Will Lamar Jackson Be Back for Sunday’s Huge NFL Showdown?
Posted on: December 29, 2025, 10:44h.
Last updated on: December 29, 2025, 11:50h.
- Playoffs all but set after NFL’s penultimate weekend
- Ravens and Bucs are favored to fill the final two playoff spots
- Brock Purdy scores five TDs against the Bears
The NFL playoff picture is much clearer this morning, with all but two spots locked up.
The Pittsburgh Steelers (9-7) and Baltimore Ravens (8-8) square up next Sunday night for the last remaining AFC playoff spot. The winner will lock up the AFC North title and secure a No. 4 seed in the playoffs. The loser of that game is out of the playoffs.
The Steelers aren’t going to have wide receiver DK Metcalf, who is suspended. Ravens’ QB Lamar Jackson missed Saturday’s game against the Green Bay Packers due to a back injury, and his status for Sunday is unclear. Early week lines show the Ravens as the moneyline betting favorites. At DraftKings, the Ravens are -180, the Steelers +150. The spread there is Ravens -3.5 (-105), Steelers +3.5 (-115). At FanDuel, the Ravens are -172 on the moneyline while the Steelers are +144.
“I’m told, right now, it’s a shade under 50/50 as to whether he’ll [Jackson] be available for the showdown next weekend in Pittsburgh,” said ProFootballTalk’s Mike Florio on NBC’s “Football Night in America.”
SNF Showdown for All the Marbles
In the NFC, the Carolina Panthers (8-8) are still in the hunt for the last playoff spot, with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (7-9) on the bubble. Carolina is in Tampa on Saturday to play the Bucs. The Bucs, who are the betting favorites at FanDuel, are -156 on the moneyline while the Panthers are +132.
A big storyline out of the NFC for bettors is the emergence of 49ers QB Brock Purdy, who’s playing at an MVP level. In Sunday night’s 42-38 shootout win over the Chicago Bears, Purdy had five touchdowns (three passing, two rushing).
San Francisco hosts the Seattle Seahawks on Saturday night with all the marbles on the line – the NFC West division title and the No. 1 seed in the NFC playoffs, with home-field advantage throughout. Purdy has raised the level of his game at the perfect time.
The Seahawks are slight betting favorites as of Monday morning, coming in at -112 on the DraftKings moneyline. The 49ers are at -108.
According to ESPN’s playoff projections, the Bucs are 54.2% to make the playoffs, while the Panthers are 45.8%. In the AFC, the Ravens are 57.8% to make the playoffs, and the Steelers are 42.2%.
NFL Betting: Best Games for Punters on Sunday
“We had a mixed bag of results on the day, with certain underdogs coming through in the morning, including the Dolphins and Browns winning outright,” said Joey Feazel, head of football at Caesars Sportsbook. “Customers were the beneficiaries of Joe Burrow and the Bengals offense, who clearly have not quit on the year like some teams that are out of contention.
In the late afternoon, the customers were all over the Giants in the race for the first overall pick in the NFL Draft, and it was evident that the Raiders wanted that pick much more. The Eagles/Bills game gathered a decent amount of Over money, so the low-scoring affair was good for the book.”
The best games for bettors at Caesars Sportsbook were Texans/Chargers, Bengals/Cardinals, Patriots/Jets, and Giants/Raiders. The best games for the books were Buccaneers/Dolphins, Browns/Steelers, Ravens/Packers, Lions Vikings, and Bills/Eagles.
Last Comment ( 1 )
Lamar doesn’t win big games. 3- 4 in playoffs. I hope the back up plays. Ol’ man Rogers is a choke too.