{"id":390965,"date":"2026-01-04T12:05:13","date_gmt":"2026-01-04T17:05:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cms.northstargaming.ca\/admin\/nsgcms\/?p=390965"},"modified":"2026-01-04T12:05:13","modified_gmt":"2026-01-04T17:05:13","slug":"ravens-vs-steelers-week-18-sunday-night-football-picks-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cms.northstargaming.ca\/admin\/nsgcms\/ravens-vs-steelers-week-18-sunday-night-football-picks-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"Ravens vs. Steelers Week 18 Sunday Night Football picks: Kenneth Gainwell should help Pittsburgh stay in the fight at home"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>The stakes are sky-high for the final Sunday Night Football game of the regular season, as the Baltimore Ravens battle the Pittsburgh Steelers for the AFC North title.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>The pregame narrative:<\/strong> One team is walking away with a playoff berth, while the other is dusting off the golf clubs and beginning its offseason. The Ravens are road favourites despite losing at home to the Steelers four weeks ago.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Check out my Ravens vs. Steelers picks for Jan. 4, featuring a prop bet on Pittsburgh running back Kenneth Gainwell.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"acq_only\"><strong>-&gt; <a href=\"https:\/\/online.northstarbets.ca\/page?key=ej0xMzUyNDU3MiZsPTEzNjY1NzMyJnA9MzExMjU%3D\">Join NorthStar Bets to start betting on the NFL<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Ravens vs. Steelers picks<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Best Bet: Gainwell over 28.5 receiving yards (-118)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Everyone in the Steelers&#8217; offence struggled last week, as the team mustered just two field goals in a miserable loss against the Cleveland Browns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It was a grim scene with DK Metcalf serving the first half of a two-game suspension. Without its most explosive playmaker, Pittsburgh looked lost.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Tonight&#8217;s matchup is friendlier for the offence, though, and somebody is going to have to step up. My pick is Gainwell, who has been a productive pass-catcher throughout the back end of the season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"acq_only\"><strong>-> <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/online.northstarbets.ca\/page?key=ej0xMzUyNDU3MiZsPTEzNjY1NzMyJnA9MzExMjU%3D\"><strong>Bet on Kenneth Gainwell on Sunday Night Football<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Check out Gainwell&#8217;s per-game receiving numbers in his past seven games:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>6.0 targets<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>5.1 catches<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>42.7 yards<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>25+ yards in six of seven<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>6+ targets in five of seven<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>That span includes Pittsburgh&#8217;s Week 14 matchup in Baltimore. In that game, Gainwell caught six of seven targets for 27 yards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Of course, that means he hit the under on this prop last time out against the Ravens. But if he sees that kind of target volume again, I&#8217;ll take this over every time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Gainwell is the 1B option in Pittsburgh&#8217;s split backfield, but he is the alpha when it comes to pass-catching opportunities. Since Week 9, Jaylen Warren only has 18 targets; Gainwell has 50.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Key stat:<\/strong> The Ravens allow the fourth-most receiving yards to opposing running backs (39.9\/game).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"product_only\"><a href=\"cacheembed:122570\">Embed: #122570<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">SNF ATS prediction<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Steelers +3.5 (-107):<\/strong> This game would be meaningless if Pittsburgh had beaten the lowly Browns last week &#8230; but that didn&#8217;t happen. And knowing Metcalf will sit out again is certainly not a positive for the Steelers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But Mike Tomlin&#8217;s crew has largely had the Ravens&#8217; number in recent history, covering this line in 10 of 12 matchups since the start of the 2020 season (including all five at home). <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>That includes a 27-22 win on Dec. 7 in Baltimore, where Pittsburgh was a +5.5 underdog.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"acq_only\"><strong>-&gt; <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/online.northstarbets.ca\/page?key=ej0xMzUyNDU3MiZsPTEzNjY1NzMyJnA9MzExMjU%3D\"><strong>Don&#8217;t miss out \u2014 Bet on Sunday Night Football<\/strong><\/a><strong>!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Since the outset of the 2020 season, Pittsburgh is 11-6-1 ATS as a home dog.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Hopefully, with another week of preparation in a Metcalf-less offence, the Steelers can find ways to move the ball and at least remain competitive at home vs. Baltimore.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Ravens vs. Steelers picks made at 12 p.m. ET Jan. 4, 2026.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"acq_only\"><strong>-&gt; <a href=\"https:\/\/online.northstarbets.ca\/page?key=ej0xMzUyNDU3MiZsPTEzNjY1NzMyJnA9MzExMjU%3D\">Sign up to NorthStar Bets today<\/a>!<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The stakes are sky-high for the final Sunday Night Football game of the regular season, as the Baltimore Ravens battle the Pittsburgh Steelers for the AFC North title. The pregame narrative: One team is walking away with a playoff berth, while the other is dusting off the golf clubs and beginning its offseason. The Ravens [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":390980,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"sidebar_plugin_meta_block_field":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[61],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-390965","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nfl"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v22.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Ravens vs. Steelers picks: 2026 NFL Week 18 | The Boost<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Check out our 2026 Week 18 Ravens vs. Steelers picks. 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