NFL Teams That Have Something to Play For Week 18

It’s Week 18, the final chance for some players to make a statement before the long wait for the next September, and while some teams have a lot to play for, some might be slightly less motivated. Whether you’re playing in a fantasy championship, DFS, sports betting or just merely wondering which games might be worth watching, here is everything that could matter in Week 18.

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NFL Teams with Something to Play for in Week 18

High Stakes

The Ravens and The Steelers

Week 18, against your most bitter rivals, with one simple fact: win, and you get to play at least one more game, lose, and your offseason starts now, filled with bitterness and calls for change from the fans. Whoever wins will have a home playoff game on Wildcard Weekend, entering the AFC side of the playoffs as the number four seed. Stranger things can happen than a four seed getting hot, but both of these teams are flawed groups, unable to play complementary football and rightly warranting the questions that are being asked about their coaching staffs’ futures. The two longest tenured head coaches in the NFL are feeling the heat and this game has all the potential to get nasty. Win and put up an okay performance in the playoffs and all of a sudden things start to feel a bit rosier.

Panthers and Bucs

The other must-win scenario involves the Panthers and the Buccaneers in the NFC South, who find themselves in a similar win-and-in situation. There is a possibility that if the Saints lose to the Falcons, then the outcome here wouldn’t matter, due to divisional tie-breakers, but this game has been moved to Saturday, meaning both teams have to give it there all. The Bucs are 1-7 over their last eight games after starting in prolific fashion and garnering MVP talk for Baker Mayfield. Unfortunately, things went south quite drastically for Mayfield and the rest of his team as injuries took hold and performances regressed. Todd Bowles is finding himself like John Harbaugh and Mike Tomlin, on the proverbial hotseat and a loss here, their eighth in nine games, would be catastrophic. Meanwhile, nobody expected the Carolina Panthers to make the playoffs, or necessarily even come close, but that’s where they are. It does feel though that sometimes they’ve won with Bryce Young at quarterback, rather than BECAUSE Bryce Young is at quarterback. A big performance here and Young would likely buy himself another year of being the unquestioned starter. Failure, and all of a sudden the conversations start to pick up volume.

Seahawks and 49ers

More is being made of the fights at the bottom of the playoff matchups than the top currently, and the drama is definitely there with jobs and playoff spots on the line but perhaps the battle at the top is being ignored more than it should be. The Seahawks and the 49ers face off in a game that will determine not only the NFC West winner, but also the #1 seed and crucially for both teams the benefit of a bye week. Perennial pro-bowler, left tackle Trent Williams is banged up with a hamstring injury, which could effect the efficiency of the 49ers, but otherwise this looks set to be an all-out fight between the two best teams in the NFC.

Medium Stakes

Texans and Jaguars

Both teams are secure in the playoffs already but there is still the matter of the AFC South winner being proclaimed and this in turn will affect which team is playing at home in the first round of the playoffs. The Jaguars will win the division with a win over the Titans, while the Texans should want to beat the Colts regardless. It might be tempting to rest starters, but a win would maintain their current standing of the fifth seed and lock in a matchup with the AFC North champions, neither of which are strong opponents, meanwhile a loss could see them go on the road to the New England Patriots or the Denver Broncos, neither of which is appealing.

Patriots and Broncos

The stakes on the AFC side at the top are similarly high to the NFC side, but the conclusion seems predetermined at this point. The Broncos face the Chargers who can’t move higher than the fifth seed, from their current placing of sixth, and Jim Harbaugh has indicated they’ll rest starters rather than subject Justin Herbert to the Broncos’ pass rush. If the Chargers do rest their starters it’s very hard to imagine that the Broncos will be tested enough that they shouldn’t easily surpass Trey Lance and company. The Patriots are playing the Dolphins at the same time as the Broncos play the Chargers, so in theory both teams will have to play hard for the wins and make sure they do their part, but we might get enough scoreboard watching that we see some starters pulled if the situations become clear.

Chicago Bears

The Bears currently sit in the second seed for the NFC playoffs, and it’s important for them to stay there as long as they don’t take any substantial injuries while doing so. The reason the Bears want to avoid slipping to the third seed is that would put them in line to play one of the three NFC West teams, and instead take on the reeling Packers who got trounced by the Ravens last week. The Bears running game is one of the best in the league, and after the way Baltimore ran all over them, surely the Bears fancy their chances there. Caleb Williams also needs 270 passing yards to finally be the first Bears QB with 4000 passing yards, and that’s something that no doubt appeals to this staff.

Low Stakes

Philadelphia Eagles

The Eagles will want to win, just in case there’s a chance they can squeeze into the second seed but reports from NFL insiders suggest that the Eagles could rest some starters, which seems like the prudent move with a tough matchup ahead in the first round of the playoffs.

The Leftovers

The Bills are the current seventh seed and can’t get higher than fifth seed. Josh Allen has been dealing with a foot injury and that could effect the coaching staff’s decision-making, but it should be mentioned this is the Bills’ last game in Highmark Stadium after 50 years and they likely would want to put up a good performance against the Jets for the sake of the fans. 

The Rams will be either the fifth or sixth seed with little change possible, but Sean McVay has said he’ll play his starters in the wake of a poor performance against the Falcons. It’s a little surprising to see McVay take this approach given he normally doesn’t care about preseason and rests starters when possible. The Rams are taking on the Cardinals and despite McVay’s words, we shouldn’t be surprised if a lot of starters sit by the second-half.

The Packers are locked into the seventh seed and quite banged up, it would be very surprising to see them play their starters.