NFL Week 18 Recap: Do or Die

Week 18. This is Year Five of the permanent 18-week regular season, and no matter where the final week falls on the calendar, it's always amazing and full of wild and crazy moments. 256 games have played, leaving the final 16 left. As is the case, not all of the 16 games have meaning. Some have importance, some way more than others, some teams are playing for the top draft pick, and then there's the games that are in the middle.

Similar to my past final week recaps, the focus will be on the relevant games for the most part, so here goes:

Week 18 began with this battle for the NFC South between the Carolina Panthers and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, with the Panthers entering the contest with a one-game lead over the Bucs. This game was close, yet ugly, which is typical of the NFC South in recent years. The Bucs started up 10-0 after the first quarter, and even though the Panthers made it close, they never looked back. The Bucs held on to win this one, 16-14, and as a result of this, we would have an 8-9 division champion in 2025. But the question is, "Which one?" More on this later.

The second half of the Saturday doubleheader was the NFC West championship battle between the Seattle Seahawks and the San Francisco 49ers, and this one was more cut and dry. Despite the NFC West being the mega-loaded Group of Death, this game was lower scoring than the NFC South battle. Zack Charbonnet's touchdown put the Hawks up 7-0 after the first quarter. It would be the only TD in the game, which the Seahawks won by a final score of 13-3. With the victory, the Seahawks clinched not only the NFC West, but also the conference's #1 seed that came with it.

Sunday's early window saw the AFC South decided, and it wasn't even close. All the Jacksonville Jaguars needed was a win, and boy, did they get it. It comes with playing the Tennessee Titans. The Jags blasted Tennessee Titans, 41-7 (the Titans scored first, BTW), finishing 13-4 and capturing the AFC South for the second time in four seasons. The Houston Texans' quest for their third straight division crown was over, but they did win a strong game against the Indianapolis Colts to clinch the #5 spot.

Also in the early window, the Atlanta Falcons hosted the New Orleans Saints in their season finale, which saw the Falcons strike first with a touchdown. The game was pretty close throughout; down six late, the Saints were moving down the field, but Tyler Shough's pass ended up intercepted. Falcons managed to get a field goal out of it to make it 19-10, but the Saints made things interesting with a late TD drive. Down two, the Saints tried the onside kick, but the Falcons recovered and sealed their 19-17 victory.

So why is this meaningless game being mentioned? Well, it wasn't meaningless to everyone:

When the Falcons won, that placed them in a three way tie with the Panthers and Buccaneers at 8-9. A three way tie inside the division sees the list of tiebreakers beginning with head-to-head, and in that regard, the Panthers went a combined 3-1 against the Bucs (split) and Falcons (swept). That 3-1 combined record gave the NFC South title to the Panthers. They did it! Two years ago, they won only two games. They went from that to champions of the NFC South, and they clinched the division despite losing the game they needed to win. This was Carolina's first playoff appearance since 2017 and their first division crown since 2014. In addition, they became the first to do so twice with a losing record; in 2014, they won the NFC South at 7-8-1.

Major congratulations to Myles Garrett, who became part of NFL immortality when he sacked Joe Burrow late in the Browns/Bengals game. That sack was his 23rd of the season, breaking the 23-year-old single season sack record. The achievement served as a lone bright spot for the Browns this year, as this was yet another disastrous season for Cleveland, though they did defeat their in-state rivals with a last second field goal. Both Buckeye State teams will be in the top 10 of the upcoming draft; the Browns will draft 6th, while the Bengals will draft 10th.

Speaking of the draft:

Congratulations to the Las Vegas Raiders for locking up the #1 overall pick in the upcoming draft. They entered their mega Tank Bowl clash with the New York Giants last week at the #2 position, with the Giants at #1, but when NY won that game, that put the Raiders in the golden position. This week, the Giants won again, thrashing the Dallas Cowboys, and that Giants win locked up the #1 pick for the Raiders before they took the field against the Chiefs. The Raiders would later beat the Chiefs, 14-12, on a last second field goal, so this was a huge day for them! The Chiefs will draft 6th, and as for the Raiders, they are now on the clock.

