14 of the 16 available playoff spots have been officially spoken for, and that means that fans and franchises alike are in for a photo finish in Week 18. Thanks to a fortunate series of events, the Carolina Panthers, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and the Baltimore Ravens, are all still in contention for those final spots in the postseason, but that also means that they are just one loss away from going home early.
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At the start of the week, it seemed as if the Ravens were as good as gone. They were forced to compete without their star quarterback, Lamar Jackson, and even though they somehow managed to win, they still needed a Cleveland Browns victory just to stick around for one last week. Well, they got just that.
The Browns were able to upset Aaron Rodgers and the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 17, which now sets up a winner-takes-all divisional showdown between the Ravens and Steelers on January 4th. If for some reason the AFC doesn’t offer your particular brand of football, however, then there’s no need to worry, as the Panthers and Bucs will be offering the same in Week 18 as well.
The Panthers were able to knock off the Buccaneers in Week 16, giving them a temporary leg up in the divisional race, but they were promptly brought back down to earth by the Seattle Seahawks. Now, just like the Ravens, they’ll have to venture into enemy territory and find one last win against a familiar face in order to save their season.
It’s about as dramatic as a Week 18 slate could possibly be, but if history is any indication, then it might not be hard to figure out what happens next. The city of Charlotte hasn’t seen a playoff game since January of 2016, almost a decade ago.
Throw in the fact that Tampa Bay is looking to claim its fifth consecutive NFC South championship, and it seems as if all of the trends are pointing towards a Buccaneers victory. Although, predicting the AFC North may not be as simple.
Baltimore has won two of the last three head-to-head meetings, but the Steelers have won five of the last seven. Much of the match up will depend on the availability of Jackson, whose health has been anything but consistent throughout the past several months.
Even if Jackson were to play, nothing would be guaranteed, as the two-time MVP has a 3-6 career record against Pittsburgh. Suffice to say, this is a coin toss of a match up if there ever was one, and given the Ravens history of struggles in December and January, it’s best to side with the future first-ballot Hall of Famer in Rodgers.
Of course, the real winners of Week 18 will be the football fans that are scattered throughout the world, as this upcoming slate will be the perfect way for all of us to kick off the new year.
