Why is there no Monday Night Football in Week 18 on January 5?

For the first time since the start of the 2025 NFL season, there will be no Monday Night Football in Week 18, with the regular season instead wrapping up on Sunday, January 4.

The final weekend delivered plenty of drama anyway. The Pittsburgh Steelers beat the Baltimore Ravens to win the AFC North and clinch a playoff spot, while the Carolina Panthers pipped the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Atlanta Falcons to the NFC South title and a postseason berth after a three-way tie, despite finishing with a sub-.500 record.

Elsewhere, the Denver Broncos and Seattle Seahawks secured the No. 1 seed in their respective conferences, earning a bye in the Wild Card round.

Full Wild Card round schedule.

A crowded Sunday slate in Week 18

A whopping 14 games were scheduled for Sunday, January 4, which is more than usual, while a further two were played on Saturday. Two of those matchups would almost certainly have landed on Thursday Night Football or Monday Night Football earlier in the season.

That scheduling choice was no accident. It was largely about keeping competitive balance intact before the playoffs begin. The Wild Card round gets underway this coming weekend, starting Saturday, January 10.

The reason there was no Monday Night Football in Week 18

Consider this hypothetical. Say the New England Patriots, the AFC’s No. 2 seed, had been selected to play Thursday Night Football in Week 18. That would have given them four extra days of rest compared to their Wild Card opponents, the Los Angeles Chargers, if the Californians had been chosen to play the following Monday.

A Sunday game for the Patriots would have reduced that advantage to one day, although it would still have been an edge.

As it stands, the Week 18 setup means only two playoff teams carry any kind of advantage into the first postseason round, and even then it is minimal.

The Panthers and San Francisco 49ers, who both played on Saturday in Week 18, will have one extra day of rest compared to the Los Angeles Rams and Philadelphia Eagles, their respective opponents.

The Seahawks also played on Saturday but will not return to action until the Divisional round, which begins on Saturday, January 17.

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