The 2025 regular season is nearing the end, so the playoffs are on the horizon. There aren't many playoff seeds left to clinch, and we've now seen some divisions won as well. All in all, it's been a very entertaining regular season.
And this could make for an even more entertaning playoff as well. Right now, the entire league seem to be pretty wide open, so even some Wild Card teams might have an argument to win the Super Bowl, and we could see a few of them making a deep run.
For the final time in the regular season, let's get into our weekly picks and predictions.
Picks and score predictions for every single Week 18 game as playoffs approach
Carolina Panthers @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Saturday, January 3rd, 4:30 PM ET
There are two Saturday games this week, and this NFC South battle is the first game on the docket for Week 18. The Carolina Panthers have had a bit of a breakout season, but the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, once one of the best teams in the NFL, have totally collapsed.
Both Carolina and Tampa did lose in Week 17, but the Panthers were able to beat the Bucs at home a couple of weeks ago and are simply the better football team right now. Carolina's defense is relatively stingy, and Bryce Young has taken some strides this year.
Carolina wins this one.
Prediction: Panthers win 23-21
Seattle Seahawks @ San Francisco 49ers
Saturday, January 3rd, 8:00 PM ET
Of all teams, the San Francisco 49ers can win at home in Week 18 and clinch the top NFC seed. This team has flown under the radar all year being in the NFC West, but here we are, and San Fran is a huge reason why this regular season has been so much fun. I believe the 49ers have something special going right now, especially on offense. They find a way win to win this game by three points, earning the top seed in the NFC.
Prediction: 49ers win 27-24
New Orleans Saints @ Atlanta Falcons
Sunday, January 4th, 1:00 PM ET
The New Orleans Saints have now won four games in a row and could finish the year winners of five in a row and with a solid 7-10 record. Given where this team was just a year ago, this season has been awesome. First-year head coach Kellen Moore seems to be the right guy for the job, and rookie QB Tyler Shough has been awesome in recent weeks.
If you took Shough's previous five starts, the Saints have gone 4-1, and his stats in those five games across a full 17-game season look like this:
70.5% completion
4,406 yards
20 touchdowns
7 interceptions
100.4 rating
405 rushing yards
7 rushing touchdowns
Tyler Shough might just be the real deal, and he's going to be the better QB in this matchup. The Saints want to win this game as well to end the year on a high note with their rookie QB, and I believe they do that by one point.
Prediction: Saints win 24-23
Cleveland Browns @ Cincinnati Bengals
Sunday, January 4th, 1:00 PM ET
The Cleveland Browns are in Cincinnati to face the Bengals in a classic AFC North showdown, but both teams have been eliminated from the playoffs and really don't have much to play for. Joe Burrow and the Bengals blew out the Arizona Cardinals in Week 17, and the Browns took care of business at home against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
The main thing to watch here is if Myles Garrett can break the all-time sack record, and that could be the central focus of the defensive game plan. If that is, the Bengals and Burrow should be able to take advantage of the opportunities in front of them and win this game by a touchdown, closing out another forgettable season with a win, as they did in 2024.
Prediction: Bengals win 26-20
Green Bay Packers @ Minnesota Vikings
Sunday, January 4th, 1:00 PM ET
The Green Bay Packers are locked into the seventh seed, so they really don’t have much of anything to play for. The Packers have been going in the wrong direction for multiple weeks now, and we’ve seen top players like Micah Parsons and Jordan Love go down with injuries.
However, the Minnesota Vikings also don’t really have much to play for, either, as they are in a lost season but could beat the Packers in Week 18 and actually finish the season with a winning record, which is interesting.
Both teams will have some key questions to answer in the offseason, and this could be one of the more boring and irrelevant games of the Week 18 slate, to be honest. I think the Packers make enough plays to get the job done and reach 10 wins on the season, which is an accomplishment I suppose.
Prediction: Packers win 23-20
Dallas Cowboys @ New York Giants
Sunday, January 4th, 1:00 PM ET
The Dallas Cowboys face the New York Giants in Week 18, and this is another game between two teams that don’t really have a ton to play for. The Cowboys season has definitely been frustrating, as this team has a playoff-caliber offense, but it’s been wasted by a bottom-feeding defense.