Elsewhere in the late window, the Denver Broncos and the New England Patriots each attempted to do their part to get the AFC's #1 seed. The Jaguars were watching closely, as they needed both teams to lose to get the #1 seed. The Patriots would easily blast the Dolphins, 38-10, so that eliminated Jacksonville from the top seed picture. New England still needed the Broncos to lose or tie, and they did neither. A 19-3 victory over the Chargers cemented Denver at #1 in the AFC. Patriots, with their win, are #2, and the Jags are #3. As for the Chargers, their loss dropped them to #7 following the Bills' blowout win over the Jets, which locked in Buffalo at #6. In the NFC, the Los Angeles Rams' 37-20 win over the Arizona Cardinals moved them up to #5 and dropped the Niners to #6, and while the Chicago Bears lost at home to the Lions, they still remained at #2 due to the Eagles losing at home to the Commanders.

The 2025 regular season ended with Game #272 in Pittsburgh, as the Steelers and the Baltimore Ravens faced off for all the marbles. The AFC North was on the line. Winner gets the division. Losing team becomes the the 18th and last team out of the dance. It was not looking good for the home team at first. They were down 10-0 and couldn't get a thing going. It became 10-3, and stayed that way at halftime when a rushing TD attempt fell flat. Steelers did tie it up in the third, and took the lead with a field goal after they took the ball away from Lamar Jackson. What followed was dueling touchdowns, with both of Baltimore's scores made by Zay Flowers, and they were long bombs. Down four with less than two minutes left and no timeouts, the Steelers needed a big drive. Luckily, they had just the QB to lead them there.

Aaron Rodgers, perhaps nearing the end of his career, did an Aaron Rodgers thing again. A clutch touchdown drive, with Calvin Austin III making the catch to give Pittsburgh the lead. For the writer of this recap, it was a familiar sight. You know what's also a familiar sight? Rodgers going all out, only for someone to mess it up. But the culprit's a surprising one:

This man is Chris Boswell, one of the best kickers in the league. Many say he's been among the main reasons why the Steelers have survived to this point of the season. Yet after Austin's touchdown, Boswell actually missed the extra point--something he hadn't done all season, yet in all times, the PAT goes wide. Yikes. So this meant that the Ravens could win it with a field goal of their own, and their big return did help Baltimore. Steelers were getting the stops, but on 4th and 7, a huge pass to Isaiah Likely put the Ravens deep in field goal range.

This man, who needs a friend (and possibly a drink) right now, is Tyler Loop. Let me tell you a little story. Once upon a time, the Ravens had a kicker named Justin Tucker. Greatest kicker of all time, and it wasn't close. Could make 50-yarders blindfolded. Set the record back in 2021 until it was broken this year. Only one problem: Tucker wanted to be DeShaun Watson so badly. Yeah. Ravens moved on from him, and rightfully so, and they got Tyler Loop via the draft. He was looking good already. They had their kicker. With 2 seconds left, Loop was already set to kick the biggest FG of his young career; a 45-yarder that would send the Ravens to the playoffs as division champions. The kick was up. Wide right!

The Steelers won Game #272, 26-24, to capture the AFC North and grab the last spot in this year's playoffs. It wasn't easy for them. It never is for the Steelers. But despite it all, they finished 10-7, completed the sweep of the Ravens, and captured the North. As for the Ravens, they went from #1 in the conference in 2023, to out of the playoffs in 2025.

Black Monday is the nickname for the day after the regular season ends, and it's called that because that's when the pink slips are handed out. Some firings occur during that final day, and regarding this year, the Falcons decided that they were done with Raheem Morris as their head coach after two seasons, each an 8-9 record. Last year, they went from 6-3 and in first place, to 8-9 and losing the division to a Bucs team they swept. The Falcons ended this year on a four-game winning streak, but that streak started after they were eliminated. Nine seasons have passed since 28-3, but 2018 still remains their only playoff appearance during that stretch. I mentioned Tampa Bay; I think they're going to fire Todd Bowles. And the Ravens better give John Harbaugh the boot!

And that is that for the 2025 regular season, it was a crazy one for sure! Now, it's playoff time! The field is all set, and the matchups are locked in. It all starts on Saturday, January 10 with the Carolina Panthers hosting the Los Angeles Rams on Fox, followed by Packers/Bears Part III on Amazon Prime. On Sunday, January 11, the Jacksonville Jaguars host the Buffalo Bills on CBS, the Philadelphia Eagles host the San Francisco 49ers on Fox, and the Los Angeles Chargers and the New England Patriots go at it on NBC. Finally, on Monday, January 12, Wild Card Weekend ends with the Houston Texans and the Pittsburgh Steelers clashing on ESPN and ABC. The road to Super Bowl LX is officially on!

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