Week 17 saw the San Francisco 49ers clinch the NFC’s No. 1 seed, while the Baltimore Ravens clinched the AFC’s top seed.
But the final week of the season figures to be a doozy. Five teams are in play for three playoff spots in the AFC, while six teams are alive for two spots in the NFC.
So fasten your seatbelts, anything can happen.
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Meanwhile, the Chicago Bears, who aren’t in the playoff mix, had a good week. They won and also clinched the No. overall pick (from Carolina) in the 2024 draft.
As for the Patriots, they couldn’t complete a season sweep of Buffalo. Four turnovers will do that to you. The way its shaping up, the season finale against the New York Jets could be Bill Belichick’s last game with the team after a 24-year run as head coach.
Or not. The ball’s in Robert Kraft’s court.
Here’s the Power Rankings heading into Week 18:
1. Baltimore Ravens (13-3): Maybe John Harbaugh decides to sit Lamar Jackson in the finale. No matter, he still looks like a lock for the NFL MVP award.
2. San Francisco 49ers (12-4): Brock Purdy brought Niners fans back off the ledge by bouncing back from his career-worst performance last week with a two-touchdown effort against the Commanders.
3. Detroit Lions (11-5):No surprise Dan Campbell would go for the win, not the tie, against the Cowboys. It looked like he had it. But miscommunication over who was eligible, or not, with the officials nullified the potential game-winning two-point conversion.
4. Cleveland Browns (11-5): First team in NFL history to make the playoffs after starting four different quarterbacks in the same season. They’re lucky the fourth guy – Joe Flacco – was the charm.
5. Miami Dolphins (11-5): Rookie mistake by Mike McDaniel leaving his starters in during a blowout loss to the Ravens. Getting waxed is one thing. Heading into the playoffs without one of the Fins best players (Bradley Chubb), because he was left in, will haunt them.
6. Dallas Cowboys (11-5): They were lucky to snap a two-game losing streak after a botched call against the Lions. But it’s hard to ignore Mike McCarthy’s continued clock management issues.
7. Kansas City Chiefs (10-6): Can’t recall a game with Patrick Mahomes in it, where the Chiefs basically won thanks to six field goals.
8. Buffalo Bills (10-6): They’ve battled back to wild card status, and can keep hold of their division title with a win over Miami. They could also lose, and be out of the playoffs entirely. Go figure.
9. Philadelphia Eagles (11-5): They sure don’t look like a team that’s headed back to the Super Bowl. They’ve been shaky at best down the stretch.
10. LA Rams (9-7): They’ve clinched a wild card berth, and stand as a team no one in the NFC wants to face.
11. Pittsburgh Steelers (9-7): With a playoff berth on the line, Mike Tomlin rightfully decided to stick with Mason Rudolph at quarterback, even with Kenny Pickett ready to go after being a month removed from ankle surgery.
12. Jacksonville Jaguars (9-7): No Trevor Lawrence? No problem, especially against Carolina. They can still save face and wrap up the division with a win Sunday.
13. Houston Texans (9-7): C.J. Stroud returned, and all seemed right in Houston’s world. A win over the Colts, and the Texans land a playoff berth.
14. Indianapolis Colts (9-7): Every time you want to bury the Colts, they produce a win. Dismiss them at your own peril.
15. Green Bay Packers (8-8): The night and day improvement for Jordan Love against teams he faced and lost to earlier in the season continues with his four TD effort against the Vikings Sunday night.
16. Seattle Seahawks (8-8): They’re not out of the playoff mix with the loss to the Steelers, but it’s hard to see them doing much in the postseason if they still manage to get there.
17. Cincinnati Bengals (8-8): Jake Browning gave it the old college try, but still couldn’t will the Bengals back into the playoffs after Joe Burrow went down. A defense that was prone to giving up big plays also didn’t help the cause.
18. Denver Broncos (8-8): Extract Russell Wilson. Insert Jarrett Stidham, and produce a win. That’s fine. But they still got eliminated on Sunday.
19. New Orleans Saints (8-8): They seemed to be down and out, but played one of their best games against the Buccaneers, and have a legitimate shot at the postseason.
20. Tampa Bay Bucs (8-8): They squandered a chance to lock up the division title at home. For one game anyway, Baker Mayfield lost his magic.
21. Chicago Bears (7-9): Do they really want to draft a quarterback with the first overall pick (via Carolina) the way Justin Fields is playing? That’s the million dollar question.
22. Minnesota Vikings (7-9): Ultimately, the Vikings just couldn’t overcome the loss of Kirk Cousins. Kevin O’Connell tried three different quarterbacks, and still wasn’t able to get the job done.
23. Las Vegas Raiders (7-9): They were officially eliminated from the playoffs. The question now is whether Antonio Pierce was also eliminated from staying on as the Raiders head coach.
24. Atlanta Falcons (7-9): They need to win next week to have a chance. Given the up and down nature of their season, it’s just hard to predict if they’ll be able to take down the Saints.
25. New York Giants (5-11): Their loss basically assured them of a top five pick in the 2024 draft. A disappointing season, for sure, but they gain another building block.
26. New York Jets (6-10):Why didn’t the Jets re-sign Joe Flacco when Aaron Rodgers went down to injury? Just wondering.
27. Arizona Cardinals (4-12): What were they thinking, beating Philadelphia white fighting for draft position? Actually, it was a nice win for Jonathan Gannon over his former team as he appears to have the Cards headed in the right direction.
28. Tennessee Titans (5-11): They have a lot of work to do to get back to contender status. We’ll see if Mike Vrabel is still part of that equation.
29. LA Chargers (5-11): Jim Harbaugh? Bill Belichick? Ben Johnson? Stay tuned. It’s about to get very interesting with their head coach search.
30. New England Patriots (4-12): At the risk of stating the obvious, if the Patriots don’t use their first pick on a quarterback in the upcoming draft, it would be a stunner. But then again, they tend to march to a different drummer.
31. Washington Commanders (4-12): Did Jacoby Brissett’s loss turn into Sam Howell’s gain? Howell was benched and not supposed to start, but Brissett turned up with a hamstring injury. No matter. Howell didn’t take advantage.
32. Carolina Panthers (2-14): Did Panthers owner David Tepper really throw a drink at a Jaguars fan? Yikes.
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