The NFL’s finale in Week 18 will start Saturday with a pair of key divisional matchups that will decide two division winners and part of the NFC playoff seeding.
But there’s a third divisional matchup I find to be most important Sunday between two AFC teams.
Here are the three matchups and when and where to watch them:
• Carolina Panthers (8-8) at Tampa Bay Buccaneers (7-9) on ABC/ESPN at 3:30 p.m. Saturday.
• Seattle Seahawks (13-3) at San Francisco 49ers (12-4) on ABC/ESPN at 7 p.m. Saturday.
• Baltimore Ravens (8-8) at Pittsburgh Steelers (9-7) on NBC/Peacock at 7:20 p.m. Sunday.
The NFC South (Panthers-Buccaneers) and AFC North (Ravens-Steelers) battles will result in one team winning the division and the other heading home for the offseason.
In the NFC West (Seahawks-49ers) battle, one team wins the division and the top seed in the NF, while the other will claim a wild-card spot with the fifth seed.
That’s the most entertaining matchup, with Seattle having the second-best offense in the league and the second-best scoring defense in the league, allowing just 18.1 points per game.
Despite the entertaining contest between two teams with double-digit win totals, I’m actually most interested in the Steelers-Ravens game.
I think this one matters most for the postseason. I think no matter which seed the Seahawks and 49ers get, they’re both capable of winning multiple playoff games.
But I believe the winner of the AFC North has a chance to pull off an upset in the playoffs. I’m not saying yet whether they will, but I see it being possible.
It will depend on who wins the division and who gets the No. 5 seed in that current three-way tie, but I think the Steelers and Ravens have a chance to shock a team with a better record.
As for the NFC South, that division winner will just be earning the franchise more ticket sales. Winning this Week 18 game gets a bunch of ticket sales for a home playoff game, but then the players will just head home after the wild-card round to watch the rest of the postseason from the couch.
Like Charlie Schmidt said when he emailed his picks in, who knows who is going to play in these games? But here goes:
SATURDAY
Panthers (8-8) at Buccaneers (7-9): I’m going to stick with my early season prediction of the Buccaneers to win this division because it’s still possible, even though they’ve shown no signs of being capable of it during this four-game losing streak. BUCS 27-24. Charlie: Panthers. Audie: Bucs.
Seahawks (13-3) at 49ers (12-4): I think Seattle has had some fortunate breaks in wins over the Indianapolis Colts and Los Angeles Rams here lately. I think the good fortune ends now. NINERS 38-35. Charlie and Audie: Niners.
SUNDAY
Colts (8-8) at Houston Texans (11-5): Houston ends the regular season on a nine-game win streak. TEXANS 30-12. Charlie and Audie: Texans.
Dallas Cowboys (7-8-1) at New York Giants (3-13): I’m all alone, but I like the Giants. They looked good last week and, well, I just think Dallas is due for one more loss. GIANTS 33-27. Charlie and Audie: Cowboys.
Cleveland Browns (4-12) at Cincinnati Bengals (6-10): This is another one of the 11 games in which we all picked the same team. The Bengals have just been better all year. BENGALS 34-17. Charlie and Audie: Bengals.
New Orleans Saints (6-10) at Atlanta Falcons (7-9): Audie and I have the Saints closing the year on a five-game win streak. Charlie says the Falcons get an eighth win. SAINTS 30-27. Charlie: Falcons. Audie: Saints.
Green Bay Packers (9-6-1) at Minnesota Vikings (8-8): No Jordan Love and no Packers win. VIKINGS 24-16. Charlie and Audie: Vikings.
Tennessee Titans (3-13) at Jacksonville Jaguars (12-4): The Jaguars have to win to keep their division lead. JAGS 24-10. Charlie and Audie: Jags.
Arizona Cardinals (3-13) at Rams (11-5): The Rams have nowhere to go. They can’t climb to the No. 5 seed or fall to the No. 7 seed. They should rest a lot of players here, but I still don’t know if the Cardinals can win. RAMS 14-13. Charlie and Audie: Rams.
Kansas City Chiefs (6-10) at Las Vegas Raiders (2-14): When Patrick Mahomes tore his ACL, I wondered if the Chiefs would lose every game left. They’re 0-2 since then, and I think they’ll lose here as well. RAIDERS 10-9. Charlie and Audie: Chiefs.
Miami Dolphins (7-9) at New England Patriots (13-3): Miami has shocked New England late in the year at times. But I don’t think it will this time. PATRIOTS 28-14. Charlie and Audie: Pats.
Los Angeles Chargers (11-5) at Denver Broncos (13-3): No Justin Herbert, so the Broncos roll. BRONCOS 24-3. Charlie and Audie: Broncos.
Washington Commanders (4-12) at Philadelphia Eagles (11-5): The Eagles are resting starters, but similar to the Cardinals, I’m not sure I can trust the Commanders to win. EAGLES 17-15. Charlie and Audie: Eagles.
Detroit Lions (8-8) at Chicago Bears (11-5): The Bears can lock up the No. 2 seed with a win here. I believe they will do that. BEARS 20-13. Charlie and Audie: Bears.
New York Jets (3-13) at Buffalo Bills (11-5): The Bills should be playing to win here because if the Texans and/or Chargers lose, they could climb one or two spots up from their current seventh seed. BILLS 31-13. Charlie and Audie: Bills.
Ravens (8-8) at Steelers (9-7): For the same reason I picked the Bucs over the Panthers, I’m picking the Ravens over the Steelers. I picked the Ravens to win the AFC North early in the season, and because it’s still possible, I have to stick with it. RAVENS 31-30. Charlie and Audie: Steelers 21-17.
RECORDS
Audie: 177-78-1; me: 167-88-1; Charlie: 152-103-1.
