Plenty of playoff implications heading into NFL regular-season finale

January 3, 2025

Seventeen weeks, countless Minnesota Vikings’ touchdown (TD) celebrations, and a Pro Bowl roster later, it all comes down to this. Prepare for the inevitable snubs because there are plenty of postseason implications heading into the final weekend of regular-season NFL action.

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Plenty of playoff implications heading into NFL regular-season finale

Source: Alex Slitz/Getty Images

The GIST: Seventeen weeks, countless Minnesota Vikings’ TD celebrations, and a Pro Bowl roster later, it all comes down to this. Prepare for the inevitable snubs because there are plenty of postseason implications heading into the final weekend of regular-season NFL action.

Three divisional titles up for grabs: The NFC North, NFC South, and AFC North still need to crown a champ. While tomorrow’s all–AFC North slate will decide that division’s winner, the Baltimore Ravens control their own destiny — a win over the Cleveland Browns would lock in the title for QB Lamar Jackson’s flock.

As for the other divisional races, either the Tampa Bay Buccaneers or Atlanta Falcons will take the NFC South, with the winner clinching the NFC’s final postseason berth while the other team misses the playoffs entirely. Oof.

But the crème de la crème is the 8:20 p.m. ET Sunday Night Football NFC North showdown between the Minnesota Vikings and Detroit Lions, where the winner snags the conference’s top spot and a coveted first-round bye.

Three teams in the mix for the final AFC playoff spot: The Cincinnati Bengals, Denver Broncos, and Miami Dolphins are all vying for the AFC’s No. 7 seed. If the rookie QB Bo Nix–led Broncos upend the top-seeded Kansas City Chiefs Sunday at 4:25 p.m. ET, they’ll notch their first playoff appearance since 2015. If not, everything becomes a little more complicated.

Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley to sit out: The superstar’s quest to topple the league’s single-season rushing record is sadly over. It’s common for teams to rest their stars ahead of the postseason — the Birds have already secured the NFC’s No. 2 seed — but that also means Barkley won’t have a chance to cement his place in the history books. Darn.

New England Patriots have clear path to No. 1 pick in 2025 NFL Draft: Sometimes winning isn’t everything, especially for the bottom-dwelling Pats, who can snag the top pick in April’s draft with a Week 18 loss to the playoff-bound Buffalo Bills. Someone should probably tell them that though.