The final weekend of the 2025 NFL regular season was awash with possibilities, both on the field and off.

Playoff places and draft opportunities were all up for grabs in the now traditional divisional head-to-heads that grace Week 18, while players and coaches fought for new records and their very futures with equal zeal.

John Harbaugh and Mike Tomlin squared off for a chance at the playoffs in the last game of the regular season, but was it also the last time the two would do battle in the AFC North? Myles Garrett secured the new single season sack record to give Cleveland something to celebrate. Mike Macdonald’s defense put the fear of God into the NFC playoff field with their performance in San Francisco. Denver’s defense came out on top of the three-way scramble for top seed honours in the AFC. And the NFC South failed to deliver in its showcase moment.

While some coaches opted to rest their stars before the playoffs, others pushed for seeding supremacy. In some cases, it really didn’t matter as things were determined hundreds of miles away.

Here’s how Week 18 in the 2025 NFL season went down:

WEEK 18 SCORES
(to Monday 5th January)

Saturday:

(8-9) Carolina Panthers 14 @ 16 Tampa Bay Buccaneers (8-9)

(14-3) Seattle Seahawks 13 @ 3 San Francisco 49ers (12-5)

Sunday:

(8-9) Indianapolis Colts 30 @ 38 Houston Texans (12-5)

(5-12) Cleveland Browns 20 @ 18 Cincinnati Bengals (6-11)

(6-11) New Orleans Saints 17 @ 19 Atlanta Falcons (8-9)

(9-7-1 Green Bay Packers 3 @ 16 Minnesota Vikings (9-8)

(3-14) Tennessee Titans 7 @ 41 Jacksonville Jaguars (12-5)

(7-9-1) Dallas Cowboys 17 @ 34 New York Giants (4-13)

(3-14) Arizona Cardinals 20 @ 37 Los Angeles Rams (12-5)

(6-11) Kansas City Chiefs 12 @ 14 Las Vegas Raiders (3-14)

(5-12) Washington Commnaders 24 @ 17 Philadelphia Eagles (11-6)

(7-10) Miami Dolphins 10 @ 38 New England Patriots (14-3)

(9-8) Detroit Lions 19 @ 18 Chicago Bears (11-6)

(11-6) Los Angeles Chargers 3 @ 19 Denver Broncos (14-3)

(3-14) New York Jets 8 @ 35 Buffalo Bills (11-6)

(8-9) Baltimore Ravens 24 @ 26 Pittsburgh Steelers (10-7)

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GAME OF THE WEEK

Baltimore Ravens 24 @ 26 Pittsburgh Steelers

Sunday marked the 40th time Mike Tomlin and John Harbaugh had locked horns as the head coaches of the Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens, but none have felt more consequential for their legacies than this.

A true win-and-in scenario for both franchises, a loss for either man would mean a season outside of the postseason, and an inquisition over their future.

Tomlin’s men did not seem to get the memo in the first half. The Steelers’ offense generated just 90 passing yards on 27 dropbacks in the first two quarters, while the defense gave up a long Derrick Henry run and a Devontez Walker touchdown on Baltimore’s opening drive. While Lamar Jackson was hardly playing out of his skin, it seemed the Ravens were able to capitalise on a faltering Steelers squad that has limped towards the postseason behind a banged-up Aaron Rodgers.

However, the 42-year-old flipped the switch after the break, completing more than 70 percent of his passes to inspire a thrilling 26-24 win for the Black-and-Gold. The game featured four lead changes in the second half, as Rodgers and Jackson took advantage of repeated blown coverages from both defenses. In the fourth quarter alone, the Ravens took a 17-13 lead as Jackson found a wide open Zay Flowers for a 50-yard score, before being pegged back by Kennth Gainwell’s two-yard scamper. Another deep bomb to Flowers briefly gave Baltimore the initative again, before Rodgers rolled back time to hit Calvin Austin for the winning 26-yard touchdown with 55 seconds remaining.

