It’s week 18 in the NFL season and we’ve reached the finish line. Come Sunday night players on 18 of the 32 teams will be cleaning out their lockers and going home waiting for another season next September. For the other 14 teams, 12 will be making arrangements to play at least one more game next weekend in the opening wild card round of the playoffs.
With the first overall round pick in the 2025 draft up for grabs, the New England Patriots, Cleveland Browns, Tennessee Titans, New York Giants are the teams who all have three wins and any one of those could finish with the worst record and that coveted first pick overall. The Browns are in Baltimore for the final day of the season as they face a Ravens team who win a win take the AFC North. The Texans are in Tennessee and have nothing to play for already having won their division and are in the post season.
The Giants play the Eagles on the road, but Philadelphia has nothing to gain in this game either and will be resting starters. Buffalo with no chance to earn the top seed in the AFC plays at New England and like Philly will rest starters. So, we won’t know until Sunday night which team gets that first pick.
As for the seedings in the playoffs, here is what we know as of today. The AFC picture is as follows:
- Kansas City is the top seed and has a first-round bye waiting for their opponent in the divisional round to be played on their turf.
- Buffalo has the second seed and will play the #7 seed whether that is Cincinnati, Denver, or Miami.
- The Texans are next down the line and will host the Steelers if Baltimore defeats Cleveland or if Baltimore loses and the Pittsburgh gets by Cincinnati, then the Steelers are AFC North champs and will then host the Chargers as Houston brings in the Ravens.
- Currently Baltimore is in the fourth seeded position and will remain there with a win over Cleveland and then host the Chargers.
- The Chargers are in the fifth slot and must wait for the results of Saturday. Pittsburgh comes next and as above, Saturday and Sunday’s results will determine where they play.
The final seed goes to one of three teams. To determine who that is, the Bengals need a victory over Pittsburgh but must also have Denver lose to the Chiefs who have absolutely nothing to play for so essentially they are giving the Broncos the game by resting starters. Cincinnati also not only needs the win and a Denver loss, but Miami must also lose.
Denver gets in with a win or a losses by both the Bengals and Dolphins. As for Miami, no one would have thought they could get into the party but with a victory over the Jets and a Denver loss they are in.
Now the NFC…
- The top seed is up for grabs between two teams playing each other. Detroit and Minnesota meet on Sunday with both teams having just two losses. The winner gets a first-round bye and home field advantage in the divisional round. The loser drops to the fourth seed.
- Philadelphia is sitting with the #2 seed following the Rams who have won the NFC West and have the third seed.
- The Packers have the fifth seed followed by the Washington Commanders. The final playoff spots boil down to the Atlanta Falcons or Tampa Bay Buccaneers of which one of the two will win the division with a victory.
- Atlanta with Michael Penix Jr. is in Carolina and Tampa in New Orleans.
- The scenario as of now is that Detroit or the Vikings will sit at home next weekend. The Eagles will play either Atlanta or Tampa at home. Los Angeles will host Washington. Minnesota or the Lions will host Green Bay.
Who were some of the most disappointing teams in this 2024 season?
The New York Jets for starters.
If this is Aaron Rodgers final season, then I say hasta la vista baby. NO ONE is going to miss this guy. This has certainly been his most obnoxious season ever by words from his mouth. His ego was so large this campaign, he essentially ruined the Jets’ chances of having a successful season. They were thought to have a good team all around and he single handedly brought in his players of choice and the team bombed.
The Cleveland Browns.
Deshaun Watson turned out to be one of the worst free agent signings in NFL history and Cleveland remains stuck in this quarterback misery. Will they ever find a quality QB? Right now, they look stupid by letting Baker Mayfield go based on his last two seasons. No one could have predicted a three-win season for the Brownies.
Jacksonville?
What a mess here in my current town. The Jags were trying to improve from two straight 9-8 seasons and one playoff appearance two seasons ago only to win just three games this season to date. With a game in Indianapolis on the final day, that too will probably be a loss and then Doug Pederson’s job may be in jeopardy.
Not as much a surprise or disappointment but just a WTF in Las Vegas.
The Raiders like the Browns are a complete disaster. It will be a long time before they are contenders again. Why couldn’t Mark Davis just leave them in Oakland and get the city to build a new stadium?
The New York Giants.
I’ve lived in New York City, and I know the Giants fans up there are livid. Especially having one of the if not the worst team in the league. A storied franchise at the bottom of the barrel, a team used to being a winner and now this? Giants fans must be sick to their stomachs.
Caleb Williams was supposed to be the savior in Chicago.
He has improved but like Giants fans, the Bears have been around an exceptionally long time and has had some great teams in the past. This is not one of them. More was expected of them this year. Now they must find the next great head coach.
Finally, the San Francisco 49ers.
Heading into the offseason to their defense they had lots of key injuries in 2024. But their biggest problem will be what to do about Brock Purdy. Is he worth a monster contract? If he gets one, he will be the first “Mr. Irrelevant” to become a multi-millionaire.
What about the surprise teams?
The Pittsburgh Steelers
When they were 10-3 some could say the Pittsburgh Steelers outperformed their expectations. But with three straight losses to three of the top teams in the league, they are no longer a surprise.
The Kansas City Chiefs?
You really can’t be surprised by the Kansas City Chiefs being the top seed in the AFC but maybe surprised that they’ve lost just once. There is a reason for that…they are just that good.
The Washington Commanders for sure.
Jayden Daniels wowed everyone this season. Performing like a seasoned professional his team is in the playoffs for his rookie season. High fives to him and his team.
Sam Darnold and the Minnesota Vikings.
