Week 18

TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS (16) vs. CAROLINA PANTHERS (14)

So now the Buccaneers decide to win a game with everything on the line. Well, it’s too late for any good will now. They might have won in a torrential downpour on Saturday afternoon, but the damage was already done. If I have to give them a silver amount of credit, they didn’t make too many mistakes against the up-and-down Panthers, like they did two weeks ago in Charlotte.

Like they have the last five weeks, the offense got off to a great start with a touchdown on the opening drive. When Cade Otton got wide open down the seam from 18 yards away, we thought “Finally! Tampa is playing with some energy.” But right on time, the group went stale and failed to reach the end zone the rest of the afternoon. After completing six of his first pass attempts, Baker Mayfield ended the half going four of fifteen with an interception that set up Carolina’s only touchdown of the period. However, Tampa’s defense was able to force a turnover of their own and they led by six entering the locker room. 

Throughout the second half, the Panthers had so many chances to give the Bucs a huge scare, but they just kept blowing away pristine opportunities. On the opening drive of the period, they had a chance to make it a three point game by kicking a 54 yard field goal, but the ball sailed completely wide to the left. On the next possession, Bryce Young hit Tert McMillan for what should have been a 31 yard completion into enemy territory, but the play was called back due to offensive pass interference. Tampa would end up making a kick of their own to go ahead by nine, but Carolina’s offense finally managed to lead a strong drive into the red zone. Then all of a sudden, on first down at the 20 yard line, they tried to run a flea flicker with Rico Dowdle. As the running back tried to toss the ball back, he slipped and it caused a lost fumble, completely killing the momentum.

Yet the Buccaneers were doing everything they could to let their opponent hang around. Their offense did not have trouble moving the football, but they just couldn’t finish with the points they needed. On a chip-shot 38 yard field goal attempt with close to five minutes left, the Panthers blocked the kick and their offense suddenly went right down the field in eight plays to score a touchdown and cut their deficit to two. All their defense needed to do was force one more stop to get the ball back and a win would potentially be in their grasp. Unfortunately, Otton got wide open on third down at the 45 yard line and it allowed Tampa to control the clock the rest of the way.

This was truly a sloppy game, but the Panthers have nobody else to blame but themselves. They went one for eight on third down, they couldn’t run the football whatsoever and they turned the ball over three times. Tampa might have been frustrating as hell on their end, but they were more effective on third down and they made more positive plays down the stretch. If Carolina somehow makes the playoffs and plays exactly the way they did on Saturday, they are going to get demolished by 30 points. Fortunately, this division race is still far from over.

Both teams will end the regular season at 8-9, but let’s see who ended up winning the NFC South.

SEATTLE SEAHAWKS (13) vs. SAN FRANCISCO 49ers (3)

On Seattle’s first offensive possession of the game, they waltzed right down the field against the 49ers and got all the way to the one yard line in just eight plays. On first down, Sam Darnold had Zach Charbonnet wide open in the flat for a touchdown, but the quarterback never looked that way and the play resulted in a sack by Tatum Bethune. All of a sudden, it was fourth down at the four and Darnold underthrew a pass to Cooper Kupp in the left corner, resulting in a turnover on downs. However, not only did the defense force an ensuing three-and-out, but nobody could have expected the type of performance they put on the rest of the night.

Let’s put this in perspective for a minute. Entering Saturday night, the 49ers offense had been absolutely unstoppable since Brock Purdy returned to the lineup. Last week’s win against the Bears was the first time in over a month where they were forced to punt. Sure, Seattle had a strong defense, but we all thought it would be hard for them to slow this group down on the road with the number one seed on the line. We were all wrong and this group ended up having their biggest statement performance of the season.

Over the last three games, San Francisco’s offense scored 127 points. On Saturday night, they were held to just three. Brock Purdy threw for just 127 yards, got sacked three times and threw a costly red zone interception in the fourth quarter when they had a chance to get back in the game. Christian McCaffrey carried the ball only eight times and was held to 23 yards. The 49ers offense only picked up nine first downs all night long! That Seahawks defense let the world know that they should be the most feared team in the NFC, but their offense provided the contrary.

