NFL Week 18 Rundown
by Dan Angell | by Tyler Doty
Week 18 NFL Highlights
It’s the last week of the season, and that means playoffs become the focus for everyone. Most of the field has already been decided, as six spots have been claimed in each conference. Only seeding is up for grabs for most teams, especially in the NFC.
The NFC West could have come down to the final day, but Atlanta’s loss to Washington meant the Rams clinched the division. So instead of going all out to try to win the last game, Sean McVay has opted to sit the Rams’ starters against Seattle, sucking all of the drama out of that one. The Eagles also chose not to bother, which means Saquon Barkley won’t get a chance to unseat Eric Dickerson as the all-time leader in single season rushing yards.
That said, the week does end with a titanic title fight for the NFC North, so there will be drama at the end of the weekend. Here’s a look at the season finale of the 2024-25 NFL season:
Cincinnati Bengals at Pittsburgh Steelers
The good news for Cincinnati is that the Bengals go into the final day with hope. The bad news is that so much of this is completely out of their hands. To make the playoffs, Cincinnati needs to beat the Steelers and hope that Kansas City’s backups beat Denver and the mess that is the New York Jets beats Miami.
Beating Pittsburgh isn’t going to be easy, in part because the Steelers have no choice but to play hard. If it were up to the Steelers entirely, they might choose to lay down for the Bengals and give themselves a better matchup. That’s because the AFC North champion will get the No. 3 seed, while the runner-up could lock itself into a matchup with a Houston team that is clearly running on fumes.
But the problem for the Steelers is that they could easily lose that No. 5 seed to the Chargers. If Los Angeles beats Las Vegas and the Steelers lose, Pittsburgh slides to the No. 6 and has to go back to Baltimore. And unfortunately for the Bengals, a Ravens win over Cleveland wouldn’t do anything for Pittsburgh’s situation. Even if Baltimore clinches the division, Pittsburgh has to protect what it has and secure a trip to Houston.
New Orleans Saints at Tampa Bay Buccaneers
This should be a coronation for the NFC South champion. The Bucs dominated the Panthers last week, and the Panthers have been playing a heck of a lot better than the Saints. New Orleans has been disastrous since the first two weeks of the season, and it’s clear that changes must be made for the Saints.
New Orleans has two road wins on the season, and they both came against the wretched NFC East. Given that Tampa Bay put 51 points on the Saints in the Superdome, it doesn’t seem likely that the Saints get road win No. 3 against a Buccaneer squad that’s coming off a 48-point showing. And that’s problematic for Atlanta, which needs a New Orleans win to have any chance at winning the NFC South.
For the Bucs, a win clinches the division and gives Tampa Bay fans reason to watch the late games. If the Bucs win the division by winning this game, as opposed to virtue of Carolina beating Atlanta, Tampa Bay would become the No. 3 seed with a Seattle victory over Los Angeles. If the Rams win, the Bucs would drop to the No. 4 seed. Given that the No. 6 seed would be either Washington or Green Bay and the No. 5 seed would be either Detroit or Minnesota, that’s a massive difference. If the seeds held, finishing third also means the Bucs wouldn’t see the Lions or the Vikings until the NFC championship game.
Washington Commanders at Dallas Cowboys
The pressure is off in Washington. The Commanders’ overtime win against the Falcons meant that they’re safely in the playoffs, and they’re only playing for seeding. But there’s still a lot on the line for the young Commanders: they’d get a much easier matchup with a win. Washington has the tiebreaker on Green Bay by virtue of conference record (the Packers had the misfortune to play Detroit and Minnesota twice and go 0-4 in those games), and earning the No. 6 seed would send them to either Tampa Bay or Los Angeles instead of Philadelphia.
Not that the Commanders fear Philadelphia, given that they’ve already beaten the Eagles once. But Washington would much rather be bracketed to avoid the NFC North champion in the divisional round. If the Commanders finish seventh, they’re going to either Detroit or Minnesota for sure if they win their wild card game. A sixth-place finish would send Green Bay to Philadelphia, and a Packers win there would keep Washington away from the NFC North champion until the conference finals.
Dallas had been on a bit of a roll, winning four of its past five games before Philadelphia swiftly brought the Cowboys back to earth. With neither a winning record nor a chance to ruin the Commanders’ season available, there’s nothing for Dallas to play for here.
Kansas City Chiefs at Denver Broncos
This should not be hard for the Broncos, especially if Cincinnati wins on Saturday. Not only will the Chiefs be resting starters with nothing to play for, but Kansas City has every incentive to intentionally blow this game and let its rival into the playoffs ahead of the Bengals.
There are three teams in the AFC that the Chiefs have reason to fear: Buffalo, Baltimore and Cincinnati. And based off recent results, it’s fair to say that no team should spook Kansas City more than the Bengals, who beat them in the 2021 AFC title game and would have done it again in 2022 if not for a questionable missed call. This season, even with Cincinnati’s weak defense, the Chiefs escaped by just one point against Cincinnati.
A Broncos win gets Denver into the playoffs and knocks Cincinnati out, which gives Kansas City plenty of incentive to lose and keep the Bengals out. As well as Bo Nix has played in his rookie season, there’s not a defensive coordinator alive who would prefer to face Joe Burrow over Bo Nix. If Denver does win, it’s in the playoffs. If not, Miami goes if it beats the Jets, and Cincinnati goes if it wins and Denver and Miami both lose. (If all three lose, the Broncos back into the playoffs). With Kansas City completely unmotivated to win, Denver should take this one.
Minnesota Vikings at Detroit Lions
It’s ridiculous that one of these teams will be the No. 5 seed at 14-3. But that’s the NFL for you, as the league stubbornly clings to the idea that the winner of a weak division should host over a team that dominated everyone except its division champion. Minnesota has quietly proven itself to be one of the best teams in the NFL, and it seems to be the fresher team at this stage.
Detroit’s defense is banged up in a big way, but only Buffalo can realistically go head-to-head in a shootout with the Lions and expect to win that battle. If the Vikings can slow down Jared Goff and friends, they’ll have the edge. But if they couldn’t do it in Minneapolis, it’s tough to see them doing it in front of a boisterous crowd in Detroit.
The winner of this game claims the NFC North as well as the first-round bye as the No. 1 seed. The loser is on the road next week, and might spend the entire playoffs away from home.
