Picks from three different games make up my NFL parlay ticket for the wild-card round.
The pregame narrative: The Baltimore Ravens played much better than the Pittsburgh Steelers down the stretch and I’ll back them on an alternate spread. Prop plays on Courtland Sutton and Bucky Irving round out this +296, three-leg wager.
Check out my NFL parlay picks for the 2025 wild-card action.
NFL parlay picks
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Parlay: Ravens -6.5 + Sutton over 4.5 receptions + Irving over 79.5 rushing yards (+296)
Ravens -6.5 (-180): The Steelers lost four straight games to close the season. One of those losses was to the Ravens, 34-17.
Baltimore finished the season on a four-game win streak and covered this spread in all those contests. It had a +92 point differential in that span and scored 30-plus each week.
The Ravens have struggled against the Steelers in past years but this is a different team and we saw that in Week 16.
Lamar Jackson threw three touchdowns and Derrick Henry rumbled for 162 rushing yards on 24 carries.
The Steelers haven’t scored more than 20 points in a game since Week 14 and the Ravens have been steamrolling everybody.
I’m buying points, as well, so Baltimore would only need to win by a TD.
Other parlay picks
Sutton over 4.5 receptions (-186): Despite being a rookie, Nix is arguably the best quarterback Sutton has played with.
The wideout led the Denver Broncos in receptions (81) and recorded his first 1,000-yard season since 2019-20. He saw a career-high in targets (135), too.
As Nix continued to develop confidence in an NFL offence, Sutton saw an uptick in receptions. Since Week 8, Sutton has cleared this line in 10/11 games.
The Buffalo Bills are 9-point favourites and allow the ninth-most passing yards per game (226.1).
If the Broncos want to keep pace, it looks like Nix will need to pass the ball and Sutton is his top receiver.
Irving over 79.5 rushing yards (-155): Irving turned heads in his rookie season, rushing for 1,122 yards and eight TDs.
He was also active as a pass catcher, turning 47 receptions into 392 yards.
And now he gets a great matchup to start his postseason career.
The Washington Commanders allowed the third-most rushing yards per game (137.5). They were shredded by opposing backs in recent weeks:
- Bijan Robinson (Week 17): 17 rushes, 90 yards
- Saquon Barkley (Week 16): 29 rushes, 150 yards
When the Bucs and Commanders met in Week 1, Irving ran for 62 yards on nine attempts (6.9 yards per carry).
That was back when Rachaad White was the clear RB1 but things have changed. Irving had 12-plus carries in seven of the final eight games.
The only time he fell short was when he left with a first-half injury.
Irving was 6-2 against this line when getting 12-plus carries.
NFL picks made at 1:18 p.m. on 01/08/24.
Spencer is a true sports junkie. A graduate of the Sports Journalism program at Centennial College, he first joined NorthStar Gaming as an intern in 2023. He is now a contributing writer. He loves finding the edge to bet on in all sports but has a deep passion for the NBA and UFC. Previous stops include Sportsnet.