All season long everyone everywhere was waiting for Sam Darnold to crash and burn based on his career with the Jets, Panthers, and 49ers. His first season in Minnesota has been jaw dropping. For all the seasons elsewhere, Darnold never topped a quarterback rating of 100 but this season he is at 106.4. Darnold never threw for more than 20 touchdowns for any of those other teams with 19 as his high in his sophomore season with New York. This season he has 35. His numbers are astonishing with 4,153 yards passing heading into the final game. The one negative is his 46 sacks. But food for thought…would he have been the starter if rookie J.J. McCarthy did not suffer a season ending injury? The Vikings have a huge decision to make after the Super Bowl on what to do with Darnold.
So now let me make these final 2024 predictions on each team’s final game of the regular season.
Cleveland at Baltimore: The first of two Saturday games will determine the AFC North. With a Ravens victory they win the division. The Browns have nothing to play for unless they want to take a dive and go for that top draft pick. Even if they don’t tank, do you really think Baltimore wants to hand the Steelers the division title? NOT. Ravens 38 / Browns 3
Cincinnati at Pittsburgh: The Steelers are reeling heading into next week’s playoff game and Mike Tomlin does not want to go into a road game (if the Ravens win) losing four straight. I still believe this team is very talented it’s just because they have proven right now, they don’t belong among the AFC’s elite. Still, the Steelers do have pride, and they are embarrassed by the current losing streak. Sure, Joe Burrow is an outstanding quarterback and dangerous, but Pittsburgh already has one win this season over Cincinnati and playing at home with something to prove, I’m going with the Steelers. Steelers 31 / Bengals 27
Carolina at Atlanta: Can Michael Penix Jr. make the coaching staff look like they made the wrong decision by not starting the rookie quarterback earlier instead of Kirk Cousins stinking up the joint time and time again? If the Falcons sneak into the postseason especially because of something Penix did, there will be those who question Cousins’ amount of play time. Falcons 27 / Panthers 17
Washington at Dallas: A meaningless game for both as the Cowboys will be licking their wounds about a crippled season and from the outside looking in the blame for failures will fall squarely on the shoulders of owner Jerry Jones. Cowboys 20 / Commanders 14
Chicago at Green Bay: Here we have another playoff team with nothing to gain. If the Packers sit starters, this is the Bears’ game to lose. Bears 23 / Packers 20
Houston at Tennessee: Do you think Steelers fans regret their team letting Mason Rudolph take a walk following his successful end to his Black and Gold career? If it was my vote, it is an absolute NO. Rudolph has not played well and perhaps it is a lack of talent around him, but he might get an easy one here with the Texans resting starters. Titans 17 / Texans 13
Jacksonville at Indianapolis: A pride game here and nothing more. How hard the Jaguars play for their embattled head coach remains to be seen. Will it be Joe Flacco or Anthony Richardson for the Colts, but does it really matter? Colts 24 / Jaguars 14
Buffalo at New England: The Bills will give this one away to New England having secured the #2 seed. Drake Maye has had a rather good rookie season but is questionable for this one. If he can’t go, then it is Jacoby Brissett stepping up. Patriots 20 / Bills 19
New York Giants at Philadelphia: Kenny Pickett should be the starter and if he can’t put up good numbers facing perhaps the worst team in the league, then it solidifies Pittsburgh’s decision to trade him. Eagles 30 / Giants 13
New Orleans at Tampa Bay: My opinion is that Baker Mayfield primes himself for a playoff game with a huge performance. The Saints are in complete disarray. Bucs 35 / Saints 9
Kansas City at Denver: Bo Nix is among the group of rookies that played very well in their first season in the league. Now he can get his team to the playoffs if the cards fall right and join Jayden Daniels as a rookie QB making the postseason in his first NFL season. Broncos 19 / Chiefs 16
Los Angeles Chargers at Las Vegas: The Chargers are in. The Raiders are not. Las Vegas has been a complete disaster this season. At least they can end on a win. Raiders 24 / Chargers 17
Seattle at Los Angeles Rams: The Rams are another team with nothing to gain from a victory in this one. Even if they are sitting starters, the Seahawks with nothing to play for but pride and being on the road will not be completely focused here. Rams 27 / Seahawks 15
Miami at New York Jets: Aaron Rodgers has given signals this may be his last season in the NFL. Talk about going out with a whimper. Even if he wants to return, there is no way the Jets are bringing him back to be on the roster again. He dealt the franchise a terrible hand and I’m sure Green and White fans want him GONE. But given his ego, I don’t think he wants to retire a loser at least for his final game. Jets 31 / Dolphins 21
San Francisco at Arizona: Just another pride game with two teams watching the clock for 60 minutes waiting for that final gun. Cardinals 17 / 49ers 13
Minnesota at Detroit: The game of the day, the game of the last five weeks. This will be a barn burner with the winning team grabbing the top spot in the NFC and an off week only to have to win twice more to get to the Super Bowl. Now we’ll really find out what Sam Darnold is packing with a heavy-duty pressure game. Sure, the playoff game will be even bigger, but that first round bye is a gold mine for any team. This will be close, and I believe very high scoring. Lions 38 / Vikings 35
As far as my season predictions to date with one set of 16 games to go, I think I’ve done rather well. With 12-4 record last week, which improved my season record to 161-93 or correctly picking the winners 75% of the time. Next up will naturally be the playoff picks.
Running Pick Record from Week to Week
Week 1: 12/15
Week 2: 8/16
Week 3: 8/16
Week 4: 11/16
Week 5: 7/14
Week 6: 9/14
Week 7: 9/15
Week 8: 11/16
Week 9: 10/15
Week 10: 5/14
Week 11: 11/14
Week 12: 7/13
Week 13: 13/16
Week 14: 8/12
Week 15: 8/16
Week 16: 12/16
Week 17: 12/16
Week 18: TBD