If nothing else, the Cowboys do know where they need to allocate most of their resources in the 2026 NFL Offseason, so they should be able to fix most of their defensive issues. The Giants have been more of a dysfunctional mess but have largely gotten encouraging play from Jaxson Dart this year, so I do believe he’s someone the team needs to continue building around.
New York, however, just isn’t quite where Dallas is, so the Cowboys should take care of business.
Prediction: Cowboys win 28-24
Tennessee Titans @ Jacksonville Jaguars
Sunday, January 4th, 1:00 PM ET
The Jacksonville Jaguars have a lot to play for on Sunday, as they could still clinch the no. 1 overall playoff seed, but they still have not officially clinched the AFC South as of yet, as the Houston Texans have made a late-season push and are in a spot to play spoiler.
The Tennessee Titans shouldn’t be too tough of an opponent for the Jaguars, as Jacksonville has really hit their stride in recent weeks, and Trevor Lawrence has played some nice football lately.
Obviously, the Titans are still a couple of years away from getting to where the Jaguars currently are, but rookie QB Cam Ward has shown flashes in recent weeks and is slowly carving out a very encouraging rookie season. While the Titans do have something to look forward to in the offseason, the Jaguars are going to take care of business here and finish the year with an insane 13-4 record.
Prediction: Jaguars win 31-20
Indianapolis Colts @ Houston Texans
Sunday, January 4th, 1:00 PM ET
The Indianapolis Colts have been a tragic, but fun story this year, as they were once 7-1 and atop the AFC, and it seemed like they were going to run away with the AFC South title and earn a top seed in the conference.
However, Daniel Jones tore his Achilles, and the Colts decided that the best option was Philip Rivers, and he actually played quite well for them. Indy is out of the playoffs, though, and the only thing they can really do here is play spoiler against the Texans, but that won’t happen.
Houston still has some playoff seeding to play for and have a top-notch defense that should make life extremely difficult for the Colts’ offense. The Texans should be able to blowout the Indianapolis Colts in this Week 18 matchup.
Prediction: Texans win 30-13
New York Jets @ Buffalo Bills
Sunday, January 4th, 4:25 PM ET
The Buffalo Bills will not win the AFC East, as they lost in Week 17 against the Philadelphia Eagles. The New England Patriots beat the New York Jets as well, so for the first time since the 2019 NFL Season, the AFC East is represented by another team other than the Bills.
Buffalo had a nice run, but now things will only get harder, as they’ll likely have to go on the road multiple times to reach the Super Bowl, something they have not done for years. In Week 18, Buffalo could still be playing for playoff seeding, and even if they’d rather rest some of their starters, the New York Jets really do not stand a chance.
The Jets have been a total disaster this year and probably need to cut ties with Aaron Glenn at the end of the season, as bad as that might sound. The Bills are going to win this game and win their 12th of the season, capping off an otherwise great regular season.
Prediction: Bills win 30-10
Detroit Lions @ Chicago Bears
Sunday, January 4th, 4:25 PM ET
At the beginning of the 2025 NFL Season, did anyone expect the Detroit Lions to already be out of the playoffs, but the Chicago Bears to have already wrapped up the NFC North? The division totally flipped on its head, and while the Bears have won the NFC North this year, they still could have some playoff seeding to play for.
The Lions are surely wanting to go out with a win in an otherwise disappointing season where the defense primarily let the team down. I do believe this will be a close game, as divisional games usually are, but Chicago gets a bit of revenge here and wins by a few points to end the season 12-5.
Prediction: Bears win 24-21
Los Angeles Chargers @ Denver Broncos
Sunday, January 4th, 4:25 PM ET
The Denver Broncos are one win away from clinching the first overall seed in the AFC for the playoffs, and that would be the first time since 2015 they’ve done that. Denver was the seventh seed in 2024 and could totally flip the playoff script by being the first seed.
LA Chargers’ starting QB Justin Herbert will not be playing in this one, so that could be enough of a deciding factor here to tilt the game to Denver. Oddly enough, the Broncos faced very similar circumstances in Week 18 last year, as they were wearing the throwback uniforms and played a Kansas City Chiefs’ team primarily playing backups.
