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.