The NFL has everyone play Divisional Games in Week 18. I don't like this rule, because most of the games in Week 18 are meaningless, and I'd rather have meaningful Divisional Games in November and December.
Anyway, here are the current scores:
Atlanta 7 - 0 New Orleans (1st)
Cincinnati 6 - 7 Cleveland (2d)
Houston 6 - 10 Indianapolis (1st)
Jacksonville 7 - 7 Tennessee (2d)
Minnesota 3 - 0 Green Bay (2d)
N.Y. Giants 6 - 3 Dallas (1st)
And here are the scores from yesterday:
San Francisco 3 - 13 Seattle (F)
Tampa Bay 16 - 14 Carolina (F)
Seattle was ranked Number One in ESPN's final Power Rankings of the year, which came out last week. So we are declaring them to be the Number One team for 2025-26 in terms of the polling. Now we will see if they can complete the double by winning the playoffs.
Here's a list of the Number One teams since we started keeping track in 2012. Only three of these teams won the Super Bowl:
2012: Denver (13-3) (lost to Baltimore in the AFC Divisional Playoffs)
2013: Seattle (13-3) (WON THE SUPER BOWL OVER DENVER)
2014: Seattle (12-4) (lost to New England in the Super Bowl)
2015: Carolina (15-1) (lost to Denver in the Super Bowl)
2016: New England (14-2) (WON THE SUPER BOWL OVER ATLANTA)
2017: New England (13-3) (lost to Philadelphia in the Super Bowl)
2018: New Orleans (13-3) (lost to the Rams in the NFC Title Game)
2019: Baltimore (14-2) (lost to Tennessee in the AFC Divisional Playoffs)
2020: Kansas City (14-2) (lost to Tampa Bay in the Super Bowl)
2021: Green Bay (13-4) (lost to San Francisco in the NFC Divisional Playoffs)
2022: Kansas City (14-3) (WON THE SUPER BOWL OVER PHILADELPHIA)
2023: Baltimore (13-4) (lost to Kansas City in the AFC Title Game)
2024: Kansas City (15-2) (lost to Philadelphia in the Super Bowl)
2025: Seattle (14-3) (?????)
Atlanta 13 - 7 New Orleans (3d)
ReplyDeleteCincinnati 12 - 17 Cleveland (4th)
Houston 23 - 24 Indianapolis (3d)
Jacksonville 31 - 7 Tennessee (3d)
Minnesota 13 - 0 Green Bay (3d)
N.Y. Giants 24 - 10 Dallas (3d)
The NFC South is finished and Carolina wins the tiebreaker:
ReplyDeleteCarolina: 8-9
Tampa Bay: 8-9
Atlanta: 8-9
New Orleans: 6-11
Finals of the last noon games of the regular season:
ReplyDeleteAtlanta 19 - 17 New Orleans
Cincinnati 18 - 20 Cleveland
Houston 38 - 30 Indianapolis
Jacksonville 41 - 7 Tennessee
Minnesota 16 - 3 Green Bay
N.Y. Giants 34 - 17 Dallas
The AFC South is finished:
ReplyDeleteJacksonville: 13-4
Houston: 12-5
Indianapolis: 8-9
Tennessee: 3-14
Strange division. Jacksonville has an 8-game winning streak. Houston has a 9-game winning streak. The Colts have a 7-game losing streak.
DeleteMaybe it's just me, but it feels like the Rams and the Cardinals play each other five times a year.
ReplyDeleteAFC East is finished:
ReplyDeleteNew England: 14-3
Buffalo: 12-5
Miami: 7-10
N.Y. Jets: 3-14
NFC North is finished:
ReplyDeleteChicago: 11-6
Green Bay: 9-7-1
Minnesota: 9-8
Detroit: 9-8
Every team in the NFC North has a winning record; every team in the NFC South has a losing record.
DeleteCommanders beat Philly 24-17 in Philly to leave the Eagles as the Number 3 seed in the NFC. That's a really odd result.
ReplyDeleteSo the NFC East looks like this:
ReplyDeletePhiladelphia: 11-6
Dallas: 7-9-1
Washington: 5-12
N.Y. Giants: 4-13
Here's the NFC West:
ReplyDeleteSeattle: 14-3
Los Angeles: 12-5
San Francisco: 12-5
Arizona: 3-14
Here are the playoff teams (and seeds) for the NFC:
ReplyDelete1. Seattle (14-3)
2. Chicago (11-6)
3. Philadelphia (11-6)
4. Carolina (8-9)
5. Los Angeles (12-5)
6. San Francisco (12-5)
7. Green Bay (9-7-1)
Here's the AFC West. The Chiefs end the season with a six-game losing streak:
ReplyDeleteDenver: 14-3
San Diego: 11-6
Kansas City: 6-11
Oakland: 3-14
Oakland gets the Number One draft pick.
ReplyDeleteSo the last game of the regular season will be the battle in Pittsburgh between the Steelers and the Ravens. The winner takes the AFC North and the Number Four seed. The loser is out.
ReplyDeleteMurray State pounds Bradley 86-66 to run its record to 5-0 in the Missouri Valley, and 13-3 overall. The Racers are up to 87 on Ken Pom, their highest rating since 2022.
ReplyDeleteHigh drama in Pittsburgh, where the Steelers and Ravens are tied 10-10 with 8 minutes left in the third quarter.
ReplyDeleteSteelers lead 13-10 with 10:52 left in the game.
ReplyDeleteOn 3d and 4 from midfield, Lamar Jackson makes a play. He appears to be trapped behind the line by two Steelers. He dodges both, and then hits Zay Flowers with a 50-yard strike to put the Ravens up 17-13 with 8:42 left.
ReplyDeleteBut Aaron Rodgers drives Pittsburgh back down the field, and the Steelers retake the lead 20-17 with 3:49 left in the game. High drama!
ReplyDeleteIf the game ends in a tie, Pittsburgh wins the division.
ReplyDeleteJackson does it again! On third and 1 from his own 36, he hits Flowers for a 64-yard touchdown pass! The Ravens lead 24-20 with 2:20 left.
ReplyDeleteSteelers have no timeouts, so they will only get one more chance.
ReplyDelete