Even then, the Steelers had to sweat. Another blown coverage on a 4th-and-7 allowed Isaiah Likely to pick up a first down but, rather than try to progress the ball further, Harbaugh opted to position Tyler Loop for a 44-yard game winner. The rookie’s kick veered wildly to the right as time expired, giving the Steelers the AFC North crown and inviting questions over Harbaugh’s game management. Could that Loop miss also bring about the end of one of the league’s longest — and best — coaching rivalries?

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MVP OF THE WEEK

Myles Garrett (DE, Cleveland Browns)

The NFL’s new single season sack record holder did not have a stellar game by his lofty standards, but it would be churlish not to highlight his achievement here.

With 5:17 left to play in at Paul Brown Stadium, Joe Burrow took a shotgun snap. To his left, Garrett was doing what he does best, bending round a blocker with scarcely believable agility and speed for a 275lb behemoth. Sensing the presence of the superstar sack man, Burrow saw fit to hit the deck, allowing Garrett to fall on the signal caller for his 23rd sack of the season. Some online have compared the record-breaking play to Michael Strahan’s crowning hit on Brett Favre, when he set the previous record (which was matched by T.J. Watt in 2021) way back in 2002. However, it’s clear that there were no shenanigans here, Garrett simply beat his man all ends up.

Garrett celebrated wildly with his Cleveland team-mates, with the refs allowing the Browns sideline to clear without throwing a flag. However, with that benchmark now set, is there anything tying Garrett to the franchise? He publicly agitated for a trade away from Ohio in the offseason. Clearly being the main man on a talented defensive unit has helped Garrett achieve personal immortality, but does the prospect of being a slightly less influential component on a title-chasing team seem even more appealing now?

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Winner: Mike Macdonald

Have you ever seen a more dominant 13-3 win? How the Seahawks only bested the Niners by ten in their NFC West title decider is genuinely baffling. Jason Myers has been their second most potent offensive weapon in 2025, entering this week’s game with an 88 percent success rate on field goals this term. His two missed kicks in the opening half, including a doink from 26 yards, gave Kyle Shanahan’s side respite. You couldn’t say they ever really had much hope.

Brock Purdy finished the game with just 120 net passing yards. The vaunted San Fran run scheme could only generate 32 yards on 10 designed runs. According to TruMedia, only one of those rushing plays was successful; the 10 percent success rate is the lowest in Shanahan’s 161 games in charge of the franchise.

How did Macdonald and his unit do it? The Seahawks were remarkably light in the box, playing with at least five defensive backs on every snap. Without the ability to set up manageable down-and-distance, Purdy was befuddled by Macdonald’s zone defense, defaulting to his checkdown routinely. According to Next Gen Stats, just 25 percent of Purdy’s throws travelled more than 10 yards in the air.

The Seahawks defense is deep and balanced, with a mix of veteran stars and emerging standouts. Nick Emmanwori has established himself as a dependable slot defender, and should garner votes for Defensive Rookie of the Year. On the other side of the experience spectrum, DeMarcus Lawrence continues to bring the heat on the edge. If I had more space and time, there are countless others we could shout out here. That is to say, Macdonald has taken a talented group and supercharged them with his defensive chops. The Seahawks rode their luck to rip the number one seed away from the Rams a couple of weeks ago but, make no mistake, they are well worth their homefield advantage.

 

Loser: The NFC South

Much of the attention headed into this weekend’s slate of games was centred around the NFC South. That’s testament to the dearth of genuine jeopardy for many of the league’s best teams, rather than any indication of the quality of football on show. The novelty of a three-way tie atop the NFL’s worst division wore off quickly, as the reality of the play on the field took hold.

Tampa Bay’s 16-14 victory over Carolina on a sodden Saturday afternoon temporarily gave them the edge; however, a win for the Atlanta Falcons in Louisiana on Sunday would give the title back to the Panthers. Raheem Morris’ last act as the coach of the Dirty Birds was to play spoiler, as his side eking out a 19-17 against the New Orleans Saints.

It means Carolina heads to the playoffs for the first time since 2017. Dave Canales’ outfit holds an 8-9 record, with a -69 point differential. However, over the course of the season, they have played the best football, especially since Tampa Bay’s mid-season implosion.

