Week 18 of the 2025 NFL season is upon us.
After nearly three-and-a-half months of bruising and battering football, it all comes down to this. While the majority of league's playoff berths have been clinched—12 out of 14, to be exact—a handful of division titles and seeding scenarios are still up for grabs heading into the final slate.
Admittedly, with tiebreakers, a last-second schedule announcement, and multiple games set to be played at once, things can get a little confusing. That’s why we’re here.
Below is a complete guide to what’s at stake across the NFL this coming weekend, breaking down every playoff implication that's still in play.
What’s at stake across the NFL in Week 18?
NFC SOUTH CHAMPION, No. 4 SEED
For starters, the weekend slate will begin Saturday afternoon with the 8–8 Panthers visiting the 7–9 Buccaneers for a 4:30 p.m. ET kickoff. After play on Sunday of Week 17 concluded, it looked like things would be pretty simple—Panthers vs. Buccaneers head-to-head, winner takes the division.
That changed on Monday night with the Falcons’ upset win over the Rams, however. While the Falcons have been eliminated from playoff contention since Week 14, they’ve now won three straight, and with a fourth consecutive win in Week 18 over the Saints, they could potentially force a three-way tie atop the division.
Now, if the Panthers beat the Buccaneers, they’ll have the best record in the division and go to the playoffs, easy peasy. If the Buccaneers beat the Panthers and the Falcons lose to the Saints, the Buccaneers and Panthers will be tied at 8–9 on the season, and Tampa Bay would take the division on the head-to-head tiebreaker.
BUT! If the Buccaneers beat the Panthers and the Falcons beat the Saints, all three teams would be tied at 8–9 atop the division. The three-way tie brings a new tiebreaker into play: While the Panthers and Bucs split their season series in this scenario, Carolina swept Atlanta, and thus would have the best record between the three teams in games played against each other this year.
All of that sounds confusing! But it is relatively simple. If the Panthers win, they are crowned NFC South champions and earn the No. 4 overall seed in the NFC playoffs.
On the flip side, if the Buccaneers win and the Falcons lose, then Tampa Bay will win the NFC South. If the Buccaneers win and the Falcons win, however, then Carolina will be the division champs.
Here’s another way to look at it:
- Panthers win: Panthers win NFC South, earn No. 4 seed in NFC
- Buccaneers win, Falcons lose: Buccaneers win NFC South, earn No. 4 seed in NFC
- Buccaneers win, Falcons win: Panthers win NFC South, earn No. 4 seed in NFC
NFC WEST CHAMPION, NFC No. 1 SEED
On Saturday night, the 13–3 Seahawks will visit the 12–4 49ers in San Francisco. The winner of this one will earn the No. 1 overall seed in the NFC, clinching a first-round bye and home field advantage throughout the playoffs.
The loser? They’ll become an NFC wild-card team—but what seed will they have? We’ll get to that in a minute.
AFC SOUTH CHAMPION
While both the Jaguars and Texans have already clinched their spot in the playoffs, the AFC South title is still on the line. If the Jaguars beat the Titans, the division is theirs. If the Jaguars lose and the Texans win, then Houston is the AFC South champion.
If both teams lose, Jacksonville wins the AFC South.
AFC No. 1 SEED
Things will get even more interesting across the NFL once Sunday at 4:25 p.m. ET hits—as the No. 1 seed in the AFC playoffs is still up for grabs, with the Broncos, Patriots, and Jaguars all eligible to capture it. Here’s the lowdown:
- Broncos win: Broncos earn No. 1 seed in AFC
- Broncos lose, Patriots win: Patriots earn No. 1 seed in AFC
- Broncos lose, Patriots lose, Jaguars win: Jaguars earn No. 1 seed in AFC
- Broncos lose, Patriots lose, Jaguars lose: Broncos earn the No. 1 seed in the AFC
Get it? Good. Denver plays the Chargers, New England plays the Dolphins, and Jacksonville plays the Titans.
