It all comes down to this week. There are plenty of important games as teams try to punch their tickets to the postseason and others are fighting for important seeding and a first-round bye. Week 17 lived up to the hype with a couple of great games and maybe the game of the year on Sunday Night Football with the Bears and 49ers shooting it out. Here are our Top 3 2025 NFL Games Week 18.
Carolina Panthers vs Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The NFC South is a joke. Let’s not sugarcoat it. The Panthers and Bucs will play for the division on Saturday. The scenario for the Panthers is win-and-in. The Bucs need to win and the Falcons to lose on Sunday vs the Saints to clinch their spot. Both teams had ugly losses in the last two weeks, and I think we would all agree to maybe just skip the South in the postseason if we could. The Bucs defense has been gashed nonstop over the final two months of the season. The offense has been turnover prone, and Baker Mayfield looks like a shell of the MVP candidate that he once was in the beginning of the season. Carolina was hoping to knock off the Seahawks to avoid this scenario altogether but never got their offense rolling. They beat the Bucs two weeks ago and I think they will do so again against a Tampa team that has seemed to have given up and quit on its head coach. Prediction: Panthers 28 Bucs 25
Seattle Seahawks vs San Francisco 49ers
The Seahawks and 49ers aren’t just fighting for the crown in the NFC West. They are fighting for the No. 1 seed in the NFC. The Hawks and Niners both missed the playoffs in 2024 so it’s pretty impressive that both are in this spot. Moreso, the 49ers have lost Nick Bosa, Fred Warner, Mykel Williams, and played a chunk of the year without Brock Purdy and George Kittle. The Hawks have one of the better offenses in the league and the 49ers couldn’t make many stops against the Bears on Sunday Night. While the 49ers have made the plays when they’ve needed to, I don’t think there will be many meaningful stops in this game. The Hawks are a much better team than when SF beat them in Week 1. Give me Seattle to take the division crown and get the very coveted home field advantage. Prediction: Seattle 35 San Francisco 24
Baltimore Ravens vs Pittsburgh Steelers
This is another division that was somewhat of a black eye on the NFL in 2025. Aaron Rodgers is fighting to get back to the postseason for the first time on a team other than the Green Bay Packers. The Ravens are fighting for their lives as well and you could make a case that both head coaches could be coaching in their final game for their respective franchises. The Steelers lost an embarrassing game against the Browns in Week 17 to even allow this scenario. The Ravens handled the Packers who were beaten and battered before the game ended, even going to their third-string QB at the end. Pittsburgh gets the advantage of playing at home and Lamar Jackson has a troubled past against Mike Tomlin. I’m going with the old man and the Steelers to get the job done. Prediction: Ravens 21 Steelers 23