Saturday
Pittsburgh Steelers (9-7) at Baltimore Ravens (13-3): Baltimore can rest key players, including Lamar Jackson, after the Ravens thrashed the Miami Dolphins 56-19 last Sunday for their sixth straight victory, clinching the AFC North and a first-round playoff bye in the process. Jackson threw more touchdown passes (five) than incompletions (three) as public support grew for the quarterback to win his second NFL Most Valuable Player award. The Steelers don't mind facing Baltimore's backups in Week 18. After staying in the AFC wild-card hunt with Sunday's 30-23 win at Seattle, they have five paths to earn a playoff berth but no guaranteed ticket win or lose at Baltimore. The Steelers continue to place their hopes on the shoulders of Mason Rudolph, their third starting quarterback this season. In Rudolph's two starts, two Pittsburgh wins, he has completed 68.6 percent of his passes for 564 yards, two touchdowns and zero interceptions. Pittsburgh star T.J. Watt is tied for the league lead with 17 sacks. He recorded two sacks and recovered a fumble when the host Steelers defeated the Ravens 17-10 in October, Pittsburgh's sixth win in the past seven meetings with Baltimore.
Houston Texans (9-7) at Indianapolis Colts (9-7): C.J. Stroud and DeMeco Ryans led the Texans to their first winning season since 2019. Now, they want a playoff berth. Indianapolis also would wrap up a postseason berth with a win. In addition, the Houston-Indianapolis winner would capture the AFC South title and get a home playoff game if the Jacksonville Jaguars (9-7) lose their Sunday road game against the Tennessee Titans. Indianapolis enters Week 18 with the AFC's final wild-card spot in hand. While Stroud has breathed new life into the Texans as a rookie, the Colts are without Anthony Richardson, drafted by the Colts No. 4 overall last April. Richardson provided a tantalizing glimpse of his vast potential during a 31-20 thumping of Houston on Sept. 17, running for two first-quarter touchdowns before leaving due to a concussion. Backup Gardner Minshew helped steer the Colts and their own rookie head coach, Shane Steichen, into this position with a 23-20 win over the Raiders last week. The running game is crucial to the Colts' success. Jonathan Taylor, in his second game back from thumb surgery, piled up 96 yards and a touchdown on 21 carries last week. Both defenses are in the top 10 in the NFL in sacks. Texans' sack leader Jonathan Greenard (12.5) was ruled out with an ankle injury.
Sunday
Kansas City Chiefs (10-6) at Los Angeles Chargers (5-11): With no ground to gain in the AFC playoff picture and locked into the No. 3 seed for next week's wild-card round, the Chiefs aren't risking QB Patrick Mahomes' health at Los Angeles. Blaine Gabbert will start and be surrounded by mostly backups while staring down a Chargers' team with four consecutive losses and defeats in seven of its last eight games. Easton Stick, serving as the Chargers' starting quarterback since Justin Herbert was placed on injured reserve with a broken finger Dec. 12, is tasked with getting the Chargers their first win in the past five games. Los Angeles is 1-7 since Nov. 6. Stick could be taking the field again without leading receiver Keenan Allen. He's dealing with a heel injury and hasn't played since Dec. 10. Allen has 108 receptions for 1,243 yards and seven touchdowns. Among Gabbert's goals for the game: get tight end Travis Kelce over 1,000 receiving yards for the eighth consecutive season. He's at 984 through 16 games. Kelce, who was inactive Week 1 with a knee injury, had a season-best 12 catches and 179 yards in Kansas City's win over the Chargers in Week 7.
Philadelphia Eagles (11-5) at New York Giants (5-11): Philadelphia hasn't won on the road since before Thanksgiving, and the Eagles didn't beat anyone in December -- except the Giants. After losing to the Arizona Cardinals last week, the road is the likely path for Philadelphia in the postseason. Despite a 1-4 December, a win still could give Philadelphia its second straight division title if the Dallas Cowboys (11-5) should stumble at Washington (4-12). Otherwise, the Eagles could be looking at the NFC's No. 5 seed and all road games for the postseason. Philly's failures have been on both sides of the ball. That includes a secondary that has surrendered 34 touchdown passes (only Washington has given up more with 35) and an inconsistent offense propped up by the overwhelming red-zone success of the "Brotherly Shove." For the first time in franchise history, Philadelphia has lost three games where it held double-digit leads. The Eagles led the New York Jets 14-3 and
soundlex v2 Price lost 20-14 (Week 6), led the Seahawks 10-0 and lost 20-17 (Week 15) and built a 21-6 lead against the Arizona Cardinals last Sunday before falling 35-31. The Giants did put a scare in the Eagles in the first meeting with Tyrod Taylor coming off the bench for a near comeback. The Giants are on a three-game losing streak, including a 33-25 decision at Philadelphia on Christmas Day. New York has lost its past five meetings with the Eagles, including last season's divisional playoff game. Taylor starts again Sunday after he passed for 319 yards with one touchdown and one interception in last Sunday's 26-25 loss to the visiting Los Angeles Rams. The Giants are 3-4 at MetLife Stadium, where they have been outscored 139-86 this season.
Buffalo Bills (10-6) at Miami Dolphins (11-5): The Bills were three games behind the Dolphins in the AFC East with five games remaining, but are now thriving in playoff mode, one win away from four consecutive division titles. The Dolphins can block Buffalo's path and snag the AFC's No. 2 seed and a home playoff game next week by winning Sunday night -- and claiming the division for the first time since 2008. The Bills own the tiebreaker by virtue of their 48-20 home beatdown of Miami in Week 4. The Dolphins were annihilated in every facet of the game against Baltimore last week while missing running back Raheem Mostert (franchise-record 21 total touchdowns) and receiver Jaylen Waddle (1,014 receiving yards). Waddle is fighting an ankle injury and Mostert is dealing with ankle and knee soreness. Back-to-back wins over two playoff teams -- the Kansas City Chiefs and Dallas Cowboys -- ignited Buffalo's dynamite December, which also included wins over the Los Angeles Chargers and New England Patriots. Last weekend's 27-21 home win over the Patriots was achieved behind Josh Allen's two rushing touchdowns. He had a poor game against New England's stingy pass defense, throwing for 169 yards and one interception. But Allen has fared well against Miami with a 10-2 starting record (including last season's playoff victory). He has 34 touchdown passes and seven interceptions in those 12 games. Buffalo has clamped Dolphins WR Tyreek Hill in recent matchups -- a season-low three-catch game earlier this season and two receptions for 33 yards when the Bills visited South Beach in 2022.
Los Angeles Rams (9-7) at San Francisco 49ers (12-4): Playoff-bound NFC rivals roll into a regular-season finale neither team wants to lose, but the blatant priority is avoiding injuries. With a wild-card spot clinched, the Rams take a nine-game regular-season losing streak to the 49ers to San Francisco, where Carson Wentz replaces starting quarterback Matthew Stafford. San Francisco clinched the No. 1 seed and homefield advantage throughout the NFC playoffs and plans to keep Pro Bowl quarterback Brock Purdy on the sideline this week in favor of backup Sam Darnold. Los Angeles clinched the NFC wild-card berth by winning six of its last seven games. The Rams will either be the No. 6 or No. 7 seed in the postseason.