10 NFL Teams With Something to Play for Week 18 (Fantasy Football)

The last week of the NFL season is always a nightmare for fantasy purposes with it feeling more like a preseason game week than one with playoff implications on the line.

Thankfully, there are a good number of games where things do matter this week to offset the ones that don’t and feature plenty of players resting. This article will help you to find the NFL teams that have something to play for in Week 18.

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NFL Teams That Have Something to Play for in Week 18

Detroit Lions & Minnesota Vikings

We’ll start by combining the most intriguing situation heading into Week 18. Thanks to NFL scheduling, it’ll be the last part of Week 18 and the playoff picture that gets solved with the teams meeting on Sunday Night Football.

The winner of this game will not only win the NFC North but will also take home the No. 1 seed in the NFC and be rewarded with a first-round bye and an easier path to the Super Bowl. The projected total for this game is 56 points. This reflects that both teams are top offenses, but also allow a lot of production through the air.

In terms of total fantasy points allowed, the Vikings allowed the most to opposing wide receivers this season and the Lions ranked second in that category. This should be a high-octane, all-out offensive juggernaut of a game with intrigue at every turn.

Baltimore Ravens

The Ravens have looked like the best team in the AFC North all season but the standings didn’t always reflect that with the Steelers sitting a game or two ahead of them at times mainly due to the Ravens taking losses to teams like the Raiders and Browns.

However, with the Steelers losing four of their last six games and the Ravens winning four of their last six, the fight for the AFC North lies in Baltimore’s hands. With a win against the Browns, the Ravens will secure the AFC North for the second season in a row and lock up a home game in the first round of the playoffs.

Cleveland is possibly starting Bailey Zappe and has no motivation to win this game, sitting 3-13 in a four-way tie for the worst record in the league. Winning would push Cleveland down the draft board while losing could get them closer to the number one overall draft pick. This one could get out of hand early, but Baltimore will be motivated regardless.

Pittsburgh Steelers

This one comes with a caveat that the Ravens play before the Steelers on Saturday. If the Ravens win all Pittsburgh will have to play for is playoff seeding. Of course, should the Browns ruin Baltimore’s party and earn a second win against the Ravens this season then Pittsburgh could win the division if they beat the Bengals, who will also be plenty motivated to win.

The Steelers would likely prefer to win this game regardless of what Baltimore does, in order to be the fifth seed and potentially face the Texans, rather than a tougher matchup with the Ravens.

Denver Broncos

It’s quite simple for the Broncos this week — win and they’re in the playoffs; lose and they can start looking at vacation flights. If the Broncos had beaten the Bengals they’d be in a far more secure situation, but now it’s the Bengals surging and the Broncos faltering, having lost four of their last seven games.

Those four losses occurred facing teams with winning records as well as the Bengals, so one can fairly wonder how well the Broncos might play in the playoffs should they get there, but their path should be easier with the Chiefs expected to sit nearly all their star players with the No. 1 seed in the AFC already locked up.

If the Broncos can’t beat Carson Wentz and Kansas City backup players they don’t deserve a playoff spot.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

The Buccanneers simply have to win to make the playoffs and capture the NFC South title. Thankfully for the Buccaneers, they face a Saints defense that has been woeful all year.

While New Orleans would like to ruin the party for their division rival, they’ve lost 11 of their last 14 games and just lost to the Raiders. Tampa’s pass defense is still problematic but the offense is cooking and should take care of business.

Washington Commanders

Washington has far less to play for than most teams listed above, but it was noteworthy what head coach Dan Quinn said in his Monday press conference:

“We’re going to go after it as hard as we can. I think the seeding portion of this is really important, and that’s what we discussed as a team. We thought last night – the vibe was awesome at the game — we thought we left some plays out there. And so, for us, that leveling up as we’re heading into this week with Dallas would be really important. But we recognize having a sixth seed and going into the playoffs with that is a good thing. So, we’re going to fight like hell to keep that.”

It won’t be surprising if the Commanders look to pull players from the game if they get out to a strong lead against the Cowboys, but at the very least, we know the Commanders care about the result.

The three teams below require plenty to happen in order for them to make the playoffs. While it looks unlikely, we shouldn’t discount them.

Miami Dolphins

The Dolphins need to win against division rivals the Jets to have any shot at getting in. Miami will also need Denver to lose to the Chiefs to jump them and take the final AFC playoff spot.

Miami could also be without Tua Tagovailoa and Jaylen Waddle in what could be Aaron Rodgers‘s final NFL career game.

Atlanta Falcons

Similar to the Dolphins, the Falcons need to rely on Tampa Bay losing to a woeful Saints team and then also take care of business against a Panthers team that looked lost without Chuba Hubbard.

This one is within the realms of possibility, but the Falcons need to come out motivated to stand any chance.

Cincinnati Bengals

The Bengals play the Steelers in the second of Saturday’s doubleheader. It’s possible that if the Steelers have found out they can’t win the AFC North they might look to rest some players, but they could also focus on finding some offensive rhythm again, so that shouldn’t be counted upon.

Meanwhile, the Bengals simply have to win to have any chance of making the playoffs. Not only do they need to win, though, but they also need the Broncos and Dolphins to lose on Sunday. That seems somewhat unlikely, but scheduling will force Cincinnati to want to take care of business.