The biggest storyline to come out of this morass was the quality of the officiating at Raymond James Stadium — and it’s hard to pinpoint which of Dave Allen’s crew’s gaffes was the most egregious. First, there was a harsh offensive pass interference call on rookie standout Tetairoa McMillan that negated a 32-yard gain. Then came a phantom defensive PI levied against Nick Scott after Tampa TE Cade Otton appeared to trip over his own feet. Bucs linebacker SirVocea Dennis went unpunished after ripping Tommy Tremble’s helmet clean off his shoulders, before Bryce Young’s backwards pass bounced into Rico Dowdle’s hands. The play was blown dead, signalling a forward pass, however the ruling was then amended to a backwards pass that went out of bounds, crystalising a seven-yard loss for the driving Panthers.

So poor were the opening moments of the Saints and Falcons game that — yes, really — the most exciting information to recap was a rundown of the officiating mistakes the day prior. The first six drives of action in the Big Easy resulted in just 65 yards of offense, with four punts (one of which was blocked), a Juwan Johnson fumble and Kirk Cousins’ interception demonstrating a remarkably sloppy standard of play.

Carolina now gets the honour of hosting the Los Angeles Rams next Saturday as a reward for outlasting their rivals in a season to forget for the league’s worst division.

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THE ROUND UP

The Denver Broncos proved their pre-season champions correct, as they grabbed the AFC’s top seed with an ugly 19-3 win over the Los Angeles Chargers. Sean Payton’s offense generated just 4.1 yards per play, but that was more than enough in the face of Trey Lance’s torrid performance. The former third overall pick completed less than 50 percent of his passes, tossed a pick six and lost a fumble in relief of the rested Justin Herbert.

That result consigned the New England Patriots to the number two seed. Rather than take his foot off the gas, Mike Vrabel used the opportunity to beat up on the Miami Dolphins defense, with TreVeyon Henderson and Rhamondre Stevenson both scoring two rushing touchdowns in a dominant ground attack. Stevenson was particularly eye-catching as he turned his seven totes into 143 yards while also catching a 15-yard score from Drake Maye.

Aside from Devonta Smith’s brief cameo, the Philadelphia Eagles’ starters saw next-to-no action in their 24-17 loss to the Washington Commanders. The defeat meant they could not wrest the second seed away from Ben Johnson’s Chicago Bears, even though they fell to a home defeat against the Detroit Lions. While there were rumblings in the media that the Birds should have fought harder to avoid a tricky playoff tilt against the 49ers, noise coming from the locker room suggested the reigning Super Bowl champions backed Nick Sirianni’s decision to give them some time off. Whether that remains the case after the final whistle next Sunday, remains to be seen.

Did Matt Stafford do enough to win the season’s MVP award? The veteran signal caller threw for four touchdowns in the Los Angeles Rams’ 37-20 win over the Arizona Cardinals at SoFi Stadium, as Sean McVay kept his starters in the game throughout. That decision did mean the Rams secured the best matchup of any wildcard team in the playoffs, as they now travel to Charlotte to face the Panthers, but it also secured Stafford the passing yards and passing touchdowns title for the 2025 season. He is once again the favourite with the bookies, as his main competitor, Drake Maye, played second fiddle to his running back tandem in Foxboro’.

What do you think is the pick of the games in the Wildcard Round? Personally, I’m looking forward to the Jacksonville Jaguars hosting the Buffalo Bills. Trevor Lawrence has arguably been the best quarterback in the league over the past two months. He set franchise records for passing yards and touchdowns before bowing out of the Jags’ 41-7 demolition of the Tennessee Titans. Will his ascent be capped with a signature first playoff win over Josh Allen?

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STAT OF THE WEEK

• The 2025 Cleveland Browns are the only team since the 1970 merger to have a rookie lead them in pass yards (Shedeur Sanders), rush yards (Quinshon Judkins), receiving yards (Harold Fannin Jr.) and tackles (Carson Schwesinger). Is that a sign of brighter days — destined to be without fired HC Kevin Stefanski — to come on the banks of Lake Eerie?
  

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