Seattle’s offense did the bare minimum, which was to score a touchdown. However, they only needed to move 34 yards to reach the end zone thanks to a facemask penalty on a punt return. After that, they only scored six more points off of two made field goals from Jason Myers, who ended up only going 50% on his kicks. However, what allowed Seattle to seize the momentum was their ability to run the football. Kenneth Walker and Zach Charbonnet carried the ball 23 combined times and totaled 230 scrimmage yards; 171 of them were on the ground. Sam Darnold might have only thrown for 198 yards, but he didn’t make any mistakes and did a very good job of managing the game. As a result, the Seahawks went 50% on third down, but you just wish they would have scored more points. 

It’s hard to say that this win was more impressive than their victory against the Rams on Thursday Night Football because they had to overcome a 30-14 deficit in the fourth quarter. However, it is a very close second when you consider the circumstances. The Seahawks knew that if they were going to get any respect or legitimacy, they had to beat the 49ers in their house with the top seed in the playoffs on the line and they made sure to show no mercy. I have to tip my cap to them and I only wish they go as far as they can in the playoffs.

The Seahawks officially clinched the number one seed in the NFC with a 14-3 record and will wait for their next opponent in the Divisional Round. Meanwhile, the 49ers end the regular season 12-5 and will now travel across the country to take on the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday afternoon.

NEW YORK GIANTS (34) vs. DALLAS COWBOYS (17)

It feels like forever since the Giants beat the Cowboys in a football game. I get that Dallas rested their starters in the second half, but this was a surprisingly lopsided defeat. You could just tell early in the game that this was going to be a little closer than expected.

On Dak Prescott’s first drive of the afternoon, he gave New York a little bit of a spark with a lost fumble into field goal range because he slipped on the snap exchange and the ball jarred loose. However, the Cowboys defense only allowed two field goals and eventually, their offense took the lead by the end of the first quarter. But just as everybody thought it would be smooth sailing for Dallas moving forward, they faced fourth and two at the three yard line with 2:54 left in the first half. Instead of counting on Brandon Aubrey to make a chip-shot field goal, the offense stayed on the football field and a pass to George Pickens near the first down marker was broken up. Jaxon Dart proceeded to drive his offense 96 yards down the field and it fittingly ended with a 29 yard catch-and-run score from Daniel Bellinger off of a shovel pass. 

When Joe Milton took over in the second half, the Cowboys just looked lost on both sides of the ball. Not only did Jaxon Dart look solid in the final game of his rookie season, but Dallas’ defense had no answers for Tyrone Tracy Jr. nor Gunner Olszewski of all receivers. The Giants offense finished the afternoon going eight for fourteen on third down, they possessed the ball for 33 minutes and they never lost the lead after halftime. What a fitting way for defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus to end his tenure with the Cowboys. 

Milton had his moments, but the Dallas offense just did not have enough firepower or energy left to keep up. They were only down by seven in the first minutes of the fourth quarter, but after an interception to Bobby Okereke, New York captured all of the momentum they needed to put this game out of reach. Simply put, they wanted this win more, despite the fans wanting a top two pick in the draft. Don’t worry, there is a silver lining to all of this. Joe Schoen is staying on for another season! Oh, they don’t want that? Well, you had to see it coming anyways.

The Giants end the season 4-13 while the Cowboys finish 2025 with a pedestrian 7-9-1 record.

CLEVELAND BROWNS (20) vs. CINCINNATI BENGALS (18)

The Cleveland Browns and Cincinnati Bengals started and ended the season with a game against each other coming down to a game winning field goal. Unlike the opening game of the year, Andre Szmyt came through in the clutch to end Cleveland’s season on a high note. However, that wasn’t the biggest play of the entire afternoon.

The best moment on Sunday afternoon was seeing Myles Garrett break the single season sack record by getting his 23rd of the year. Everybody knew he would make history eventually, but to see it in the regular season finale against Joe Burrow had to feel really sweet. I wouldn’t be mad if the NFL gave him the Defensive Player of the Year award right away because his season was surely one to remember. 

With all of that being said, however, I just can’t help but feel the Bengals offense completely cost them this game. Shedeur Sanders might have done enough to win, but he got sacked six times and completed just 50% of his passes for 111 yards. Most importantly, Cleveland’s two touchdowns of the afternoon came from their defense. The first was a pick six from Devin Bush and on the very next possession, Sam Webb came through with a scoop-and-score to go ahead 14-6! Even though Cincinnati reached the end zone three times, Evan McPherson missed two extra points and they failed on a two point conversion attempt. They won the time of battle, they reached the red zone four times, yet still lost by two points! I can’t even blame the defense too much for this loss, even though they tapped out on the final drive and gave up the game winning field goal, because they didn’t allow the Browns offense to score one touchdown. 

