NFL Week 18 Previews.

NFL Week 18 Previews.

The Final Week Of The NFL season. The Patriots Have Three Losses on the Season, Once To The Steelers, Once To the Raiders, and Once To The Bills. No One Expected A Perfect Season From The Pats, or Even a Winning Season This Go-Around. Those Were All Bad Losses. The Patriots Blew A 21 Point Lead To The Bills, committed five Turnovers In A Loss To The Steelers, and lost to the Raiders in Week One. The Loss To The Raiders Continues To Sting The Patriots Because That Game Gives the Denver Broncos The Record Versus Common Opponents Breaker Going into the Final Week Of The Season. If the Broncos Win Out, facing the Chargers Resting Their Starters, the AFC Runs Through The Mile High. The Patriots Need The Win Against The Dolphins To Stay In The Two Seed, so Despite Injuries On and Off The Field, The Pats Can’t Rest Their Starters and Snag An “Unofficial” Bye Week. The Phillip Rivers Experience Ends This Week As The Colts Plan On Starting Rookie Quarterback Riley Leonard To Face The Texans in The Final. Houston Still Holds A Chance at the Division and The Chance to Face The Winner Of The AFC North In The First, So They’ll Play Their Starters As We Prepare To Witness Another Offensive Stone Fight. The Vikings Will Face The Packers in Week 17, and Minnesota Can Finish The Year Over .500 Despite A Generally Disappointing Season. The Jags Will Take On The Titans, Looking To Wrap Up Eight straight Victories in the AFC South And Stay In Position To Catch The Number One Seed Should Denver Fall Off.

Seahawks Vs 49ers

A Cataclysmic Affair As The Seahawks Prepare To Face Division Rival San Francisco 49ers With The Division And Conference Title On The Line. Sam Darnold Gets One Last Chance This Season To Shake The Ghost, Not Just The Pass Rushers, But The Ghost Haunting Him In Big Moments. Darnold Stood In The Same Position Playing For The Vikings Last Season. The Ironing Off of His Reclamation Season Against The Lions and all the Good Vibes From Darnold’s Season crashed and landed In A Mountainous Failure. The Vikings lost the game, and Darnold played poorly, which set the stage for the Vikings to face the Rams in the Wild Card round, where Darnold again struggled. Despite this pattern of underperformance in crucial games, Darnold still secured a big deal with Seattle. However, the trend of disappointing performances in important moments continues to haunt him. Darnold Produced Great Stats This Season, but his output Wavers In his Past Three Games. He’s struggled with Three Touchdowns, Three Interceptions, -0.12 EPA per drop-back, -0.046 adjusted EPA Per Play, 48.7 Success Rate, 688 passing Yards, and Passer Ratings Of 84.4, 84.2, and 77.2. Seattle, Winners of Six Straight Games, but Darnold Has Looked Like A Liability Along The Way. The Seahawks' defense And Run Game Have More Than Accommodated The fall-off in Play From Darnold. Seattle Has Rushed For 334 Yards On The Ground Over The past Two Games, Ranking Fifth In EPA Per Rush Between Weeks 15-17. The Defense Straddles Bryce Young In Week 17, But They Won't See Bryce Young In Week 18, Or a Quarterback Playing At A Bryce Young Or Phillip Rivers Level. They’ll face one Of The Hottest Quarterbacks Slinging, Brock Purdy. The Niners have emerged from being overlooked and Too Hampered By injuries and Into Contenders over the course of the 18 Week Season. Purdy Enters The final Stretch Hotter Than Fire, with Three Straight Games Of 70% Or Better Completion Percentage, 118 Or Better Passer Rating, 893 Passing Yards, 11 Touchdowns, Two Interceptions, 0.51 EPA per drop-back, 51.10 Total EPA, and 64.9% Passing Success Rate. He's Playing At An MVP Level despite Worrisome Flashes Of Turnovers. The Seahawks' Interception Rate, 2.58%, is sixth-best in The League. Brock Purdy is Also Present with The Problems As A Scrambler Who Keeps Drives Alive With His Legs and One Who Can covertly score Touchdowns. Seattle’s Defense Surrenders +0.057 EPA per Pass On Extended Pass Plays Of 3.5 Seconds Or Longer, Making Purdy’s Escapability Dangerous To Seattle. Back to Darnold, the Panthers’ Pass Rush Gave Some Trouble, Three Sacks, 17 Pressures on 31 drop-backs. The Panthers Ranked Near The Bottom In Pressure, Along With The Niners. Can The Niners Sustain Sticky Coverage Downfield, Which Would Open The Door For Pressure On Darnold In The Pocket? The Niners' Pass Rush ranks 29th in pass rush win rate (30%) and last in pressure rate (25%). The Niners' Pass Defense as A Whole Struggled To Contain The Bears’ Passing Attack, Giving Up 321 Passing Yards, two touchdowns, +0.48 EPA Per Pass Play, 99.4 Passer Rating, 50% Passing Success Rate. The Niners Will Have To Cover Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Cooper Kupp, and AJ Barner In Long Coverage Field To Give The Pass Rush More Time To Disrupt Darnold. Ultimately, I trust the track record of the Seahawks' defenses, despite some shortcomings in their pass defense, particularly against quarterbacks like Matthew Stafford and Baker Mayfield this season. Although Brock Purdy may put up some decent numbers, I believe the Seahawks will come out on top.

