Judgment Day (NFC Week 18)

We made it, folks! The 18th and final week of the 2025 season is upon us. The final week is always interesting and gives us some thrilling moments that sees teams really scratch and claw into playoff spots and division titles. Of course, this is the 16th season of the "all divisional game" final week schedule, as the change was made because too many final week games lacked drama and enthusiasm, as well as a proper playoff storyline. With all division games in the final week, it makes even the least relevant games thrilling, because you want to really beat your division foe. Also, we've seen a number of head-to-head division title games over the years since this format was born.

Now, normally, when I have to divide a playoff picture deep dive into two conference based stories, I write about the AFC first. However, the National Football Conference goes first, because the AFC ends the regular season. Each conference doesn't have too much left, but it's still quite interesting.

Here's what we do know so far regarding the NFC entering the final week. The Chicago Bears and the Philadelphia Eagles (champions of the NFC North and NFC East, respectively) are fighting for the #2 seed. The Los Angeles Rams are officially a Wild Card and will be either #5 or #6. The Green Bay Packers, for the third straight year, are officially the NFC's #7 seed and will head to either Chicago or Philly during Wild Card Weekend.

As for the rest:

I don't think anyone had this being for the division and the #1 seed in the NFC. The Los Angeles Rams were riding so high and off to a strong start, that it seemed like a foregone conclusion that the NFC would go through SoFi Stadium. Unfortunately, the Rams have lost three of four, and in that "Group of Death" known as the NFC West, that's bad enough to bounce LA out of the division race. When the Seattle Seahawks and the San Francisco 49ers won their games, it made their head-to-head finale a pivotal one for not only the NFC West, but the #1 seed as well. Their first meeting was all the way back in Week 1 in Seattle, a 17-13 victory for the Niners.

The Seahawks (13-3) hold a one game lead over the Niners (12-4) entering this contest. The winner gets the NFC West crown and the #1 seed that goes with it. If the game ends tied, Seattle gets it all. The #1 seed, of course, is the one bye spot in the bracket, and that team will automatically be in the Divisional Playoff waiting for the lowest remaining seed. Whoever loses this game will be the #5 seed and head on the road against whoever wins this:

One of these teams is not like the others. One of these teams doesn't belong. Yet a win by the team that's not like the others could be another team's swan song. The Atlanta Falcons were eliminated from playoff contention all the way back in Week 14, but a funny thing happened: they won three straight games. The third of those wins affected the NFC South race, because the Carolina Panthers and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers both lost, dropping the division leading Panthers to 8-8 while the Bucs dropped to 7-9. As a result of this, a peculiar scenario including the Falcons would be mentioned, and it now comes to play with the Falcons' MNF win over the Rams.

The Bucs host the Panthers in the final week, with the original intent that the winner would get the NFC South. However, when both teams lost on Sunday, and the Falcons won on Monday, that changed things. Here's the story. The Panthers control their own destiny. A win or tie gets them the division. However, if the Bucs win, then they'll have to wait just a bit for the Saints/Falcons game. If the Falcons win, then that puts the three teams in a three way tie at 8-9. If that happens, we look at the first tiebreaker, which is combined head-to-head record. The Panthers would finish with a combined 3-1 record (swept ATL and split against TB) and that would give them the division. So win, draw, or even lose, the Panthers could get the division, with an Atlanta win allowing the Panthers to clinch regardless of their outcome. The Bucs will need a win and the Falcons to lose or tie to win the NFC South once again.

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Regarding the scheduling, both NFC division title games make up Saturday's big doubleheader. The NFC South is the first Saturday game, and the NFC West/#1 Seed battle will air on primetime on Saturday. Regarding Saints/Falcons, that will be part of Sunday's early window. So again, if Carolina wins or ties, that Saints/Falcons game becomes completely irrelevant. If Tampa Bay wins, then the NFC South will go to them on Sunday if the Falcons lose or tie, or go to Carolina if the Falcons win. Wow. So the NFC has two relevant games, with a third being halfway relevant. This will be a hell of a final week for the National Football Conference!