After the game, both organizations announced the statuses of their respective head coaches. The Bengals made the decision to keep Zac Taylor for the 2026 season and not make any significant changes to their coaching staff, but the Browns did not do the same with Kevin Stefanski. It’s very rare to see an organization fire a man that won two Coach of the Year awards, but unfortunately, the team needed a fresh start. This offense hardly lived up to expectations during his tenure and even though this team made the playoffs twice, the Browns went 1-1. Obviously, not all of the struggles have been his fault because he is not the general manager, yet he was hired to give the offense a lasting spark and it just couldn’t happen. Once again, Cleveland is starting over from scratch again and at this point, there’s no reason for the fans to have any hope because there is going to come a point in time where they will be let down again.

The Browns finish the year 5-12 and the Bengals end the season with a dismal 6-11 record.

MINNESOTA VIKINGS (16) vs. GREEN BAY PACKERS (3)

The minute the Packers announced that Clayton Tune was their starting quarterback, I knew it was game over. To be fair, Green Bay already clinched the seventh seed so they were going to rest their starters anyways, but it was going to take a miracle to beat a Vikings team on a four game winning streak.

As we all expected, Tune was a flat out disaster. In the first half alone, he completed just two passes for 10 yards. He finished the game with only 34. The Packers offense went three for twelve on third down, it took until the final drive just for them to total 100 yards of offense and they might as well have been shut out because Matt LaFleur decided to kick a field goal for three pity points in the final seconds. JJ McCarthy had just an okay performance before aggravating his hand injury and fortunately, neither he nor Max Brosmer did anything to let the game go out of hand. It was more of a feel-good game for Minnesota, but not necessarily because they ended the season on a high note. Sunday afternoon was possibly the last time we saw fullback CJ Ham and safety Harrison Smith play for the Vikings. If both of them end up retiring, then both of them had outstanding careers and they deserved to be celebrated as much as possible. 

The Vikings will finish the season on a five game winning streak and a respectable 9-8 record, but the Green Bay Packers have another week of football at 9-7-1 as they go on the road to play the Chicago Bears on Saturday night.  

JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS (41) vs. TENNESSEE TITANS (7)

For the Jaguars, the goal was simple: win and they would clinch the AFC South. Against the three-win Titans at home, it should have been smooth sailing from start to finish, but Cam Ward gave Tennessee an early spark with a rushing touchdown on the opening drive. Unfortunately, he suffered a shoulder injury on that play, knocking him out for the rest of the game. When Brandon Allen took over, the Titans just lost all of their juice.

Jacksonville proceeded to score 41 unanswered points and storm their way to a division title. Trevor Lawrence threw for 255 yards with three touchdown passes and zero interceptions. Allen, on the other hand, only totaled 72 yards on 17 completions and let the gates blow wide open with a pick six to Antonio Johnson. It would’ve been nice to see the Titans complete this game with their starting quarterback fully healthy, but I don’t feel the outcome would have changed. To make a long story, the Jaguars were just a vastly superior football team and they took care of business. Now they get to host a playoff game, just one year after going 4-13. Tremendous job, gentlemen.

The Jaguars will close the regular season 13-4 and welcome the Buffalo Bills on Sunday afternoon. Meanwhile, the Titans will end their year 3-14. 

HOUSTON TEXANS (38) vs. INDIANAPOLIS COLTS (30)

This is what I mean when I say division rivalry games are always the most unpredictable. The Colts were in position to finally end their six game losing streak and at least end the season on a positive note, but once again, they failed to close the deal and lost in heartbreaking fashion. Sure, the Texans rested their starters in the second half, but Indianapolis had a lot of momentum for a majority of the afternoon. 

Riley Leonard got the start at quarterback for the Colts and on his first pass of the 

game, he flung a 66 yard bomb down the left sideline to Alec Pierce for a wide open touchdown! Houston ended up kicking a couple of field goals on their first two possessions, but the Colts still led by three entering the second quarter. CJ Stroud would then ultimately lead the Texans offense down the field for a go-ahead touchdown thanks to a fantastic catch in the corner of the end zone by Jayden Higgins. Unfortunately, just two plays later, Leonard got strip sacked off the rush by Danielle Hunter and Houston recovered at the two yard line, which set up a walk-in touchdown run for Stroud. The Texans went ahead by ten but the good news was that the game did not get out of hand from there.