Steelers Vs Ravens

Somehow, We Got To One Of The Most unlikely outcomes to end The Season For The AFC North, a winner-take-all between the Steelers and Ravens. The Media Started Writing Baltimore’s Obituary early In The Season After A 1-5 Start But For A Second Year In A Row The Defense Found A Structure That worked in The Second half Of The Season After Playing Like One Of The worst defenses In The First Half ranked 30th In EPA Per Play, since Week Nine the Ravens Rank 9th in EPA Per Play. The Ravens Ranked 9th In EPA Per Play, Number One against the Run.The Ravens faced a challenging task to even their season record against the division rival Steelers, especially after losing Lamar Jackson to a back injury in a previous collapse against the Patriots. As of now, Lamar's status remains questionable as he returns from a hamstring injury.Lamar Needed Time To Regain His Prowess As A Quarterback, But He’s 63.3 QBr, 101.4 Passer Rating For The Season, and an 18 Touchdown 6 Interception Ratio For The Season. The Steelers Lost To the Browns in Week 17, and the Ravens' Win Over The Packers saved the Ravens' Season. The Ravens Defense Got Dotted By Packers Back Up Quarterback Malik Willis and Packers’ Passing Offense +0.32 EPA Per Pass Play, 296 Passing Yards, 15.6 Yards Per Completion, 197 Explosive Pass Play Yards, 88% completion Percentage. Packers Wide Receiver Christian Watson Ran All Through The Baltimore Secondary 113 Receiving Yards On Five Catches and One Touchdown. What Version Of Aaron Rodgers will the Ravens Face? The Four MVP Rodgers Struggled Against Cleveland’s Defense 64.9 Passer Rating, 21/39 Passing, 168 Passing Yards, 4.3 Yards Per Attempt, Four Straight Incompletions In The Red Zone To End The Contest Against The Browns. Rodgers' Bright Idea To Test Denzel Ward Turned Out False. The Ravens' Top Corners: Nate Wiggins 118.8 Passer Rating Allowed, 111 Yards In Coverage. The Steelers Won’t Have Top Receiver DK Metcalf on The Outside. The Steelers Will Work With A HodgePodge Of Scott Miller and Marquez Valdes-Scantling on The Outside. Early In The Season, Rodgers Ranked as The Worse Quarterback In Football Before Hitting His Stride In Recent Weeks. Now With A Chance To Return To The Playoffs For The First Time Outside Of Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Steelers' Defense Achieve Greatness By Shutting Down The Browns' Woeful Offense, but Pittsburgh Ranks 11th In EPA Per Play Since Week Nine, But 22nd In EPA Per Rush Allowed Despite A Recent Run Of Success Against Rushing Attacks, 63 and 15 Total Rushing Yards Over The Last Two Games. When Pittsburgh faced Baltimore, They Gave Up 217 yards To The Ravens On The Ground, and Baltimore running back Derrick Henry Just Wrapped His Best Games Of The Season, 216 Yards Single-handedly, Four Touchdowns, 36 Carries. The Ravens Rushed For 307 Net Yards On The Ground, +0.37 EPA Per Play. Lamar’s Status Remains Questionable Heading Into The Weekend. If not, Tyler Huntley Will Step In Once More To The Quarterback Void. Huntley Achieved Enough As A Passer To Keep The Ravens Alive 16/20(80.0%) for 107 passing Yards, One Passing Touchdown, and a 105.6 passer Rating. The Ravens Have Momentum On Their Side Even Without Lamar Jackson In The Lineup At Quarterback. With DK Metcalf, The Steelers Don’t Have The Same Threat Level Even Facing A Secondary Like The Ravens.

