The NFL Week 18 schedule is wide open. As of now, there are 12 games scheduled for 1 PM on Sunday, Jan. 9, and four in the 4:25 PM window. That will change soon, however. The NFL has three unscheduled national windows to fill — two Saturday games on ESPN and NBC’s regular-season finale on Sunday Night Football. Who will play when? We try to connect the dots.
Potential Week 18 Sunday Night Football games
The NFL playoff picture is still blurry, but this weekend’s games should offer some clarity.
But if there’s still a lot unresolved heading into next week, the new Saturday games are a big-time complication.
The NFL needs to balance competitive fairness with compelling television. We would be shocked if Ravens-Steelers isn’t one of the two matchups flexed to Saturday, particularly if one of those teams still has a playoff pulse. It will almost certainly be Ben Roethlisberger’s final game.
Beyond that? It’s anyone’s guess. Here are our five likeliest games to end up in that Sunday night prime-time window.
Cincinnati Bengals vs. Cleveland Browns
This is the only potential division championship game on the Week 18 slate. The Bengals could clinch the AFC North this week, but that would take them beating the Chiefs, who haven’t lost since October. The Browns, meanwhile, are two games back in the NFL standings of Cincy, but they have a plausible path to the playoffs. If they beat the Steelers and the free-falling Ravens lose to the Rams, the Browns and Bengals will be playing for the AFC North next weekend.
Los Angeles Chargers vs. Las Vegas Raiders
Watch this space. This would be effectively a play-in game if the following happens in Week 17 — the Chargers beat the Ravens, the Raiders beat the Colts, the Titans beat the Dolphins, and the Patriots beat the Jaguars. All are totally plausible.
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Now, there is a slight chance the Raiders could have a playoff spot locked up before kickoff in Week 18, but that would take 10 results going their way between now and 8:20 PM next Sunday. We don’t see this as a likely Saturday game, however, because the result would impact several teams.
New England Patriots vs. Miami Dolphins
If the Dolphins beat the Titans in Week 17, this would be the most obvious Sunday Night Football matchup on the surface. The Patriots always draw a big TV audience, and the Dolphins would be in a win-and-get-in situation.
But it’s not that simple.
The Patriots host the terrible Jaguars this week and could actually have a Wild Card spot locked up this Sunday. But even if they don’t, the odds are excellent that the Patriots would have that ticket punched before kickoff on Jan. 9, if they play in the prime-time window. The only way we see this heading to SNF is if the Dolphins beat the Titans and Jacksonville upsets New England in Week 17.
Dallas Cowboys vs. Philadelphia Eagles
NBC would absolutely love this game, but the odds are high that the Packers will have already sewn up the No. 1 seed by then, particularly if Green Bay beats Minnesota in Week 17.
Now, it’s possible that the Cowboys would still have a shot at the No. 2 seed — and the home Divisional Round game that comes with it — if they play in the final game of the season. But would that be enough of a reward to risk injury to Dak Prescott? Plus, there’s also a real chance the Eagles will clinch this weekend. This is another prime candidate for Saturday.
San Francisco 49ers vs. Los Angeles Rams
Basically everything we wrote about Cowboys-Eagles applies to Niners-Rams, except this: Los Angeles does not yet have the division locked up. If the Rams lose to Baltimore or Arizona beats Dallas this weekend, the NFC West will still be up for grabs in Week 18.
It would be totally unfair to the Cardinals to make them play earlier in the day with the Rams, knowing that an Arizona loss would make them division champs — particularly when you consider that those teams could potentially face off in the Wild Card round. It would essentially give Los Angeles a bye heading into the playoffs. What’s more, San Francisco has a real chance of clinching this weekend.