Towards the end of the first half, Leonard fired another touchdown dart to Alec Pierce, this time in the right corner of the end zone against Derek Stingley Jr. with 1:25 left in the half, but the Texans still led by three at the break. Then just three plays into the third quarter, Leonard went long to Pierce again and the two connected for 53 more yards, setting up a walk-in score for the rookie quarterback. Now Indianapolis was ahead by one, but they could never find a way to pull ahead.

Even when Davis Mills took over for CJ Stroud, the Texans offense did enough to either stay ahead or make sure the deficit never got out of hand. Indianapolis ended up taking a one point lead entering the fourth quarter, but a costly interception thrown to Alijah Huzzie allowed Ka’imi Fairbairn to make his fifth field goal of the afternoon and put Houston ahead by two once again. To Leonard’s credit, he gave the Colts another late lead with less than three minutes left, but the defense let up the lead one final time with just 12 seconds left. On Indianapolis’ final play, they tried to see if a miracle could work on a lateral play, but the ball rolled its way deep inside the ten yard line and Tommy Togiai picked it up to give Houston its only touchdown of the second half. 

This might have been a fantastic back-and-forth showdown between two division rivals, the bottom line was that Indianapolis made too many mistakes. They turned the ball over three times and the Texans scored 16 points off of those miscues. Alec Pierce got ejected near the end of the third quarter for making contact with an official. More importantly, the Colts kept settling for field goals in the second half instead of touchdowns. The defense might have surrendered a lot of scoring drives themselves, but this was the last chance for this team to right the wrongs that happened and they couldn’t come up with the win. From Houston’s perspective, this wasn’t the most ideal way to win a game, but there’s no reason to overreact.

The Texans will go on the road to begin the playoffs and take on the Pittsburgh Steelers on Monday Night Football. Unfortunately, the Colts end the season on a seven game losing streak at 8-9.

ATLANTA FALCONS (19) vs. NEW ORLEANS SAINTS (17)

It says something when the Panthers and Buccaneers care more about who wins this game than the actual teams playing on the field. A New Orleans victory would give Tampa Bay its fifth straight division title, while an Atlanta win would mean the Panthers would win the NFC South for the first time since 2015. 

What ensued for 60 straight minutes was a gutsy defensive struggle. On the first 

offensive play of the day for the Saints, Juwan Johnson got the ball punched out by AJ Terrell and the Falcons took over at the opponent’s 39 yard line. Then as Kirk Cousins got his offense into the red zone, he threw an interception to Carl Granderson on an attempted screen pass to Kyle Pitts. However, neither team scored through the first 10+ minutes of the first quarter. Then Atlanta’s special teams swung the entire direction of the game with a blocked punt at the five yard line, which set up a wide open touchdown pass to Drake London. From that point on, New Orleans fought to make it a close game, but they could never get the lead. 

If you told me the Falcons wouldn’t reach the end zone for the rest of the afternoon, I would say the Saints found a way to win this game. Heck, they were only down by six points with close to three minutes left. At the 20 yard line, Tyler Shough was in position to pull off another game winning drive, only for him to cost his team the win with a costly interception to Dee Alford. The fourth year corner returned it all the way to the 27 yard line, which was enough for Zane Gonzalez to drill his fourth field goal of the afternoon and increase the lead to nine. On the next possession, Shough threw a perfect touchdown pass to Ronnie Bell, who made a one handed catch in the corner of the end zone to cut the deficit to two. Unfortunately, New Orleans couldn’t recover the onside kick and the game was over.

There is a lot to unpack here, so let’s start with the game itself. Both the Saints and Falcons entered the afternoon on impressive winning streaks and only one of them was going to continue. Overall, they fought to the very end but Atlanta just simply made the least amount of mistakes. Let this sink in for a second. Bijan Robinson was completely shut down, Kirk Cousins got sacked four times and the offense failed to score a touchdown in the second half. Yet they still won by two thanks to a couple turnovers and a blocked punt deep into scoring range. As a result, the Falcons pulled off the sweep, but they didn’t exactly get a happy ending.

24 hours after the game was over, the organization announced that they would be firing head coach Raheem Morris and general manager Terry Fontenot. I’ll begin with the former. I personally felt Morris deserved another year, especially after his team won four straight games to end the season. I think his defense improved greatly compared to last year. They were second in sacks, seventh in takeaways and I believe they were an above average unit. If there was anybody that deserved most of the blame, it was Fontenot. Why? He was the one that paid Kirk Cousins $100 million guaranteed, only to draft Michael Penix Jr. in the first round a month later. He traded a future first round pick to acquire an edge rusher and if the team continued to plummet, the Rams would have had a top five pick. He might have added a lot of talent to the roster, but the results have been incredibly mediocre. At the end of the day, I can understand that this organization needed another fresh start, but the patience is running out. This is the fourth time in the last six seasons where the Falcons have opened the hiring process for a new head coach and they need to make sure this one can get this team back into the playoffs. Oh don’t think this gets any better, Atlanta. You might have actually won this division yourselves if you didn’t lose to the Jets. 

Don’t think I forgot about the other two teams in the NFC South. Carolina, congratulations! You’re back in the playoffs for the first time in nine seasons, but you will have a very difficult road ahead of you, so all I have to say is best of luck. Tampa Bay, on the other hand, we need to talk. We’re just going to cut to the chase here: you choked. For this team to be 6-2 with a playoff spot all but clinched, only to gag it away after the bye week is total incompetence. Yet somehow, Todd Bowles is still going to be the head coach next year. You might as well write off 2026. I don’t want to hear about the injuries they had to deal with because even with most of their starters fully healthy, they still managed to completely fall apart by losing seven of their final nine games; four of them to teams with losing records! That is catastrophic failure! You would think that this team hit the reset button, but the way things have been done over the last few years, none of them have worked! The fact that Bowles is still there means that the Glazer family loves him too much. Let’s say they actually do make it back to the playoffs next year. Then what? The sweet reward of getting sent home by a legitimate championship contender? This team better make a few key changes to this coaching staff and roster or else they are going to suffer the same fate as they did this year.

The Falcons will finish the season 8-9 and the Saints will end the year 6-11. The Panthers, on the other hand, will host the Los Angeles Rams in the Wild Card on Saturday afternoon.

LAS VEGAS RAIDERS (14) vs. KANSAS CITY CHIEFS (12)

There was nothing to feel good about for either side in this game. The Raiders might have clinched the first overall pick and fired Pete Carroll, but this season was an outright disaster for them. I knew they wouldn’t make the playoffs, yet I was not expecting them to be this horrible in every aspect. Just look at what happened on Sunday against the Chiefs. Kenny Pickett barely played in the first half and completed just one pass for three yards with an interception. Then we were all forced to watch Aidan O’Connell complete less than 50% of his passes and barely throw for over 100 yards. To his credit, he did technically lead a game winning drive by setting up a go-ahead field goal for Daniel Carlson, but it was from 60 yards away. There were only three people I truly felt bad for: Ashton Jeanty, Brock Bowers and Maxx Crosby. These are outstanding talents that deserve to play on real teams with positive aspirations instead of just being sent out to die every week. 

The Chiefs are just as bad. Their roster is going to go through a complete overhaul, their offense completely plummeted in the second half of the season and yet you can’t help but think what would have happened if Patrick Mahomes didn’t get injured. I know they were missing the playoffs even if he was healthy, but it’s amazing to see how much he was camouflaging all of the flaws and weaknesses this team had. The offensive line gave up eight sacks, including one for a safety that essentially decided the game. Chris Oladokun and Shane Buechele were the starting quarterbacks for crying out loud. If this truly was Travis Kelce’s last game in the NFL, this was quite possibly the worst way to end a Hall of Fame career. No, I don't think Andy Reid is going anywhere. He’s not entirely at fault for this happening and I feel like any other head coach would be in the same situation. Overall, this was truly a pathetic game and I just want to tip my cap to the people that actually bothered to waste their time watching.

The Raiders are on the clock at 3-14 while the Chiefs finish the season 6-11, just one year after reaching their third consecutive Super Bowl.

BUFFALO BILLS (35) vs. NEW YORK JETS (8)

Oh this was a game too? I’m supposed to actually give an objective analysis on what I saw on Sunday? You know what Jets, just go away! If you actually played with some fight and drive, I would actually show more respect, but this team just flat out quit. They made Mitchell Trubisky and Ray Davis look like Josh Allen and James Cook. I get the team is battered to hell, but it’s like they don’t even want to try anymore. Do you realize that they are the first team in NFL history to finish an entire season without recording an interception? Yet Aaron Glenn is going to stick around for another year. It says something when the best moment they’ve had all season is watching him dance on the sideline… in a game that they lost. At this point, there’s no point to have any hope. They can make all the splash moves in the world, but unless things finally start to turn around, I’m not believing for a second that next year will be a million times better. Don’t bring up the Lions after Dan Campbell’s first season. That team actually competed and fought in every game, something New York clearly lacks in every… single… time!

The Bills will go on the road next week to play the Jacksonville Jaguars in the Wild Card on Sunday afternoon, while the Jets end their dismal season with a 3-14 record.

LOS ANGELES RAMS (37) vs. ARIZONA CARDINALS (20)

On Arizona’s first possession of the game, Jacoby Brissett got strip sacked by Josiah Stewart and it allowed the Rams offense to start in tremendous field position at the 23 yard line. However, this game was not initially the blowout we all expected. In fact, the Cardinals defense had a great “bend but don’t break” strategy that worked for a majority of the afternoon. LA had to settle for three field goals on their first four drives, yet an interception by Ahkello Witherspoon near the end of the first half allowed them to lead by 10 at the break.

At the start of the second half, it looked like Arizona completely flipped the switch. Not only did the defense force two straight three-and-outs, but the offense stormed their way down the field on their first two possessions of the period and scored 14 unanswered points to lead by four! Brissett was starting to deal in the pocket and the defense was doing what they could to save Jonathan Gannon from being fired at the end of the season. Unfortunately, the Rams offense eventually found their footing with a go-ahead touchdown to Colby Parkinson near the end of the third quarter. Once the fourth began, this game was well out of reach.

That score was the first of three consecutive possessions where LA reached the end zone, while the Cardinals offense did nothing but stall out. After two straight three-and-outs, their season fittingly ended with a sack from Desjuan Johnson to lose the game by 17. What a shocker: Arizona had a winnable game in their hands, only for them to shut down in the final 15 minutes. The Rams might have been the better team in this game from the beginning, but just imagine what would have happened if the Cardinals finally managed to win a game for the first time in who knows how long.

Sadly, this was the end for Jonathan Gannon as he got fired as the head coach 24 hours after the game. You know, if the team managed to win some games in the second half of the season, the front office might have given him another chance. Remember when this team was 2-0 to start the year? We actually thought they had a decent shot of making the playoffs. Then the collapse to the Tennessee Titans happened and the Cardinals were never the same team afterwards. I mean, at least we got to see them humiliate the Cowboys on Monday Night Football? It feels like years ago since that happened. Arizona needed to hit the reset button quickly because not only was the team not responding, but they were hinting that they were going to look for a new quarterback in the upcoming offseason. We all knew this was going to be the last chance for this team to take that next leap, but all they did was crumble apart and quit.

The Rams will be the fifth seed in the playoffs at 12-5 and take on the Carolina Panthers in the Wild Card on Saturday afternoon, while the Cardinals end the season on a nine game losing streak at 3-14.

WASHINGTON COMMANDERS (24) vs. PHILADELPHIA EAGLES (17)

I have a feeling about what the discourse was surrounding this football game. “The Eagles should have played their starters!” “Are they really content with being the third seed?” “Nick Sirianni is a complete hack.” Listen, I agree that this team has a better chance of beating the Packers in the Wild Card than the 49ers, but do we really think this team is going to storm their way back to a Super Bowl? Philadelphia is nowhere near as dominant or as respected as they were last season, so all this game does is expedite the inevitable. 

Tanner McKee got the start at quarterback for the Eagles on Sunday afternoon, but didn’t exactly have a promising performance the way we thought he could. He had his moments, but got sacked three times and he threw a costly interception late in the first half that allowed Washington to take a three point lead at the break. To McKee’s credit, he made sure to get his team in the end zone midway through the third quarter, yet it was thanks to a fumble recovery off a botched snap at the 28 yard line. Even then, things were in a decent spot. The Eagles were ahead by seven in the fourth quarter and all they needed to do was just hang on for 15 more minutes. Spoiler alert: they did not.

The Commanders offense, led by Josh Johnson, proceeded to score 14 unanswered points on two consecutive touchdown drives to take the lead before the two minute warning. Meanwhile, the Eagles totaled just 33 yards on three possessions with zero points attached. Yes, the odds of winning would have been better with the starters in the game, but we didn’t see this team play any different than they did in their previous five losses. 

