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What’s at stake for each NFL team in Week 18?

Only the Sunday games remain in the last week of the regular NFL season. Here’s what remains in the playoff race.

Jennifer Bubel
Jennifer BubelEnglish_AS
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Only the Sunday games remain in the last week of the regular NFL season. Here's what remains in the playoff race.
JEFF BOTTARIAFP

We are now just a few games away from the end of the regular NFL season, but there’s still a few playoff spots up for grabs - one in the AFC and one in the NFC. With Saturday’s games done and the Week 17 Bills-Bengals game canceled, the playoff picture has shifted. Here’s what’s still at stake and how the NFL playoff picture looks as we await the start of the Sunday games in Week 18.

What’s at stake for each NFL team in Week 18?

AFC Playoff scenarios for Week 18

With the Week 17 Bills-Bengals game being officially canceled, the Bengals officially clinched the AFC North. The cancelation did prevent them from being able to clinch the no. 1 seed in the AFC, but after Saturday’s games, we now know it would not have mattered anyway. The Kansas City Chiefs beat the Las Vegas Raiders, so no matter the outcome of the Bills-Bengals game, the Chiefs would have won the no. 1 seed in the AFC, and did so with Saturday’s win.

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The NFL has created different playoff scenarios in order to try and make fair any other inequities that may occur due to the game cancelation:

  1. If the Ravens beat the Bengals, then the teams would face each other in the Wild Card round and a coin toss would determine the game site. A Ravens win would mean they beat the Bengals twice this season, but they would still have a lower win percentage over 17 games than the Bengals would over 16 games. That’s why the Bengals have clinched the AFC North already.
  2. If the participating teams played an unequal number of games and there was the possibility of either team clinching the no. 1 seed and home-field advantage had they played all 17 games, then the AFC Championship Game will be played at a neutral site. Possible sites include Indianapolis and Atlanta. At this point, there is only one scenario that would see a neutral-site AFC Championship Game:
    1. If the Bills and Chiefs both win OR both tie, then the Bills vs Chiefs championship game would be played at a neutral site.

Current AFC seedings: 1. Kansas City Chiefs, 2. Buffalo Bills, 3. Cincinnati Bengals, 4. Jacksonville Jaguars, 5. Los Angeles Chargers, 6. Baltimore Ravens, 7. New England Patriots

Another result of Saturday’s games is that the Jacksonville Jaguars clinched the no. 4 seed and the AFC South with their win over the Tennessee Titans, plus eliminated the Titans from playoff contention.

So, the Chiefs, Bills, Bengals, and Jaguars have all clinched their respective divisions and the Chargers and Ravens have clinched a playoff berth. But there is still one playoff spot up for grabs atin the AFC.

Here is how the rest of the AFC playoff picture could play out:

New York Jets vs Miami Dolphins

  • The Jets are already eliminated from playoff contention.
  • The Dolphins would clinch a playoff spot if they win and the Patriots lose.
  • If the Dolphins lose, they would be eliminated from the playoffs.

New England Patriots vs Buffalo Bills

  • Follow the Pats v Bills live with Jennifer.
  • The Bills have clinched the AFC East.
  • If the Bills win, then the AFC title game will be played at a neutral site if the Bills and Chiefs play each other.
  • If the Bills win, the Patriots will be eliminated from the playoffs.
  • If the Patriots win, they would clinch a playoff spot
  • The Bills would drop to the no. 3 seed if the Patriots beat them and the Bengals beat the Ravens.
  • If the Patriots lose and the Dolphins also lose, the Patriots could still clinch a playoff spot if the Steelers lose.

Cincinnati Bengals vs Baltimore Ravens

  • The Bengals clinched the AFC North, but cannot reach the no. 1 seed.
  • The Bengals could clinch the no. 2 seed if they win and the Bills lose. In any other scenario, the Bengals would finish the no. 3 seed.
  • If the Bengals lose and end up playing the Ravens in the Wild Card round, then the NFL will hold a coin toss to determine who hosts the game.
  • If the Bengals win, they will host the Wild Card game.
  • If the Ravens win, they could clinch the no. 5 seed if the Chargers lose.

Pittsburgh Steelers vs Cleveland Browns

  • The Browns have already been eliminated from playoff contention.
  • The Steelers would clinch a Wild Card spot with a win over the Browns and a Patriots and Dolphins loss.

Denver Broncos vs Los Angeles Chargers

  • The Broncos have already been eliminated from playoff contention.
  • The Chargers have already clinched a Wild Card playoff berth and will be playing for the no. 5 or no. 6 seed. If the Ravens lose, the Chargers clinch the no. 5 seed. If the Ravens win, the Chargers have to win in order to clinch the no. 5 seed.

Indianapolis Colts vs Houston Texans

  • Nothing matters. Both the Colts and Texans are out of the playoffs.

NFC Playoff scenarios for Week 18

The NFC playoff picture is quite a bit less complex. The teams still in the hunt for the no. 7 seed are the Seattle Seahawks, Detroit Lions, and Green Bay Packers.

Current NFC seedings: 1. Philadelphia Eagles, 2. San Francisco 49ers, 3. Minnesota Vikings, 4. Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 5. Dallas Cowboys, 6. New York Giants, 7. Seattle Seahawks

Detroit Lions vs Green Bay Packers

  • The Packers would clinch a Wild Card spot in the playoffs if they win.
  • The Lions would clinch a Wild Card spot with a win or tie against the Packers plus a Seahawks loss or tie.

Philadelphia Eagles vs New York Giants

  • If the Eagles win, they will clinch the NFC East, the no. 1 seed, home-field advantage, and the first-round bye week.
  • If the Eagles lose, they could still win the NFC East if the Cowboys also lose.
  • If the Eagles lose, they could still win the no. 1 seed if the Cowboys and 49ers lose.

San Francisco 49ers vs Arizona Cardinals

  • The Cardinals have already been eliminated from the playoffs.
  • If the 49ers win and the Eagles lose, the 49ers would clinch the no. 1 seed, home-field advantage, and the first-round bye week.

Dallas Cowboys vs Washington Commanders

  • The Commanders have already been eliminated from the playoffs.
  • The Cowboys could clinch the NFC East with a win over the Commanders and an Eagles loss.
  • The Cowboys could clinch the NFC East and no. 1 seed with a win over the Commanders, and an Eagles and 49ers loss.

Seattle Seahawks vs Los Angeles Rams

  • The Rams have already been eliminated from the playoffs.
  • The Seahawks could clinch a playoff berth with a win and a Packers loss.

Chicago Bears vs Minnesota Vikings

  • The Bears have already been eliminated from the playoffs. They could win the top draft pick if they lose and the Texans win.
  • The Vikings have clinched the NFC North. If they win and the 49ers lose, they could win the no. 2 seed.

Atlanta Falcons vs Tampa Bay Buccaneers

  • The Falcons have already been eliminated from the playoffs.
  • The Buccaneers have clinched the NFC South and are locked in to the no. 4 seed. They now wait to see who their opponent will be, which will be the team who loses the NFC East battle - either the Cowboys or the Eagles.

New Orleans Saints vs Carolina Panthers

  • Nothing matters. Both the Saints and the Panthers have already been eliminated from the playoffs.

Must-watch Sunday NFL games Week 18: