — Another miraculous backdoor cover for a shaky NFC South team. When this one hit, I really thought I was going to have a chance to hit this parlay. Hope is a dangerous thing.

Vikings — They still stink. Brosmer's fumble was freaking hilarious. But the Packers had no interest in trying and their decision to start Clayton Tune at quarterback made this one a no-doubter.

Jaguars — Uh-oh, am I really going to have to consider betting on Lank Lawrence over Josh Allen in the playoffs? Honestly... maybe. They look pretty good.

Texans — I was sweating this one out at the end. I'm not sure what to think about Houston heading into the Wild Card round. Their defense has looked dominant at times, but they started the season really poorly and haven't looked too trustworthy in December. Uncle Jack's considering jumping ship from the C.J. Stroud fan club. Stay tuned.

Chiefs — Yuck. What a sad season for the once mighty Kansas City Chiefs. I won't be tuning into Travis' royal wedding because every time I think about this game, I'll puke.

Broncos — Pretty easy win against the Chargers who had packed it in. The Broncos will now get the coveted first round bye, which gives me another week to talk myself into betting on Bo Nix in a playoff game.

Patriots — Hey, the Pats actually took care of business against the Dolphins in Week 18? That's actually kind of surprising. Let the MVP debate rage on!

Eagles — Turns out Tanner McKee might not be the answer in Philly. Maybe playing the ravaged San Francisco defense in the first round is.

❌ Lost $100.00

Kirk's Picks

$100.00 wagered -$100.00 lost +$146.68 for the season

I won. Back-to-back. The two-time. It feels great.

Spooky Season, Part Three (+500)

Derrick Henry 2+ ATS

Well John Harbutt had one last laugh at my expense before disappearing from Baltimore forever. I think I've been edged harder by the cities of Baltimore and Pittsburg combined than any adult venue I may have found myself in.

I'm not even into BDSM and I keep coming back for more to get dick stomped by these uninspired franchises.

My first tattoo is going to be of a big ass Raven choking on a metal "i" steel beam surrounded by a big ass red circle with a strike through the whole goddamn thing.

Thanks to our readers who stayed with us this back half of the year. It was a fun journey through the seven levels of Dante's gambling hell.

❌ Lost $100.00

Bonus Bet

$100.00 wagered -$100.00 lost -$1229.86 for the season

Note: Not part of the weekly totals. This is a brotherhood bet, a ritual sacrifice to Taranis so he doesn't smite us both.

You know it's a bad year when you need a spreadsheet, a calculator, and a moderately long text chain to figure out how to settle up on your combined ineptitude. They will not be writing about this performance in the history books, that's for damn sure. However, they will be naming the concept of hitting 2 of your 3 legs in a same game parlay the Oddball from now on.

Burn the tapes.

Same Game Parlay (+324)

• Jaxon Smith-Nijgba ATS ❌

• Seahawks ML ✅

• Christian McCaffery under 65.5 rushing yards ✅

❌ Lost $100.00

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