24 hours after the game, Washington announced they would make two coordinator changes. Not only was Joe Whitt Jr. inevitably fired on the defensive side, but the organization surprisingly announced that they were moving on from Kliff Kingsbury. I personally don’t know why he had to leave. Was it his fault his best players got injured and they were down to a third string quarterback at the end of the season? I understand there might have been philosophical differences between him and Dan Quinn, but the last thing I would have wanted to do was find a way to upset Jayden Daniels this early in his career. It might be for the best, but it is still shocking nonetheless.

The Eagles will stay home to welcome the San Francisco 49ers in the Wild Card on Sunday afternoon while the Commanders will end the season 5-12. 

DENVER BRONCOS (19) vs. LOS ANGELES CHARGERS (3)

The Broncos might be the number one seed in the AFC, but this is proof that I have no faith in them to go to the Super Bowl. Against a Chargers team with backups on both sides of the ball, the only touchdown that was scored was from a pick six by Ja’Quan McMillian. Los Angeles did not even have anything to play for in this game and yet because Justin Herbert was on the bench resting up for the playoffs, this team lost a potentially winnable game on the road. Instead, we were forced to watch Trey Lance total just 136 passing yards on 44 attempts with four sacks taken. Bo Nix added more fun to the snooze fest by barely throwing for 140 yards, while also getting sacked four times. 

Overall, this game was just a total snooze fest. I want to be nice and say that one defense just made a bigger play, but it was inevitable that this game would be over the minute Denver got a touchdown on the board. Oh well, let’s just see what these two teams do in the playoffs.

The Broncos will end the regular season 14-3 and wait another two weeks to play a football game, while the Chargers will travel across the country for a Wild Card showdown against the New England Patriots on Sunday Night Football.

NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS (38) vs. MIAMI DOLPHINS (10)

In the first half, the Dolphins made this a closer fight than anybody could have expected. Even though they never had the lead at any point in the game, they were doing their best to keep the Patriots on their heels. After surrendering 14 straight points on the first two drives, the Miami defense held firm on the next four possessions. They forced a three-and-out, then got a stop on fourth down, then blocked a chip shot field goal before Andy Borregales redeemed himself on the final drive with a 59 yard kick through the uprights. The Dolphins were only down by seven at the break but the biggest reason why was because their offense just didn’t score enough points. On the opening possession, they got all the way inside the 10 yard line, but failed to convert on fourth down. One drive later, they scored a touchdown to make it a 14 point contest but their next three possessions ended with a punt, lost fumble and a field goal.

Miami’s offense took the field to begin the third quarter and just like they did earlier in the game, they marched into Patriots territory with ease. But on first and ten at the 13 yard line, Quinn Ewers gave New England all of the momentum they needed with a back breaking interception in the end zone to Jaylinn Hawkins. Once that happened, the Patriots offense came alive while the Dolphins completely shut down.

Rhamondre Stevenson was the best player on the field with 131 yards and three total touchdowns… on just seven carries. New England ended up rushing for over 240 yards, averaging seven yards a handoff. Drake Maye’s numbers might not have been spectacular, but he didn’t have to be the hero or do too much to try to win the game. As for Miami, they only had 63 rushing yards and averaged just 2.5 per carry. Ewers finished the afternoon with just 137 yards and four sacks taken. Overall, the Patriots were just a way better football team and we all knew it was going to take one play for this game to swing around in the other direction.

The Patriots completely turn their season around with a 14-3 record and will stay home for a Wild Card showdown against the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday Night Football. The Dolphins will end the year 7-10.

DETROIT LIONS (19) vs. CHICAGO BEARS (16)

I would not feel completely confident if I am a Bears fan. Sure, they got the second seed thanks to a fourth quarter collapse by the Eagles, but how am I supposed to feel seeing my starters get outworked by a Lions team with nothing to play for? Their defense had no answers for Amon-Ra St. Brown, their offense was shut out for three straight quarters and when they actually had a chance to take the lead, the offense stalled and the defense tapped out. 

What made this more frustrating was that Detroit was doing everything they possibly could to let Chicago back in the game. After scoring on four of their first drives to take a 16-0 lead entering the fourth quarter, the offense just went completely stale. They punted on their first possession of the period after attempting to run a reverse pass on third and short, then Jared Goff gave the Bears the break they needed with an interception to Kevin Byard before the two minute warning! However, to give them some credit, the defense did not collapse and the offense made sure to regather themselves in the most important moments of the game.

