The final week of the 2024 NFL regular season is here, with division titles up for grabs and playoff berths to be decided heading into the final stretch of Super Bowl LIX in New Orleans. Here’s what to watch in Week 18…
NFC No. 1 seed
While the Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs have finished No. 1 in the AFC, the NFC race will continue until the final day of the regular season.
The Minnesota Vikings kept their hopes of a first-round bye alive on Sunday as they held off a late charge by the Green Bay Packers with a 27-25 victory to move to 14-2 to stay in the hunt alongside the Detroit Lions, continuing their stunning comeback quarterback season quarterback Sam Darnold and Coach of the Year candidate Kevin O’Connell following.
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Justin Jefferson makes a ridiculous catch but is unfortunately ruled out for an offensive foul as the Minnesota Vikings beat the Green Bay Packers.
That leaves Week 18 perfectly poised as the Vikings and Lions go head-to-head once again, knowing the winner will secure the No. 1 seed while the others advance to a Wild Card matchup against either the Tampa Bay Buccaneers or Atlanta Falcons.
Detroit won a thriller between the NFC North rivals earlier this season when Jared Goff threw for 280 yards and two touchdowns, along with two rushing scores by Jahmir Gibbs, to neutralize Bryan Flores’ blitz-heavy defense en route to a 31-29 victory.
Goff’s career resurgence is old news now, as he runs the league’s most efficient and innovative offense as part of a Detroit team after years of suffering among the Super Bowl favorites. He threw for 4,095 yards and 33 touchdowns to just 10 interceptions while surrounded is a stable of explosive young talent with 1,000-yard men in Gibbs and Amon-Ra St. Brown and with Jameson Williams and Sam LaPorta.
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Highlights of the Detroit Lions vs. San Francisco 49ers in Week 17 of the NFL.
Darnold, meanwhile, refuses to fade as one of the stories of the season, leading a Geno Smith-esque resurgence while throwing for 4,153 yards, 35 touchdowns and 12 picks to lead Minnesota into the playoffs after securing the starting spot due to an offseason injury to JJ McCarthy. The Vikings, reaching the postseason, felt that Kirk Cousins was leaving. Securing the No. 1 seed would be impossible.
Rodgers and Wentz will have the final say.
Some familiar faces could still play a role in making or breaking the season for three teams as the Denver Broncos, Miami Dolphins and Cincinnati Bengals vie for the final AFC wild card spot.
The Denver Broncos remain in pole position to secure a playoff berth at 9-7 and as the current seventh-seeded occupiers, knowing they will advance if they beat the Chiefs is expected to give Kansas City, with nothing to play for, a reprieve to his starting lineup in January, which could mean a certain Carson Wentz could have the final say in the playoff process. as Patrick Mahomes’ backup quarterback.
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Highlights from the NFL Week 17 matchup between the Denver Broncos and Cincinnati Bengals.
Miami is 8-8 and advances if it can beat Aaron Rodgers’ New York Jets and the Broncos lose to the Chiefs, while the Bengals, also 8-8, advance with a win over the Pittsburgh Steelers on Saturday night and with losses. both the Broncos and the Dolphins. If all three teams lose Denver will secure the final spot.
Somehow, even with a torrid season with the Jets, Rodgers still has a role to play in shaping the NFL playoff picture as he resumes his 500th career touchdown. And it’s a funny time in the world when the Dolphins and Bengals are depending on former Philadelphia Eagles tight end Wentz.
Who will win the NFC South?
Three division titles are still up for grabs heading into the final weekend of the regular season. The Vikings and Lions are set to battle for the NFC North, the Baltimore Ravens and Steelers battle for the AFC North and Tampa Bay. The Buccaneers and Atlanta Falcons battle for NFC South honors for
Oddly in the AFC North, the Ravens might not mind settling for second place, given that it would leave them facing an unconvincing Houston Texans team they just steamrolled on Christmas Day, while the loser of the Vikings-Lions clash awaits in the NFC South the champions.
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Highlights of the Atlanta Falcons vs. Washington Commanders in Week 17 of the NFL.
Tampa Bay is currently 9-7 after a 48-14 win over the Carolina Panthers on Sunday, before the Falcons slipped to a 30-24 overtime loss to the Washington Commanders that leaves Raheem Morris’ team at 8-8. The Falcons finish their campaign at home against Bryce Young’s Panthers, while the Bucks welcomes Darren Rizzi’s New Orleans Saints to Raymond James Stadium after three games.
