1 day Ago By Erik Beaston
The arrival of Week 18 brings with it the conclusion of the 2024 NFL regular season and a look forward to the start of the postseason. Most of the teams have been decided. Still, two division championships remain at stake entering Sunday's games.
While that makes it difficult to determine exactly which match-ups will take place in the Wild Card round, as well as the exact TV schedule, the league has determined dates for all of the playoff rounds. When are they, which teams are currently forecasted to compete next week, and which team has a chance at making history? Find out with this preview. The NFC playoff picture is as follows entering Sunday's slate of Week 18 games: Division Leaders 1.
x-Detroit Lions (14-2) 2. xz-Philadelphia Eagles (12-3, NFC East) 3. xz-Los Angeles Rams (10-6, NFC West) 4.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers (9-7) Wild Card 5. x-Minnesota Vikings (14-2) 6. x-Washington Commanders (11-5) 7.
x-Green Bay Packers (10-6) On the Bubble 8. Atlanta Falcons (9-7) (x)-clinched playoff spot, (z)-clinched division The AFC playoff picture is as follows: Division Leaders 1. xz-Kansas City Chiefs (15-1, AFC West) 2.
xz-Buffalo Bills (13-3, AFC East) 3. xz-Baltimore Ravens (12-5, AFC North) 4. xz-Houston Texans (9-7, AFC South) Wild Card 5.
x-Pittsburgh Steelers (10-7) 6. x-Los Angeles Chargers (10-6) 7. Denver Broncos (9-7) On the Bubble 8.
Cincinnati Bengals (9-8) 9. Miami Dolphins (8-8) (x)-clinched playoffs, (z)-clinched division Wildcard Round Dates: January 11, 12, and 13 Projected NFC Match-Ups*: (7) Green Bay Packers at (2) Philadelphia Eagles, (5) Minnesota Vikings at (4) Tampa Bay Buccaneers, (6) Washington Commanders at (3) Los Angeles Rams Projected AFC Match-Ups*: (7) Denver Broncos at (2) Buffalo Bills, (5) Pittsburgh Steelers at (4) Houston Texans, (6) Los Angeles Chargers at (3) Baltimore Ravens * Subject to change pending Sunday's outcomes Divisional Round Dates: January 18 and 19 NFC: Detroit Lions or Minnesota Vikings will host the lowest remaining seed, depending on which team secures the No. 1 overall seed on Sunday Night Football in Week 18.
AFC: Kansas City Chiefs will host the lowest remaining seed Conference Championship Date: January 26 Each conference's two remaining teams will compete to determine who will square off in New Orleans at Super Bowl LIX Super Bowl LIX Date: February 9 The conference champions will clash for the Lombardi Trophy No team in NFL history has won three Super Bowls in a row. Not the legendary "Steel Curtain" teams out of Pittsburgh in the 1970s, nor the Joe Montana-led San Francisco 49ers of the 1980s. Emmit Smith and the Dallas Cowboys won three out of four years in the 1990s—ditto Tom Brady's Patriots in the 2000s.
Head coach Andy Reid, Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce, and the remaining Kansas City Chiefs can etch their names in immortality this postseason when they attempt to do just that. The two-time defending champions are the No. 1 seed in the AFC and, despite all odds and a team that looked to be winning games by sheer luck earlier in the season, have set themselves up to ensure that the playoffs run through GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium.
Mahomes is not the dominant quarterback he has been in years past, and Kelce showed signs of slowing down for the first time in his career, but a stingy defense and a winning mentality that never ensures the team is never out of any game has fueled them past every opponent. Except Buffalo. The Josh Allen-led Bills hung the Chiefs' lone regular season loss (entering a meaningless Week 18 match-up) on them and proved they can, and will, be the toughest test for the defending champions.
Even then, Mahomes and Co. have beaten Buffalo at their stadium and in Kansas City, proving they can win at home or on the road, against the stiffest of competition. While they do not visually look like the more dominant Chiefs teams of years past, they know how to win and have passed that test on multiple occasions in 2024.
The competition is better but there may be no team worth your trust when the most important games of the season kickoff than the world champs..
