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Three different Week 17 games in NFL set up two hugely important matches in the league's regular season finale next week.
The NFC South and AFC North divisions will be determined based on who wins. Carolina PanthersThe Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Pittsburgh Steelers lost on Sunday.
The first two teams, the Panthers and Bucs, are division rivals and 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 win at home over the Seahawks meant victory in the NFC South. But Seattle had already clinched a playoff spot and was in first place in the NFC with a 12-3 record entering the game.
Bryce Young and the company could do nothing against Seattle's stifling defense, which had been one of the best in the league all season. Young scored a meaningless touchdown in the fourth quarter, but the Seahawks walked away with a 27-10 road win, cementing their own status as the No. 1 seed.
Meanwhile, the Bucs knew they would definitely like to see Carolina lose to the Seahawks, but they needed to take care of the Dolphins to give themselves the best chance to win the division.
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Instead, Baker Mayfield once again had problems with consistency on offense, throwing two interceptions as well as two touchdowns in a 20-17 loss to Quinn Evers and the Dolphins. Miami's seventh-round pick was 14 of 22 for 172 yards with two touchdown passes in the win, which left the Dolphins at 7–9, although their playoff hopes were already over.
Looking at 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, they start with the head-to-head matchup. The Panthers won their first meeting 23-20, so if Tampa Bay wins in Week 18, the victory will be shared.
The tiebreaker would then be the division record, but a win for the Buccaneers would tie the division record for both themselves and the Panthers (3-3). Next on the list are records in regular games, that is, in those fights where they met with the same opponent. The Buccaneers beat the Panthers in this category given 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 prior to playing the Seattle Seahawks at Bank of America Stadium on December 28, 2025 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Jared K. Tilton/Getty Images)
Moving on to the AFC North, Aaron Rodgers and the Steelers would bow out and win the division title if they could take care of business against the Cleveland Browns on the road. But in the end, the Browns defense had something else in mind.
It all came down to the final play as Rodgers led his Steelers down the field into the red zone in hopes that they could score their first touchdown of the game and perhaps score 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 Browns safety Denzel Ward had interfered with the pass when he hit him before touching the ball. However, no flags were thrown and the Browns celebrated at home as they may have ruined their opponent'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 got off to a stunning 1–5 start to the season and it appeared that the playoffs were not in the cards. That all changed in recent weeks, and Derrick Henry's best game of his career came at the perfect time Saturday night in Green Bay, when he threw four touchdowns to help the Ravens beat the Packers to move to 8-8.
Everyone who supported the Ravens was watching closely to see if the Browns could pull off the upset at home, and that's exactly what they did.
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Whoever wins the Week 18 showdown at Acresure Stadium between the Ravens and Steelers will be crowned the AFC North champion and earn a playoff berth.
Without matchups like these, Week 18 resembled the NFL standings, with many teams already vying for playoff tickets.
Now, in two key rivalry games, everything is on the line and division titles are on the line.
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