The Final Week of the NFL Season Brings Big Playoff Implications

The final week of the NFL regular season is here with a lot still up in the air as far the playoffs go. Lots of players will probably end up not playing, too, just to eliminate the risk of injury before making a Super Bowl run. Let's take a look at a couple of key games.

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The top seed in the AFC is currently held by the Tennessee Titans over the Kansas City Chiefs. The only way Kansas City could get the number one seed and get a first round bye along with home field throughout the playoffs is if the Titans lose Sunday to the Texans and the Chiefs beat the Broncos. The Texans have been on a bit of a roll the last couple of weeks so it's not entirely out of the question for the Titans to lose. The Chiefs just need to take care of business in Denver Saturday afternoon which I think they will, 43-18.

Sunday night's game is a crucial one for both the Las Vegas Raiders and Los Angeles Chargers. Whichever team wins is in. There is a weird scenario that if the Jaguars beat the Colts, then the Raiders and Chargers can tie and both would get in. Let's hope that won't be the case. I'm gonna give a slight edge to the Raiders in this game, 28-24.

On the NFC side of things, the playoffs will run through Lambeau Field. All that's up for grabs is some playoff positioning.

Here are the rest of my Week 18 picks:

Saturday, January 8

• Chiefs at Broncos - Chiefs
• Cowboys at Eagles - Cowboys

Sunday, January 9

• Bengals at Browns - Bengals
• Packers at Lions - Packers 
• Bears at Vikings - Bears
• Washington at Giants - Giants 
• Colts at Jaguars - Colts
• Steelers at Ravens - Steelers
• Titans at Texans - Titans
• Saints at Falcons - Saints
• Jets at Bills - Bills
• 49ers at Rams - Rams
• Patriots at Dolphins - Dolphins
• Seahawks at Cardinals - Cardinals
• Panthers at Buccaneers - Buccaneers
• Chargers at Raiders - Raiders

Bye: None

Nothing is up for grabs but bragging rights if you can out pick me. Make 'em and let's have some fun.