NFL Week 18 Sunday Schedule & Open Thread

One of the two AFC West teams will earn a Wild Card berth with a win today. Meanwhile, the NFC seeding will be decided behind Green Bay as the 1.

The final NFL Sunday of the 2021 regular season is here, finally bringing a close to the campaign for 18 of the league’s 32 teams. One of those teams is the Detroit Lions, who host the Green Bay Packers today in an early game with the Packers having clinched the top seed in the NFC playoffs.

Most seasons end up with a winner-take-all game for a divisional title, but that will not happen today. Although a division or two is still up for grabs, the teams competing for those divisions do not play one another. Instead, the only win-and-you’re-in game of the season’s final day comes in the AFC West, where two teams will meet with a Wild Card berth on the line.

The Las Vegas Raiders and Los Angeles Chargers get the Sunday Night Football matchup as a result, with the winner of the game going into the playoffs and the loser being eliminated. Both teams are 9-7 on the season, but either is guaranteed a postseason spot by reaching 10 wins. Either team could end up as high as the 6th seed, depending on the other results of the day.

In the NFC, seeding is up for grabs. A win by the Dallas Cowboys last night puts some pressure on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to win and maintain their lead for the 3rd seed, while the Rams need a victory over the 49ers to ensure a division title and the 2-seed. Meanwhile, the 49ers need a win or a Saints loss to lock in a Wild Card berth.

Join us at APC here all day long as we follow along with the results of today’s games and look ahead to next week’s Wild Card matchups.