Carolina Panthers Vs Tampa Bay Buccaneers

The Bucs and the Panthers Meet For The Second Time In Three Weeks, again With Neither Team Entering The Final Week With Much Momentum Carrying Over Through The Weeks. The Panthers Got The Win They Needed In Week 16 With An Impressive Victory Over The Bucs. Carolina Found The NFC’s Top Seed Seahawks A lot Less Interested In The Lowly Squabbles Of The NFC South, as Carolina Lost to the Seahawks in Week 17 by a Score of 27-10. The Panthers' Offense Looked Dismal, Moribund, Even Compared To The Lowliest Standards They’ve Already Set This Season, 2.7 yards Per Play, 1/11 On Third Down, -0.580 EPA Per Play, 0.8 Points Per Drive. With The Score tied 3-3, Carolina Appeared In Range For One Of Their Patented “Ugly” Upsets. Instead, A Turnover in the Third Quarter, Including A Bryce Young Interception, Opened The Door For The Seahawks to Take Off With The Win. Bryce Young’s 448 Yard Explosion seems like Years Ago. He’s not amassing more than 410 Over His Last Three games, Including A 54 Yard Passing Outing Against Seattle. Carolina finished -0.88 EPA Per Pass Play Against The Hawks’ Defense. The Last Time Bryce Young Played The Bucs, He Didn’t Deliver Overwhelmingly Numbers, but a Quality Outing: 191 Passing Yards, 65% Completion Percentage, 102.5 Passer Rating, 73.0 QBR. A Steady Range Ahead Of Playing The Number One Defense In Football. If Anything Redeemable From This Game For The Panthers, The Defense Restricted The Seahawks' Offense To -0.076 EPA Per Play, Picked Off Sam Darnold, and Held Him To 145 on 18/27 Passing With A passer Rating Of 76.9. The Panthers generated Vikings defense-level numbers, and they Will Need to Again To Sustain Baker Mayfield. If the Bucs Found Anything Redeemable In Their sacrilegious Loss To The Dolphins, Baker Mayfield Threw For 346 Passing Yards, 75% Completion Percentage, two touchdowns, Two Interceptions(-12 EPA Lost To Turnovers). Mayfield Has Thrown At Least One Pick In Seven Of His Last Eight Outings, Including a Sealing Pick against Carolina In Week 16. The Bucs Not Only Have To Face The Panthers But The Suddenly Hot Falcons Will Face The Always Ready To Rumble Saints In Week 18 and A Win For the Falcons Will Give The Tie Breaker To The Panther If All Three Teams Finish With The same Record Because Carolina Swept The Falcons Whiles The Bucs Blew A Two Score in Lead Week 15 and Split The Season Series With Atlanta. One Point for Both Teams: The Bucs Defense Surrendered +0.16 EPA Per Play To Quinn Ewers, +5.5 Pass EPA, but on 34.6 Passing Success Rate, Two Touchdowns So A Mixed Bag, But Tampa Has Shown Vulnerability On Defense, And Bryce Young Could Find Consistent. Bucs Haven’t Delivered The Best Of This Team Just Yet In Both Good And Bad Ways. The Team Architects Haven’t Had This Gumbo Of Talent Together Long Enough Because Of Injury To Blend The Correct textures and Flavors. Emeka Egbuka transitioned from being the number two wide receiver to the number one wide receiver, and now he's coming off the bench for the Buccaneers. The teams have struggled to effectively utilize their players and optimize their formations according to the weekly demands. Sean McVay wouldn't have faced issues "maximizing" his talent in the same situation. The Panthers generally bounce back after a loss, which is a trend I appreciate. Meanwhile, the Buccaneers tend to crumble under pressure, while the Panthers rise from the NFC struggles to secure a playoff spot.

