Four division titles and two playoff spots are on the line, but there are still storylines abound ahead of the final week of the NFL regular season. Did Matthew Stafford's poor showing on Monday night cost him the MVP? Is this the craziest Coach of the Year race of all time? Let's take one final regular season look at the NFL's biggest risers and fallers.
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The Coach Of The Year Race
While the debate between Stafford and Drake Maye rages onward entering Week 18, the race for Coach of the Year is wide open. The first-year turnaround candidates, including Jacksonville's Liam Coen, New England's Mike Vrabel and Chicago's Ben Johnson, would be front-runners in most years, but some of the other cases being made around the league are quite strong.
Jim Harbaugh has the Chargers in the postseason despite a slew of injuries, while Kyle Shanahan can say the same about the 49ers, who are playing for the top seed in the NFC on Saturday night without half of their defense. DeMeco Ryans may take Houston from 0-3 to an AFC South crown if Sunday's results break right, while Mike MacDonald and Sean Payton have built on strong debut seasons to push for the top seeds in their conferences. This is the most stacked field for this award in a long time.
Philadelphia Eagles
It isn't all sunshine and rainbows for the Eagles, whose offense remains inconsistent week-to-week, but going into Week 18 on a two-game winning streak is a potential sign that Philadelphia is starting to click at the right time. The offense carried the load against the Commanders in Week 16, while the defense stepped up in Week 17, stifling Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills by holding them to just 12 points in front of a rowdy Bills Mafia to stay alive for the No. 2 seed in the NFC.
A win on Sunday, combined with a Bears' loss to Detroit, would guarantee a second home game for Philadelphia in the playoffs and a matchup with the Green Bay Packers, which is far more appealing than drawing either of the NFC West runners-up in the wild card round. Even if the Bears send the Eagles to the third seed, the fact the reigning champs are playing well now is important for them to build momentum going into January.
Atlanta Falcons
It may be too late to make a difference for 2025, but the Falcons have offered some hope for next season by finishing the year with some pride. Monday night's win over the Rams was the third in a row for Atlanta, which may save the job of head coach Raheem Morris and have a say in the NFC South race after all.
If Tampa Bay beats Carolina in Week 18, the Falcons can dictate who reaches the postseason because a victory would put them into a three-way tie with the top dogs at 8-9, shifting the tiebreaker to a division-based result that favors the Panthers. Even though they can't make the postseason themselves, Atlanta has shown enough signs of life that you can believe they will be a bigger factor in 2026.
ESPN
There are three potential winner-take-all games in the divisional races in Week 18, and ESPN ended up with two of them for Saturday's doubleheader. While the Bucs-Panthers showdown isn't quite for all the marbles now that Atlanta has opened a tiebreaker scenario, landing the Seahawks-49ers clash to claim the NFC West and the top seed in the conference is a major victory for them.
ESPN is finally up for the Super Bowl in the rotation next year, a game that will be simulcast on ABC, so the NFL may want football fans to get more used to the idea that some of the biggest games on the schedule can land in the Monday night package. Having one of the biggest games in Week 18 land on Saturday night was a massive win for the network.
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Matthew Stafford's MVP Chances
With Drake Maye lighting up the Jets' secondary on Sunday, the onus in the MVP race shifted back to Stafford against a torchable Falcons' defense on Monday. Despite having nothing but pride to play for, Atlanta created a ton of problems for Stafford, who was sacked three times and threw three interceptions as the Rams shockingly lost 27-24 to open up a fall to the No. 6 seed in the NFC.
A strong touchdown-to-interception ratio made Stafford the clear front-runner entering the stretch run, but he has thrown six picks in his last five games, three of which were losses for Los Angeles. Head coach Sean McVay said after last night's loss that the Rams will play their starters in Week 18 to build some positive momentum for the playoffs, offering Stafford one final chance to make a statement in what may be his only legitimate chance to take home an MVP.
Green Bay Packers
If an NFL team punts just once in a three-game span you would assume things are going well for that team. The Green Bay Packers haven't punted since the third quarter of Week 15, which was their only punt of that game, but have lost three in a row thanks to plenty of turnovers and sloppy defense after the loss of Micah Parsons for the season.
That string of defeats has dropped the Packers to the No. 7 seed for the third year in a row, which is not an advantageous spot to begin the postseason for a Green Bay squad that began the year with Super Bowl aspirations. Losing Parsons did adjust expectations a bit, but the way the Packers are playing feels more like a first-round exit than an inspired Cinderella run is on the way.
Buffalo Bills
The AFC East no longer runs through Buffalo as the Bills' 13-12 loss to the Eagles on Sunday ensured that New England will claim the division for the first time since 2019. That result also ensures Week 18's showdown with the New York Jets is likely to be the last game the Bills play at Highmark Stadium before moving into their new digs next season, which is a disappointing end to a year where the AFC path appears wide open for Buffalo to make a run.
The Bills lack playmakers for Josh Allen, who is playing hurt while trying to elevate a subpar supporting cast through January, and their shortage of weapons was exposed by the Eagles. The pairing of Allen and Sean McDermott has yet to win a road playoff game together, which is far from ideal since Buffalo will likely need to grab three road victories to get to the Super Bowl.
Sunday afternoon's schedule
With so many playoff spots and division titles already clinched by Sunday afternoon, the final Sunday slate of the regular season is short on drama. The NFL made sure to ensure its standalone windows had marquee games, including ESPN's aforementioned Saturday slate and the Ravens-Steelers win-or-go-home affair on Sunday night, leaving precious little for CBS and FOX to work with in the afternoon.
The 1 p.m. window's only real stakes are the AFC South crown between Houston and Jacksonville, who aren't even playing each other, while seeding battles for No. 1 in the AFC and No. 2 in the NFC are the main storyline at 4:25. It isn't quite nothing but it is clear that CBS and FOX drew the short straw in terms of important games for Week 18.