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Three different Week 17 NFL games set up two extremely important matchups for the league’s regular season finale next week.
Both the NFC South and AFC North divisions will be decided by the winner, as the Carolina Panthers, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Pittsburgh Steelers all lost on Sunday.
The top two teams, the Panthers and Bucs, are division rivals who both knew what was at stake when they entered their matchups against the Seattle Seahawks and Miami Dolphins, respectively.
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Aaron Rodgers of the Pittsburgh Steelers reacts during the second quarter of the game against the Cleveland Browns at Huntington Bank Field on December 28, 2025 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Nick Cammett/Getty Images)
For the Panthers, a home win against the Seahawks meant winning the NFC South. But Seattle had already clinched its playoff spot and owned the NFC’s top seed with a 12-3 record heading into the game.
Bryce Young and company failed to get anything done against a stifling Seattle defense, which has been one of the best units in the league all season long. Young scored a meaningless touchdown in the fourth quarter, but the Seahawks came away with a 27-10 road victory to help their own No. 1 seed status.
Meanwhile, the Bucs knew they would certainly like Carolina to lose to the Seahawks, but they needed to take care of the Dolphins to have a better chance of winning the division.
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Instead, Baker Mayfield once again struggled to be consistent on offense, throwing two interceptions along with two touchdowns in the 20-17 loss to Quinn Ewers and the Dolphins. Miami’s seventh-round pick was 14 of 22 for 172 yards with two touchdown passes in the victory that put the Dolphins at 7-9, even though their playoff hopes were already over.
In the NFC South standings, the Bucs are 7-9 after losing their fourth straight game, while the Panthers are 8-8.
So how would the Buccaneers win the division if they both had the same record at the end of Week 18 (8-9)? When you look at the NFL tiebreaker rules, it starts with a head-to-head. The Panthers won their first meeting, a 23-20 victory, so it would be split if Tampa Bay wins in Week 18.
Then the tiebreaker would be the division record, but a Buccaneers win would mean the same division record for them and the Panthers (3-3). Next on the list is the record in joint games, that is, competitions where they faced the same opponent. The Buccaneers beat the Panthers in this category considering their win over the Arizona Cardinals in Week 13, while the Panthers lost in Week 2 to the same Arizona team.
Bryce Young of the Carolina Panthers is seen before playing against the Seattle Seahawks at Bank of America Stadium on December 28, 2025 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)
Moving on to the AFC North, Aaron Rodgers and the Steelers would have won the division title with a bow if they could have taken care of business against the Cleveland Browns on the road. But the Browns defense ultimately had something else in mind.
It all came down to the final play of the game, where Rodgers led his Steelers team down the field to the red zone in hopes that they could secure their first touchdown of the game and perhaps go for two points to win 14-13.
But a controversial end on fourth-and-goal occurred when Rodgers attempted to throw a pass to Marquez Valdes-Scantling in the end zone, and it appeared that Browns cornerback Denzel Ward had committed pass interference, as he hit him before making contact with the ball. However, no flags were thrown and the Browns celebrated at home as they may have spoiled their rival’s chances of winning the division.
The Steelers still control their own destiny, although the Baltimore Ravens now have a chance to do the same.
The Ravens started the year 1-5 in staggering fashion, and it seemed like the playoffs weren’t in the cards. Everything has changed in recent weeks, and Derrick Henry’s best game of his career came at the perfect time Saturday night in Green Bay, as he scored four touchdowns to help the Ravens beat the Packers and improve to 8-8.
Everyone who supported the Ravens was watching closely to see if the Browns could pull off an upset at home, and that’s exactly what they did.
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Whoever wins the Week 18 battle at Acrisure Stadium between the Ravens and Steelers will be crowned the AFC North champion and earn a spot in the playoffs.
Week 18 looked like an NFL slate without these kinds of matchups, with many teams already punching their tickets to the playoffs.
Now, two key rivalry games have everything on the line with division titles on the line.
