National Football League

Packers, Jaguars keep climbing in Week 18 'Herd Hierarchy'

Published Jan. 4, 2023 5:36 p.m. ET

One week remains in the 2022 NFL regular season, and plenty remains unsettled across the sport.

Will the Jacksonville Jaguars or Tennessee Titans win the AFC South? Could the Philadelphia Eagles drop three games in a row, losing the NFC East to the Dallas Cowboys? Who will grab the third AFC and NFC wild card spots?

Here's Colin Cowherd's "Herd Hierarchy" heading into Week 18, with insights from FOX Bet.

Herd Hierarchy: Packers, Jaguars continue climbing on Colin's Top 10 of Week 18

10. Minnesota Vikings (Last week: 7)

Overall record: 12-4 | Last week: Vikings lost 41-17 vs. Green Bay Packers

Colin's thoughts: "Out of respect to winning all these close games, they're 11-0 in one-possession games, which doesn't make sense. … They are an atrocious defensive team."

Championship odds: +2800

Up next: Vikings @ Bears (1:00 p.m. ET Sunday, FOX)

9. Green Bay Packers (Last week: 10)

Overall record: 8-8 | Last week: Packers won 41-17 vs. Minnesota Vikings

Colin's thoughts: "Now, Green Bay obviously blew [the Vikings] out, but there are Sundays that you get blowouts."

Championship odds: +2800

Up next: Lions @ Packers (8:20 p.m. ET Sunday, NBC)

8. Los Angeles Chargers (Last week: 9)

Overall record: 10-6 | Last week: Chargers won 31-10 vs. Los Angeles Rams

Colin's thoughts: "They're getting healthy. Joey Bosa's returning. And their defense now, they've got 14 sacks in three games. We were on this early — they were banged up. The last three weeks they've gotten healthy. The Chargers are really, really talented."

Championship odds: +2200

Up next: Chargers @ Broncos (4:25 p.m. ET Sunday, CBS)

7. Jacksonville Jaguars (Last week: 8)

Overall record: 8-8 | Last week: Jaguars won 31-3 vs. Houston Texans

Colin's thoughts: "Trevor Lawrence, since Week 9, is the best quarterback in the NFL. That includes Joe Burrow, that includes Patrick Mahomes. They got a decent pass rush at times, and Trevor Lawrence is what we expected he would be."

Championship odds: +5000

Up next: Titans @ Jaguars (8:15 p.m. ET Saturday, ABC)

6. Philadelphia Eagles (Last week: 6)

Overall record: 13-3 | Last week: Eagles lost 20-10 vs. New Orleans Saints

Colin's thoughts: "They're 0-2 without Jalen Hurts, so that shows you his importance. They run a different offense with Jalen Hurts. They're getting a little banged up on the D-Line, a little banged up, I believe, at tight end."

Championship odds: +550

Up next: Giants @ Eagles (4:25 p.m. ET Sunday, CBS)

5. Dallas Cowboys (Last week: 5)

Overall record: 12-4 | Last week: Cowboys won 27-13 vs. Tennessee Titans

Colin's thoughts: "They're 8-2 since Dak returned. I always feel like the Cowboys, there's a certain way they have to play. Dak has to be complementary, the running game has to be humming, and I do question Mike McCarthy situationally in big spots."

Championship odds: +1200

Up next: Cowboys @ Commanders (4:25 p.m. ET Sunday, FOX)

4. Buffalo Bills (Last week: 4)

Overall record: 12-3 | Last week: Bills won 35-13 vs. Chicago Bears in Week 16

Colin's thoughts: "They make mistakes in the red zone. I've often compared them to Mike Tyson, the fighter: not much of a jab, knockout power. On any given Sunday or Monday or Thursday, they can overpower the best teams in this league."

Championship odds: +400

Up next: Patriots @ Bills (1:00 p.m. ET Sunday, CBS)

3. Kansas City Chiefs (Last week: 2)

Overall record: 13-3 | Last week: Chiefs won 27-24 vs. Denver Broncos

Colin's thoughts: "They're the No. 1 scoring offense. It does feel like they're still kind of figuring out the receiving game and the offense. Sometimes I feel like they're playing backyard football — it just happens to be televised. They're so easy offensively."

Championship odds: +370

Up next: Chiefs @ Raiders (4:30 p.m. ET Saturday, ABC)

2. San Francisco 49ers (Last week: 3)

Overall record: 12-4 | Last week: 49ers won 37-34 vs. Las Vegas Raiders

Colin's thoughts: "They're just overpowering. I don't think anybody would disagree here: If you watch the Niners play, visually, they look like the team with the most great players."

Championship odds: +550

Up next: Cardinals @ 49ers (4:25 p.m. ET Sunday, FOX)

1. Cincinnati Bengals (Last week: 1)

Overall record: 11-4 | Last week: Bengals won 22-18 vs. New England Patriots in Week 16

Colin's thoughts: "Not only are they winning, they're great against the spread because we still don't respect them as much as we should, I think largely because they don't have a lot of big-name defensive players. It is a tremendous defensive team. Their right tackle, La'eI Collins, is out, but the offensive line is significantly better than it was a year or two ago. They've had the same starting offensive linemen, were one of two teams in the first 15 games of the season before Collins got hurt. They don't have a lot of chaos up front. That's a position group, offensive line, that is often riddled with injuries, and they've been mostly very healthy."

Championship odds: +750

Up next: Ravens @ Bengals (1:00 a.m. ET Sunday, CBS)