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Two playoff spots — and home games — are up for grabs among four teams in Week 18. Panthers-Buccaneers kicks things off on Saturday, and Ravens-Steelers wraps it up Sunday night. Bookend balance so nice that it has a bow on top.
But there’s intrigue in between those games, too. The top seeds in both conferences are up for grabs, although more so in the NFC than in the AFC. The Nos. 2 and 3 seeds on both sides are also coming down to the wire.
With the Falcons’ stunning win over the Rams on Monday night, there’s even a wild scenario alive where the Panthers can lose at Tampa on Saturday and still win the NFC South — if the Falcons beat the Saints in Atlanta on Sunday. Teams such as the Rams, Bills, Chargers and Packers — all bandied about as Super Bowl contenders at one point or another — must now take the hard road to Santa Clara for LX, if they can get there.
And for my fellow draft geeks out there, yes, the Raiders are very much in the driver’s seat to earn the No. 1 overall pick in 2026, but there’s still a lot of jockeying for position up top. Speaking of insane NFC South subplots, the Bucs could lose on Saturday and hover right around the top 10 in April.
So, in fitting with this most unpredictable season, there’s a lot we still don’t yet know. This is shaping up to be one of the foggier and more fascinating playoff fields we’ve had in recent memory.
NOTE: Up/down arrows below reflect movement from the Week 17 Power Rankings.
I won’t call the Seahawks’ win at Carolina a work of art — too sloppy for that — but it was a pretty dominant defensive showing for Mike Macdonald’s group. This D can turn your lights out pretty quickly, and it has been fun watching the mix of young and old, from rookie Nick Emmanwori to the terrific DeMarcus Lawrence, come together to form a gritty unit this season. Sam Darnold was shaky at times in his return to Charlotte and should feel lucky he only had two turnovers, but Seattle’s run game came to life in a big way. That feels like an important development on the eve of the playoffs and prior to a Week 18 showdown in Santa Clara that will decide the NFC’s No. 1 seed. No easy chore, beating the 49ers in their crib, but a first-round bye and home-field advantage are right there for the Seahawks’ taking.
The Patriots’ blowout of the Jets and the Bills’ loss to the Eagles gave New England its first division title since the Brady-Belichick era. Always nice to sit your starting QB with a quarter and a half remaining. Drake Maye will be in the MVP running, and Mike Vrabel has to be on the short list for Coach of the Year, but the Patriots have their sights set higher than hats, T-shirts and individual awards. The AFC feels completely open, and New England figures to get important players back on offense (including WR Kayshon Boutte and OLs Will Campbell and Jared Wilson) and defense (DT Milton Williams and LB Robert Spillane). WR Mack Hollins and OLB Harold Landry III are big losses if they can’t get right, but this Patriots team has a talented, well-coached roster with nothing to lose and everything to gain. A third test against the Bills almost feels preordained, but if the Pats beat them, who is definitely stopping New England on the AFC side?
