NFL Week 18 preview: Playoff spots on the line in final week of regular season

CNN
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The NFL family looked forward to Damar Hamlin’s health last week as he continues to recover in hospital, but this weekend the show continues and the final game week of the regular season holds. still a lot of exciting football.

Hamlin collapsed in the first quarter of the Bills’ game at Cincinnati on Monday, a contest that was postponed and then canceled by the NFL on Thursday night.

The canceled game leaves the Bills (12-3) – one win behind the Chiefs (13-3) in the hunt for the No. 1 seed and a bye to the next round.

The Bills will have to play their game against the Patriots (8-8) on Sunday knowing that with a win and a loss for the Chiefs, they could still clinch the AFC’s top spot thanks to a higher winning percentage.

Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow says he ‘probably wants to play’ his team’s next game, but also understands others aren’t following Hamlin’s collapse on Monday .

“I’m sure if you did a dressing room poll there would be mixed votes on this,” he told reporters. “Personally, I think playing is going to be difficult, but there are people who want to play too, and others who don’t.

“Personally, I probably want to play. I think getting back to normal as quickly as possible is personally how I deal with this stuff. But like I said, everyone has a different way of dealing with it.

The Bengals have no chance of dominating the AFC. At best, they could steal second place from the Bills if they beat the Ravens and the Bills lose.

The flip side is that even if the Ravens beat the Bengals, thanks to a higher winning percentage, the Bengals will still top the AFC North.

The Ravens have looked toothless in recent weeks in the absence of quarterback Lamar Jackson, but with an imperious defense and the Bengals potentially struggling to weather Monday’s clash, there is an opportunity for the Ravens to move on to the playoffs with some momentum.

The game kicks off at 6:00 p.m. ET on Sunday.

For Tennessee and Jacksonville, the playoffs came early.

The winner takes a playoff spot and first place in the AFC South, while the loser walks away with absolutely nothing.

And it’s not looking very good for the Titans, who lost a sixth game on the spot as they were beaten 27-13 at home by the Cowboys.

Things were made worse by their quarterback situation. Starter Ryan Tannehill is injured. His backup Malick Willis threw just 99 yards and was returned twice against Houston, before being replaced in their last game by Josh Dobbs.

The 2017 draft pick has played just seven career NFL games and started a game for the first time against the Cowboys.

The teams faced off just four weeks ago, with the Jaguars winning 36-22 on Tennessee soil. Quarterback Trevor Lawrence was on fire, throwing for 368 yards and three touchdowns.

Tune in at 8:15 p.m. ET Saturday.

Another game with everything to play for as the Packers, Lions and Seahawks all have an identical 8-8 record heading into the final game.

Due to previous results against each other, if the Packers win, they qualify for the playoffs; if the Lions win, they’ll need a battered Rams team to do them a favor and keep the Seahawks from winning at home.

It’s also a game of two teams that have recovered from terrible starts (the Packers were 3-6 and the Lions 1-6) to end the regular season in great shape.

The Packers built their success on one of the meanest defenses in the NFL. They have won their last four games on the spin without conceding more than 20 points in any of them.

Against the Packers is a Lions team that scores for fun. Detroit went 41 past Chicago last week with Jared Goff in fine form, throwing for 255 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions.

The Packers will be praying for a Seahawks win as it’s Sunday’s final game, which means the Lions could already be eliminated when they kick off in Wisconsin.

But if the Rams pull off an upset, this game could have it all for both teams.

Tune in at 8:20 p.m. ET Sunday.

The Lions beat the Packers 15-9 the last time the two met this season.

A few weeks ago, the Philadelphia Eagles looked unstoppable. They had lost just one game, had the NFL’s best record, and were virtually No. 1 in the NFC.

Fast forward to this weekend and the Eagles could potentially end the weekend in the top five seeds after losing their last two games.

The Cowboys are just one game behind the Eagles in the NFC East after beating them two weeks ago and could leapfrog them in the playoff bracket.

However, their fate is still in their hands, but Philadelphia hopes the Giants will do them a favor by letting their starters rest.

The Giants clinched an unlikely playoff berth last week when they beat the Colts but, regardless of the results, they will be six seeds and thus face the age-old question of whether to play or rest their best players.

The time off is particularly important for an Eagles team desperate to give full rest to star quarterback Jalen Hurts, who was sensational for the Eagles but missed both recent losses with a shoulder injury. .

With the Cowboys facing a relatively easy game against the Commanders, all eyes will be on the Eagles to see if they can reverse their mini-crisis to end the season on a high, or lose all the momentum they have. have accumulated this season.

The game kicks off at 6:00 p.m. ET on Sunday.