The NFL regular season is officially over. Week 18 had some important matchups for the playoff picture, but overall, it was a bit of a snoozefest. A ton of teams rested players, and a lot of the ones that didn’t rest their starters had pretty much nothing to play for.

Just because it was a boring week doesn’t mean we didn’t learn anything, though. Here were my 10 biggest takeaways from Week 18 of the 2025 NFL season.

Seattle’s defense might win them the Super Bowl

The Seattle Seahawks secured the 1-seed in the NFC on Saturday night when they defeated the San Francisco 49ers, 13-3. A lot of the talk this season has been around Sam Darnold and Jaxon Smith-Njigba’s performance, but their defense has been incredible all year, and they might be the reason Seattle wins it all.

Coming into this game, San Fran had scored 37, 42, and 48 in their last three games. They were the hottest offense in the league coming into Week 18, but the Seahawks’ defense completely shut them down, holding them to three points and 173 total yards of offense. It was complete domination, and if they keep playing like they have all year, this defense is good enough to carry them to the Super Bowl.

Steelers/Ravens were DRUNK

What a freaking game, man. You can’t ask for much more. Two bitter rivals are facing off on the final game of the regular season with a playoff spot on the line. And it came down to the very last play.

This game wasn’t very good for a while. The Ravens came out of the gates with the hot hand, going up 10-0, but the Steelers quickly closed the gap, tying the game early in the third quarter. The Steelers would then take the lead heading into the fourth, and from there, it was utter chaos.

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Zay Flowers broke loose for a 50-yard touchdown to give the Ravens the lead back, but Pittsburgh marched down the field in eight plays to retake the lead with a touchdown of their own. On the ensuing possession, Flowers broke loose once again, this time for 64 yards, giving the Ravens a 24-20 lead. The wind was out of the Steelers’ sails, and it felt like Baltimore had it in the bag, but it was only the beginning.

The Steelers drove down the field in 1:26, capped off by a 26-yard touchdown from Calvin Austin, but Chris Boswell, who hadn’t missed a PAT in four years, shanked it right, making it 26-24 and leaving the door open for Baltimore to win with a field goal. And after Baltimore had a huge return on the kickoff, it felt like the Steelers were dead men walking, but their defense stood tall and forced a 4th-and-7, but an insane catch from Isaiah Likely gave the Ravens a first down and set up a 44-yard field goal for the win.

But if you haven’t gotten the memo by now, this game was drunk, and of course, the rookie Tyler Loop missed the kick, gifting the Steelers a trip to the playoffs.

There was no better way for this game to end. After a pretty boring weekend of football, this was much needed. Week 18 has been pretty boring for years now, but games like this remind us of what it can be at its peak.

Houston got their stinker out of the way (hopefully)

The Houston Texans have the best defense in football. There is absolutely no question about it. But even the best lay an egg sometimes, and luckily for Houston, it happened in Week 18 and not in the Wild Card round.

On Sunday, Houston’s defense gave up 30 points to the Riley Leonard-led Colts. It was the most points they’ve given up all season, but I think it will only make them better for the Wild Card round. They’ll review the tape and see what went wrong, but all that matters is they got the win and secured the 5-seed in the AFC.

This defense is still capable of leading them to the Super Bowl, but they cannot afford to have this kind of game again.

The Rams got the best draw in the NFC

I think the Los Angeles Rams are in a position to do some damage. With San Fran’s loss on Saturday and LA’s win on Sunday, they are the 5-seed in the NFC, and it looks like it’ll end up being a fairly easy path to the NFC Championship game.

The Rams will start the playoffs by going to Carolina to face the Panthers in the Wild Card round. That’s an easy win. I also think there’s a very good chance Green Bay and/or San Francisco win their first round matchups, meaning LA would have to go to Philadelphia or Chicago in the Divisional Round, which really isn’t that scary of a matchup. I think the Rams are better than both of those teams, so if they can avoid playing one of their NFC West rivals until the NFC Championship, I’d consider that a massive win.

I’m still very bullish on this Rams team, and their getting the 5-seed makes me feel even more confident they could win the Super Bowl this year.

Chicago worries me

I’ve never been a huge believer in the Chicago Bears, but I will admit that they are a much better team than I thought they’d be. Still, despite having one of their best seasons in a long time, I have a ton of concerns about this team.

Ben Johnson’s offense can be great at times, but as we saw this week, it can also be a bit inconsistent. Detroit’s defense hasn’t been anything special, especially in the back half of the year, and yet Caleb Williams and Co. were shut out through three quarters. They finally got it going in the fourth, but it was too little too late. Their defense also has massive holes. Their secondary hasn’t been very good this year, and they don’t have a consistent pass rush or run defense.

The Bears have relied on winning a lot of close games late in the fourth quarter, and it’s worked for them most of the year, but these last two games have proven you can’t consistently rely on winning one-score games. Eventually, it’s going to bite you in the butt, so the Bears better hope they can turn things around next week against Green Bay, who owns them historically.

