The NFL's final playoff spots will be decided by winner-take-all matchups
- - The NFL's final playoff spots will be decided by winner-take-all matchups
Andrew GreifDecember 29, 2025 at 5:01 AM
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Aaron Rodgers celebrates after scoring a rushing touchdown against the Baltimore Ravens during the first half at M&T Bank Stadium on December 7, 2025. (Scott Taetsch / Getty Images)
The final two spots in the NFL playoffs will be decided by a pair of winner-take-all games between division rivals during the regular season’s last week.
The winner of the Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens' Week 18 matchup will earn the AFC North division title and the AFC’s last postseason berth as the conference's No. 4 seed.
A matchup between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Carolina Panthers, meanwhile, will carry identical stakes, with the winner claiming the NFC South division crown and the last spot in the wild-card round as the NFC's fourth seed.
Pittsburgh had an opportunity to end the suspense Sunday while facing 3-12 Cleveland, as a win would have clinched a playoff spot while eliminating Baltimore. Instead, a Steelers offense led by Aaron Rodgers but missing leading receiver DK Metcalf, as he began serving a two-game suspension for his interaction with a fan, failed to score a touchdown on 11 possessions.
On their final drive, with Cleveland leading 13-6, Rodgers completed passes of 15, 29 and 11 yards, respectively, to move the Steelers to Cleveland’s 7-yard line. But Rodgers threw consecutive incomplete passes, including a near-interception, to force a fourth down and goal with 21 seconds to play.
The Steelers threw again, but with Metcalf unavailable, Rodgers didn’t have his top target as an option, and his fade pass was incomplete to turn the ball over on downs, clinch a win by Cleveland, and keep rival Baltimore’s playoff hopes alive for one more week. The Ravens are trying to become just the fifth team to start 1-5 and make the playoffs.
Rodgers, the 42-year-old former four-time MVP, finished 21-of-39 passing for 168 yards; his yards per completion average, quarterback rating and completion percentage were worse than Cleveland rookie starter Shedeur Sanders.
The NFC's final playoff spot could have been secured Sunday, as well, had Carolina won and Tampa Bay lost. When both teams lost instead — the Panthers routed by Seattle, the Buccaneers narrowly, 20-17, to Miami — it sent both teams into a deciding showdown next Sunday.
That either team is in this position is one of the most unexpected developments this season. As Carolina started 1-3, including two blowout losses by 16 points or more, Tampa opened 5-1 thanks to multiple fourth-quarter comebacks, and was 6-2 as late as Oct. 26, when quarterback Baker Mayfield was being discussed as an MVP candidate. Yet Tampa has lost seven of their last eight games since, however, including four consecutive defeats.
Since 2020, the Buccaneers have won nine of their last 11 games against Carolina — yet one of the two exceptions came Dec. 21, when Carolina edged Tampa, 23-20, in a game that kept the division race a toss-up.
Tampa has won the division each of the last four years. Pittsburgh hasn't won its own division in the same span. But in the span of 60 minutes next Sunday, that all could change.
Source: “AOL Sports”
