When it comes to scheduling the final game day, those responsible for the National Football League like to take their time in order to place the most exciting games in popular slots. That has now happened – and the NFL is indeed heading into Week 18 of the regular season next weekend with one cracker after another.
May intervene with the Buffalo Bills for the brilliant conclusion to Week 18: quarterback star Josh Allen. IMAGO/USA TODAY Network
One thing seems crystal clear: no team currently wants to play against the Buffalo Bills. The current 27:21 against the long-eliminated New England Patriots was the fourth win in a row for the team, which had temporarily dropped out of the race during the season.
If the regular season were already over, the Bills would be visiting the Kansas City Chiefs (25:17 against Cincinnati and therefore AFC West winners for the eighth time in a row) at the start of the play-offs in two weeks. With the reigning Super Bowl champions. If this match actually came about, Buffalo would probably be the favorite – also because Patrick Mahomes & Co.’s attack is weak.
But the regular season is not over yet – and the Bills have not yet finally qualified for the play-offs. Conversely, this means that the team from the AFC East, which is 10-6, still needs a win to be sure of being there. And this is where the NFL planners come into play, who have thought of something very special: The Buffalo Bills will play their final game of the season at the Miami Dolphins (11-5) on the night from Sunday to Monday (2:20 a.m. CET).
So when all other decisions have been made, these two teams will fight for the last win of this regular season under the eyes of Football-America. And here something is out of the game for the Dolphins, who are already in the play-offs: If Miami loses, Buffalo would still jump ahead in the AFC East and win the division title and at the same time be guaranteed a home game.
Steelers must win
But American football also brings out the big guns in the other slots. So it starts on Saturday evening (10:30 p.m. CET) with the AFC North hit between the Baltimore Ravens, who can go into the race relaxed (already top seed in the AFC), and the Pittsburgh Steelers.
“Steel City” is 9-7, so it won’t have a negative record in its 17th year under iconic head coach Mike Tomlin – and it still has to win. Pittsburgh, which has recently been turning up the heat again, is currently outside the play-off ranks and therefore needs support in addition to its own sense of success at the start of Week 18. For example, in the form of an unlikely draw between the Indianapolis Colts in the duel with the Houston Texans, who are also still hoping (both also at 9-7), which has been scheduled for the night from Saturday to Sunday (2:15 a.m. CET). The exciting thing here is that the winner of this comparison – Colts or Texans – will definitely win a ticket to the finals.
Or the Steelers win and Jacksonville (asked at the Tennessee Titans on Sunday from 7 p.m.) or Buffalo (in Miami) loses.
Buccaneers and Packers with the better cards
By the way, six games will take place on Sunday at 7 p.m. German time, including the long-distance duel between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (visiting the Carolina Panthers) and the New Orleans Saints (against the Atlanta Falcons) for the division win in the NFC South. The Falcons themselves also still have a theoretical chance of winning the title and advancing if the Bucs lose.
The late slot on Sunday evening at 10:25 p.m. (CET) is now filled with seven games. The Seattle Seahawks (at the Arizona Cardinals) and the Green Bay Packers (against the Chicago Bears) are once again engaged in a long-distance duel for the play-offs, like last year – with a better end for the Hawks after the defeat of “The Pack” against the Detroit Lions in what turned out to be Green Bay legend Aaron Rodgers’ (now New York Jets) last game.
One thing is clear: If the Käsestädters, who are currently 33:10 with the Minnesota Vikings, win their home game at Lambeau Field against their arch-rivals from Chicago (it will be the 208th duel with a 106-95-6 record for the Packers), Seattle can’t do anything align more.
Week 18 of the regular season at a glance
The current play-off status at a glance
2024-01-01 17:45:00
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