I wish this would have happened for them last week against the Vikings, but it was at least nice to see that Dan Campbell and his team still had some fight left in them. They finally ran the ball better, St. Brown was slicing and dicing Chicago’s secondary and they still proved they could be a legitimate foe in 2026. Unfortunately, it will have to be without offensive coordinator John Morton. Once Campbell took over the play-calling in the middle of the season, it was bound to happen. As long as they don’t try to bring in somebody like Kevin Patullo, I believe this offense will still be in good shape.

The Lions will end the season 9-8, while the Bears will end the regular season 11-6 and stay home for the game of their lives against the Green Bay Packers in the Wild Card on Saturday night. 

PITTSBURGH STEELERS (26) vs. BALTIMORE RAVENS (24)

Now we get to the final showdown of the regular season. For the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Baltimore Ravens, it was simple: win or go home. Mike Tomlin and John Harbaugh have gone up against each other in many battles before, but this one might have been the most impactful of them all. 

Baltimore’s offense got off to the fast start we haven’t seen from them in a while. On fourth and three at the Pittsburgh 38 yard line, Lamar Jackson lofted a wide open touchdown pass to DeVontez Walker for an early 7-0 lead, but that was the only big play the Ravens had the entire first half. On their remaining four possessions of the first half, they totaled just 60 more yards and scored three more points. Fortunately, the defense kept Aaron Rodgers out of the end zone. Not only did they stop the Tush Push on fourth down near the end of the first quarter, but on the final play of the period, they stuffed Jaylen Warren on an option pitch at the two yard line and Baltimore led 10-3 at the break. 

In the third quarter, Pittsburgh’s offense finally got back into a groove. On their first drive of the period, Rodgers threw a deep pass down the right sideline to Adam Thielen, who made an incredible one-handed catch over Marlon Humphrey for a 28 yard pickup. That set up a push-in score for Connor Heyward to tie the game at ten, and just three plays later, it was his brother Cam who got his hands on the football and created an interception for TJ Watt at the 26 yard line. Pittsburgh was able to kick a field goal on the next possession, and by the start of the fourth, they were up by three.

Little did we know in those final 15 minutes that we were going to get an offensive showcase on both sides of the ball. On Jackson’s first two drives of the period, he lofted two perfectly thrown touchdown passes within the snap of a finger: both of them were to Zay Flowers, one from 50 yards and the other 64. Yet every time the Ravens took the lead, the Steelers would steal it right back from them. Kenneth Gainwell and Calvin Austin were responsible for the go-ahead scores, but after Pittsburgh scored their final touchdown of the night, Chris Boswell shanked the extra point. Now the Ravens were only down by two with 55 seconds left and all they needed was a field goal to win.

Thanks to a solid kickoff return from Keaton Mitchell, the offense only needed a couple plays to get to midfield, but they faced a critical fourth and seven. After the snap of the ball, Jackson went for a long ball to Isaiah Likely and the tight end held on for an incredibly clutch 26 yard catch, putting Baltimore well into field goal range. As Tyler Loop took the field, it felt like they were going to win this game. There was nothing else the Steelers could have done and in a back-and-forth showdown, they would come up short in the end. Then the impossible happened. The snap was down, the kick was up and it sailed wide to the right! It was by far the most stunning and improbable ending I have seen in the Steelers-Ravens rivalry. Pittsburgh is now in the playoffs and Baltimore got sent home.

Unfortunately, it does not get better for the Ravens organization. About two days after the conclusion of the game, the front office announced that it was parting ways with John Harbaugh. It actually happened. I didn’t think they would actually do this, but they did. With that being said, I think it was the right decision. When you look at Lamar Jackson’s career with the Ravens, you see he is a two-time MVP and one of the most incredible players in all of football. Then you look at the postseason record and the fact that he hasn’t gone to a Super Bowl, which leaves a nasty feeling in your stomach. We all knew that Baltimore could not keep doing the same things over and over again, expecting a different result. They needed to make a change and finally realize that what they kept doing wasn’t working. It’s a bittersweet feeling because it is truly the end of an era for arguably the greatest coach in franchise history. However, both sides needed to move on from one another and I think it was the best for each of them.

The Steelers are moving on to the Wild Card and will host the Houston Texans on Monday Night Football, while the Ravens finish the season with a pedestrian 8-9 record.