The Bucs will clinch the division if they beat the Saints, but a Tampa loss and an Atlanta win would allow the Falcons to clinch the title, beating Todd Bowles’ team twice this season to control the individual head-to-head.
Who wins NFL MVP?
The fierce NFL MVP race will continue into the final weekend of the regular season, with Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson looking to be neck-and-neck as the top two with potential competition from Joe Burrow and Saquon Barkley.
Allen is unlikely to play when the Buffalo Bills beat the New England Patriots, who have already helped Sean McDermott lock up the No. 2 seed in the AFC, leaving Mitchell Trubisky ready to start in his place. became the first player in history to record five consecutive 40-touchdown campaigns after recording 18 total in December touchdown and just one turnover through five games.
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Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson’s best game of the 2024 NFL season so far.
Jackson could be making his final bid for a third career MVP award when the Baltimore Ravens face the Cleveland Browns on Saturday night as they look to take the AFC North title from Pittsburgh.He enters the final week having thrown for 3,955 yards and 39 touchdowns to just 4 interception, as well as rushing for 852 yards and four touchdowns, just tying Michael Vick’s all-time NFL record in most rushing yards.
Burrow, meanwhile, entered the conversation with a phenomenal individual season to keep Cincinnati’s slim playoff hopes alive with a four-game winning streak that saw them go 8-8 going into the final game. The former No. 1 overall pick completed a league-high 423 passes for a team-leading 4,641 yards and 42 touchdowns to eight interceptions, earning the league’s top quarterback rating in the process. Can he save a campaign that seemed dead in the water?
Who gets the #1 Draft pick?
The Giants face not only watching Barkley break the rushing record against them, but also missing out on the No. 1 pick in the draft. Brian Dayball’s team held the No. 1 pick heading into Week 17 before finally deciding to pounce because playoff hopes crushed Indianapolis Colts 45-33 to improve 3-13, but as a result slipped to the 4th place.
The New England Patriots are currently ranked No. 1 and will play the Bills in Week 18 after falling to 3-13 after a 40-7 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers, followed by the Tennessee Titans (3-13) 2- Brian Callahan’s team is set to face off against the Houston Texans and Cleveland Browns for the No. 3 seed. Crows.
Colorado’s Shader Sanders and Miami’s Cam Ward are projected to be the top two quarterbacks in the draft, while two-time Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter is also expected to be among the first players on the board.
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NFL Week 17 highlights from the Indianapolis Colts’ clash with the New York Giants.
Is Saquon chasing history… or not?
Saquon Barkley looked like he might make history on the final day after passing Eric Dickerson’s all-time NFL single-season rushing yards record.Barkley rushed for 167 yards to help the Philadelphia Eagles win the NFC East title over the Dallas Cowboys. in Week 17, making him the ninth player in NFL history to pass 2,000 in a season yard
That left him needing just 101 goals in the last game against the New York Giants to surpass Dickerson’s record of 2,105, which he held since 1984. Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni, however, admitted this week that Barkley, all will likely be among the starters rested after the playoffs.
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Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley’s best game so far of the 2024 NFL season.
“It’s a very special record held by a great player,” Sirianni said. “It’s a team record that everyone is involved in, so you weigh all those things.
“But at the end of the day, you’re just trying to do what’s best for the team. Again, how are the guys feeling, the bumps and bruises that we can take care of. We’ve put ourselves in a position , and our goals are to be successful and play well in the next game we play after that.
“It’s not easy. It wasn’t the easiest decision, but we have great people in this building and we got a lot of input from a lot of different people, including the players.”
When do the playoffs start?
Wildcard weekend runs from Saturday, January 11 to Monday, January 13 before the playoffs enter the divisional stage on Saturday, January 18 and Sunday, January 19, at which point the respective No. 1 seeds will join their to the action after the farewell.
Then it’s on to the AFC and NFC Championship games on Sunday, Jan. 26, before Super Bowl LIX takes place on Feb. 9 at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans.
Who would be in the playoffs if the season ended today?
Wild Card Weekend:
AFC:
Denver Broncos (No. 7 seed) @ Buffalo Bills (No. 2)
Los Angeles Chargers (No. 6) @ Baltimore Ravens (No. 3)
Pittsburgh Steelers (No. 5) @ Houston Texas (No. 4)
NFC:
Green Bay Packers (No. 7 seed) @ Philadelphia Eagles (No. 2)
Commanders of Washington (No. 6) @ Los Angeles Rams (No. 3)
Minnesota Vikings (No. 5) @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers (No. 4)
