The 2025 NFL common season will attain its conclusion on Sunday, here is our in-depth have a look at what’s on the road in Week 18 of the marketing campaign.
The 2025 NFL common season will attain its conclusion on Sunday, with a lot nonetheless up for grabs in a 12 months wherein the parity has hardly ever appeared extra stark.
There isn’t any true standout group within the NFL this 12 months, making a Super Bowl favorite exhausting to choose. Every of the 12 groups to have clinched a playoff berth to date has clear flaws, setting the stage for one of the unpredictable postseason campaigns in latest reminiscence.
But there are nonetheless some huge points, together with two locations within the event, to be determined earlier than the main target turns to the playoffs.
Right here’s an in-depth have a look at what remains to be on the road in Week 18.
Which groups have certified for the NFL playoffs?
AFC
- Denver Broncos (13-3, AFC West champions)
- New England Patriots (13-3, AFC East champions)
- Jacksonville Jaguars (12-4)
- Houston Texans (11-5)
- Los Angeles Chargers (11-5)
- Buffalo Payments (11-5)
NFC
- Seattle Seahawks (13-3)
- Chicago Bears (11-5, NFC North champions)
- Philadelphia Eagles (11-5, NFC East champions)
- San Francisco 49ers (12-4)
- Los Angeles Rams (11-5)
- Inexperienced Bay Packers (9-6-1)
Which groups are nonetheless within the combine?
Within the NFC, the ultimate playoff berth to be determined is within the NFC South, with the Carolina Panthers (8-8) and Tampa Bay Buccaneers (7-9) set to face off for the division title on Saturday.
If the Panthers prevail they’re the NFC South champions and the fourth seed. Ought to the Buccaneers win, they would want the New Orleans Saints to beat the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday to lock of their place within the playoffs and the division crown. If the Falcons win, then they’d be tied with the Panthers and Buccaneers at 8-9. The three-way tiebreaker would go to the Panthers as they swept the Falcons, whereas Tampa Bay misplaced to Atlanta in Week 15.
On the AFC aspect, the Baltimore Ravens (8-8) and Pittsburgh Steelers (9-7) will meet within the ultimate recreation of the common season on Sunday Night time Soccer. The equation is far more easy. The winner is the AFC North champion, the loser is out. Within the unlikely occasion of a tie, the Steelers would make the playoffs.
What else remains to be to determined?
Three issues are for sure within the playoffs. The AFC North and NFC South winners would be the 4 seeds in every convention, and the Packers are the seven seed within the NFC playoffs. They face a street recreation with the second seed within the Wild Card Spherical. The whole lot else is up for grabs.
Essentially the most engaging carrots out there are the one seeds in every convention. Solely the one seed receives a first-round bye, together with homefield benefit all through the playoffs.
On Saturday evening, the 49ers host the Seahawks at Levi’s Stadium in a real winner-take-all conflict. If the 49ers win, they’re NFC West champions and the one seed within the convention. With the Tremendous Bowl being held at their Levi’s Stadium house, victory would imply the Niners by no means having to pack a suitcase for the rest of their marketing campaign.
A Seahawks victory would give them the title and see the NFC playoffs undergo Seattle. That may even be the case within the occasion of a tie.
Within the AFC, the Broncos are within the field seat for the one seed, which they may clinch with a victory over the Chargers. They can even declare the one seed if the Patriots and Jaguars every lose towards the Miami Dolphins and Tennessee Titans.
New England will declare the one seed in the event that they win and the Broncos lose. The Jaguars even have a path, albeit a extra unlikely one, to homefield benefit.
They would be the one seed with a victory over the Titans and defeats for the Broncos and Patriots.
For Jacksonville, the least they are going to be trying to do is seal the AFC South title and third seed within the convention. They may obtain that purpose with a win or a tie towards the Titans, or if the Texans fail to beat the Indianapolis Colts.
A Texans win and a Jaguars loss would give Houston the division crown and at the very least one house recreation within the playoffs.
What concerning the No. 1 Choose within the NFL Draft?
It isn’t simply concerning the playoffs in Week 18, there’s additionally the race to the underside, and the primary decide within the 2026 NFL Draft.
Two groups are within the combine to choose first in Pittsburgh in April, the Las Vegas Raiders and New York Giants.
Following the Giants’ win over the Raiders final week, Las Vegas can clinch the highest decide with a loss of their finale towards the Kansas Metropolis Chiefs.
A Giants win over the Dallas Cowboys would additionally seal the deal, whereas there’s a extra advanced situation involving the Falcons, Bears, Browns and Seahawks.
If three of these groups lose, the Raiders have the highest decide.
The Giants’ path to the highest decide is an unlikely one. It requires a Raiders win, a New York defeat to Dallas and 1.5 mixed wins (with a tie counting as half a win) from the Falcons, Bears, Browns and Seahawks.