It could be a similar situation here in Week 18. Denver knows what is at stake, and they’ve come through just about every time this year, so there really isn’t going to be much of a doubt here, in my opinion. Denver wins, earns the top AFC seed, and gets that crucial first-round bye.
Prediction: Broncos win 31-17
Kansas City Chiefs @ Las Vegas Raiders
Sunday, January 4th, 4:25 PM ET
The two worst teams in the AFC West play each other, and if the Las Vegas Raiders lose this game, they will indeed earn the first overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, so the Raiders’ front office probably wants a loss. The Kansas City Chiefs also probably want to lose this game, as this roster is in desperate need of some young, explosive talent.
The Chiefs should end up picking inside the top-10 of the 2026 NFL Draft. This could be a classic ‘tank bowl’ type of game where the game plans are vanilla, and no team truly wants to win.
Kansas City is slightly better, so they should be able to take care of business and seal the deal. Third-string QB Chris Oladokun is the Chiefs’ starter.
Prediction: Chiefs win 17-10
Arizona Cardinals @ Los Angeles Rams
Sunday, January 4th, 4:25 PM ET
The Los Angeles Rams should be playing for playoff seeding, and they’ve really had a nice season here in 2025. Matthew Stafford should still end up winning the MVP award, which would be his first and perhaps another addition to a potential Hall of Fame resume.
Let’s be honest here - the Arizona Cardinals are probably going to get blown out, as their season has gone off the rails after a solid 2-0 start. Kyler Murray hasn’t played in months, and while Jacoby Brissett has been fine, just about nothing has worked for Jonathan Gannon’s team, and it feels like Gannon has one foot out the door.
LA isn’t going to do anything fancy here and might honestly take it easy to not run the risk of a major injury while also still having some playoff seeding in mind.
This should be a double-digit win for the Rams, as they have their eyes set on something bigger.
Prediction: Rams win 30-14
Miami Dolphins @ New England Patriots
Sunday, January 4th, 4:25 PM ET
The New England Patriots can still earn the top playoff seed in the AFC, but with Justin Herbert set to not play against the Denver Broncos, the Broncos are probably going to be able to take care of business. The Pats still have the no. 2 or no. 3 seed to play for, so they’ll come out and try to win this game.
Drake Maye is going to get some MVP votes this year and might be able to win the award if we have a bit of a shocking vote. The Pats have been a well-rounded team all year, but some have taken note of their ultra-soft schedule, which is something to take note of, as the playoffs are a different animal.
The Patriots will win this game and cap off a wonderful regular season that not a lot of people thought was coming.
Prediction: Patriots win 28-17
Washington Commanders @ Philadelphia Eagles
Sunday, January 4th, 4:25 PM ET
The Washington Commanders and Philadelphia Eagles squaring off here in Week 18 is a rematch of the NFC Championship Game from the 2024 NFL Season. It’s wild to think that the Commanders have fallen this far, but injuries are brutal in the NFL.
The roster was also not nearly as good as I think many of us thought, but no team is going to consistently win when the starting QB is missing time. The Eagles will have playoff seeding to play for, but they cannot clinch the no. 1 seed.
They’ll be the second or third seed in the NFC playoffs, and that is still something to play for. Even if Philly was locked into a seed and trotted out some of their own backups, they’d still probably win this one.
The Eagles are hitting their stride on defense, and the offense can be explosive at times.
Prediction: Eagles win 24-13
Baltimore Ravens @ Pittsburgh Steelers
Sunday, January 4th, 8:20 PM ET
This game just got a lot more interesting, as a Steelers’ loss in Week 17 and a Ravens’ win in Week 17 set up a ‘win and in’ scenario on Sunday Night Football. The winner of this game wins the AFC North and secures at least one home playoff game, but the loser goes home.
It’s a rare scenario here, as you’d usually see the second place finisher finish well enough to at least earn a Wild Card seed.
Having to play for a divisional title or a spot on the couch in January are brutally intense circumstances. I like the Steelers’ chances in this one, though, as they’ll be in front of the home crowd and have been a more consistent team than the Ravens this year.
Even with Lamar Jackson in the game, Pittsburgh is going to do enough to win.