AFC NORTH CHAMPION, No. 4 SEED
Sunday will come to a close in Pittsburgh as the Steelers welcome the Ravens to Acrisure Stadium with the AFC North title on the line.
This is another easy one. The winner wins the division and earns the No. 4 seed in the AFC playoffs. The loser goes home.
Other seeding scenarios
While the five situations explained above are the most forward-facing, there are plenty of other seeding scenarios that can play out depending on how the weekend’s games finish. Here’s a look:
NFC No. 2/3 SEEDS
- Bears win: Bears are No. 2 seed, Eagles are No. 3
- Bears lose, Eagles win: Eagles are No. 2 seed, Bears are No. 3
NFC WILD-CARD SEEDS
Whoever loses the aforementioned game between the Seahawks and 49ers will drop into the NFC wild-card picture with the Rams and Packers. While the Packers are locked into the No. 7 seed, the No. 5 and 6 seeds are still up for grabs. Here's a look at how it could shake out for each team:
SEAHAWKS:
- No. 5 seed: Loss to 49ers
- No. 6 seed: N/A
49ers:
- No. 5 seed: Loss to Seahawks, Rams lose to Cardinals
- No. 6 seed: Loss to Seahawks, Rams win over Cardinals
RAMS:
- No. 5 seed: Win over Cardinals, 49ers lose to Rams
- No. 6 seed: Win over Cardinals, 49ers win over Rams -OR- Loss to Cardinals
AFC No. 2/3 SEED
Whoever earns the No. 1 seed in the AFC will also impact who is seeded No. 2 and No. 3 in the AFC playoffs. Additionally, if the Texans win the AFC South, they could also be in play for the No. 3 seed. Here’s an explainer for each scenario:
BRONCOS EARN No. 1 SEED:
This would mean the Broncos win, so the scenarios would play out as follows:
- Patriots win, Jaguars win: Patriots are No. 2 seed, Jaguars are No. 3 seed
- Patriots win, Jaguars lose, Texans win: Patriots are No. 2 seed, Texans are No. 3 seed
- Patriots lose, Jaguars win: Jaguars are No. 2 seed, Patriots are No. 3 seed
- Patriots lose, Jaguars lose, Texans win: Patriots are No. 2 seed, Texans are No. 3 seed
PATRIOTS EARN No. 1 SEED:
This would mean the Broncos lost and the Patriots won, so the scenarios would play out as follows:
- Jaguars win: Jaguars are No. 2 seed, Broncos are No. 3
- Jaguars lose, Texans win: Broncos are No. 2 seed, Texans are No. 3
- Jaguars lose, Texans lose: Broncos are No. 2 seed, Jaguars are No. 3
JAGUARS EARN No. 1 SEED:
This would mean the Jaguars won and both the Broncos and Patriots lost, automatically giving Denver the No. 2 seed and New England the No. 3 seed.
AFC WILD-CARD SEEDS
Here’s where things get even more dicey. Entering Week 18, the No. 5, 6, and 7 seeds in the AFC playoffs are still up for grabs, with the Jaguars, Texans, Bills, and Chargers are all in the mix.
To make things as easy as possible, here's how each team would wind up with each seed:
JAGUARS:
- No. 5 seed: Jaguars lose, Texans win
- No. 6 seed: N/A
- No. 7 seed: N/A
TEXANS:
- No. 5 seed: Texans win, Jaguars win -OR- Texans lose, Bills lose, Chargers lose
- No. 6 seed: Texans lose, Bills or Chargers win
- No. 7 seed: Texans lose, Bills and Chargers win
CHARGERS:
- No. 5 seed: Chargers win, Texans lose
- No. 6 seed: Chargers win, Texans win
- No. 7 seed: Chargers lose, Bills win
BILLS:
- No. 5 seed: Bills win, Texans lose, Chargers lose
- No. 6 seed: Bills win, Texans or Chargers lose -OR- Bills win, Texans win, Chargers win, and Jaguars lose
- No. 7 seed: Bills lose
Got it? Good. Let the games begin.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Everything That’s at Stake Across the NFL in Week 18: Full Playoff Implications.