Tampa got what they deserved

I know there are some Tampa Bay Buccaneers fans out there who are going to be talking crap to Saints fans about how they couldn’t beat the Falcons, all because they’re butthurt it cost their team a trip to the playoffs. But the truth is, Tampa got exactly what they deserved.

This is a Tampa team that started the season 6-2. I don’t know the exact numbers, but then, I think many would say they had a 90+ percent chance to win the NFC South. And what did they do? Lose seven of their last nine games. Winning a Week 18 game against Carolina doesn’t mean you deserve to make the postseason. Maybe you shouldn’t have lost to Miami, Carolina (in Week 16), Atlanta, or New Orleans in the four weeks leading up to this game.

Do the Panthers deserve to be in the playoffs? No, but at least they didn’t do everything in their power to give away the division in the nine weeks leading up to this game. Tampa didn’t deserve to be in the postseason, and now they’ll be watching from home.

Myles Garrett makes history

Myles Garrett has been on the verge of history for a while now. He was at 21.5 sacks, just 1.0 away from tying the NFL record of 22.5, after Week 16, and with the way he was playing, it looked like he’s blow by the record in Week 17 and probably finish with 25ish sacks. However, after he was blanked in Week 17, all of a sudden, Week 18’s contest against the Bengals became much more important.

It took until there were five minutes left in the fourth quarter, but Garrett finally got that elusive 23rd sack. It took 17 games, but Garrett now holds the NFL record for most sacks in a single season with 23.0.

Say what you want about it taking 17 games, but nobody can take this record away from him, at least until someone hits 23.5. But if history is any indicator, it might be a long, long time before we see another season like this.

I can’t believe the Giants gave away the No. 2 pick

In the last two weeks, the New York Giants have gone from owning the first overall pick in the NFL Draft to the fifth overall pick. They could’ve got a hefty trade offer for the first pick, but they gave that up to the Raiders. But it was fine, because they still owned the second pick and the rights to select whatever non-QB they wanted…until they threw that in the trash too.

The Giants could’ve had their pick of Rueben Bain, David Bailey, Caleb Downs, Arvell Reese, or literally anyone other than Fernando Mendoza, but because they won a meaningless Week 18 game, they will have to wait and see who falls to them.

I won’t ever hate on a team for winning games, because that’s what you’re supposed to do in the NFL, no matter what, but they had a first-class ticket and decided to trade it in for a seat in coach. They’ll still get a great player, but the second pick would’ve been much better for them.

The NFC South may be flipped next year

The Panthers and Buccaneers may have “ran the South” this year, but next year, it could be a whole different story.

I don’t think it’s crazy to say that over the last few weeks, the Saints and Falcons have been the best teams in the division. Tyler Shough has shown Saints fans he’s the real deal, winning four of his last five games, and the Falcons ended the season on a four-game win streak. Both of these teams beat the Bucs in the final month of the season, and the Saints swept the Panthers.

I know the Falcons just fired their head coach, but this roster is ready to compete for a playoff spot, so they’ll be a very attractive option for prospective head coaches. If they land the right guy, they’ll be in contention for the NFC South crown in 2026.

The Saints have their quarterback and coach in place. Now it’s about surrounding Shough with talent. They have plenty of draft capital and will be able to make enough cap space to sign some impact free agents. If they nail this offseason, they will also be in contention for the NFC South title next year.

The final NFC South standings are Carolina in first, Tampa Bay in second, Atlanta in third, and New Orleans in fourth. Based on what we’ve seen at the end of the year, I would not be surprised if, in 2026, the stands are reversed completely.

My predictions for which coaches will be fired

There really wasn’t a whole lot to talk about this week, thanks to a pretty boring playoff race and bad schedule, so instead of a 10th takeaway, I thought I’d give some of my thoughts on which head coaches will be fired this week.

We already know Raheem Morris is out in Atlanta, but there are plenty more firings to come. I expect Jonathan Gannon and Pete Carroll to be out (Gannon is more iffy, but I don’t see why Arizona would keep him), and Kevin Stefanski may be joining them (though I don’t necessarily agree with it). Both interims – Mike Kafka (Giants) and Mike McCoy (Titans) – should also be gone, but that’s a given. Also, given the way the Jets finished the year, I don’t think Aaron Glenn is safe. But he’s probably safer than the others listed above.

I personally think Todd Bowles, Zac Taylor, and Mike Tomlin should all be on their way out as well, but they all seem to be pretty secure. I’d say Taylor’s the most likely to go of that bunch. Mike McDaniel is another guy I think should probably go, but Miami may be inclined to keep him because he is such a great offensive mind.

Black Monday should be very entertaining and full of firings, so keep your eye out, because news will be flying in all day.