New Orleans Saints Vs Atlanta Falcons

New Orleans Saints Quarterback Tyler Shough Will Most Likely exit The Season The Way He Entered The Draft As a Polarizing Prospect. Shough, A 26-year-old rookie, was In The Same High school Recruiting Class As Trevor Lawrence and Justin Fields before suffering Multiple Season-Ending Injuries In College Before The Saints Selected Him In the first Round. Shough initially lost the Camp Battle to Spencer Rattler, The Incumbent Starter From The Prior Season. Since Week 12, After Taking Over For Rattler mid-season, Shough Has Played Well 70% Completion Percentage, 1,539 passing yards, a 2 touchdown ratio, +0.03 EPA Per dropback, 50.7% Passing Success Rate, With Four Straight Games Of Positive EPA Per Dropback, Albeit Against a low-level team. His 333 Passing Yards Against Tennessee Served As Season’s Best, And Yes, It’s The Titans, One Of The Worst Teams In Football. Realistically A Quarterback Worse Than Shough Could’ve Exited Week 17 Having Struggled to Read Coverage, Make Accuarte Throws and Generally Threatened A Defense and At Worst You Want Or Expect 200 Plus Yards against The Titan, Shough Delivered For His Team 330 Plus, 81.5% Completion Percentage, 12.3 Yards Per Attempt, 142.7 Passer Rating, With Two Touchdowns Out dueling Draft Mate and Number One Pick. He’s registered three straight games with at least 250 passing yards and no interceptions. Versus Carolina, the Jets, and Tennessee, and Outside Of Chris Olave, the Saints don’t Have Any Recognizable Names At Wide Receiver. Analyst Like Diante Lee From The Ringers Have Placed The Vote As Non-Believers Of Shough, Stating That He “doesn’t see …promise” In Shough Long Terms Other Have Statement He Doesn’t “Wow” in Terms Of Film Study and Play. Whether The Saints Decide To Draft A New Quarterback Or Stick With Shough, His Resilience Got Shough Into The League, and That Non-Quantifiable Attribute Of His Game Will Keep Him In The Game Long Term. The Saints Will Face The Hottest Team In Their Division—Outside Of Themselves—The Falcons, Winners Of Three Straight Games Heading Into Week 18, Already Eliminated From Playoff Contention But Not Far From Being Impactful On The Playoff Race. A Falcons Win Would Automatically Push The Panthers Into The Playoffs Based on a Similar Opponent Tie-Breaker. The Falcons beat the Rams on Monday Night and Picked Off Quarterback Matthew Stafford Three Times—Perhaps You’ve Heard Of Stafford— Before Nearly Blowing A 21 Point Lead And Escaping With A three-point victory. The Falcons' offense wasn’t Clicking On all Cylinders, but it Generated A Positive +0.089 EPA Per Play Versus A top-five defense. Kirk Cousins, Kyle Pitts, And The Passing Attack Took A Back Seat To the Workings Of Running Back Bijan Robinson, Who Displayed straight Power Rangers Mystic Force Skills, Patiently Creating Openings To Run Against an overaggressive Rams Line, forcing missed tackles In Both The Running and Pass Game. Robinson Rushed For 195 Yards On The Ground, 22 Carries, 8.9 Per Carry, One Touchdown with 34 Yards Through The Air, And One Touchdown. Bijan Finished With multiple Big Gainers, Including A Massive 93 Yards Bomb run, Thanks To Multiple Jump Cuts. What Answers, If Any, Will The Saints Present For The Bijan Equation, New Orleans He Titans Runners To 3.9 Yards Per Rush, -0.14 EPA Per Rush. Since Week 11, the Saints Rank 9th in EPA Per rush allowed, Third In EPA Per Play Allowed, and Ninth In EPA Per Play For The Season. The Falcons Defense Stone Walled Matthew Stafford And The Rams Offense -0.060 EPA Per Play, 268 Passing Yards, 64.4 Passer Rating, 57.9% Completion Percentage. Easily One Of The Worst Games For The Rams' Offense This Season. The Falcons' Pass Rush Pressured Stafford 21 Times, Sacked Him Three Times, adding To Their Top Ten Position In pressures. Only A Handful of aid Quarterbacks, namely Bryce Young, Have Had The Answers To The Falcons' pass Defense. Shough In His Third Start Of The Season Face The Falcons Posting A Stat Line 30/43 passes for 243 Passing yards, 74.1 Passer Rating, Five Sacks, 25 Pressures Faced. The Saints have Nothing to Gain By Winning, But Losing Will Stick It To The Tampa Bay Bucs, Their Most Heated Rivals In The Division.

Vikings Vs Packers

The Status Of Vikings quarterback JJ McCarthy Remains Up In The Air(“Iffy”) as Minnesota Prepares To end its Season Of Ups and Downs On A High note By Potentially Knocking Off The Packers. McCarthy Has Struggled In Nearly All Facets Of The Game, including Bad Play, Injury, and Getting “Meme’d” On Social Media With The Whole “Nine” Crazed Postgame Speech. McCarthy Had A Good Stretch Of Games With Two Straight Games Generating A Passer Rating of 100 Or Better, and A 5-to-1 touchdown-to-interception ratio before The Hand Injury against the Giants. McCarthy needs another Polish Outing this Season To Leave A Lasting Impression On The Team’s Brass heading Into A Crucial off-season that Will Determine His Future Position With The Team. The Rival Packers Cleared Their Starter Jordan Love From Concussion Protocol, But He Won't Play, His Back-Up Malik Willis Won’t Play Either, as The Packers Look Towards The Playoffs Starting Clayton Tune In The Season Finale. The Vikings Could Look To sign Willis Whose Season Numbers, 0.62 Adjusted EPA per Play This Year In Four Appearances, coming Off Of His Best Game Of The Season Against The Ravens, 18/21(85.7%), 288 Passing Yards, One Touchdown, 14.6 Adjusted Net Yards, a 134.6 Passer Rating, adding 60 rushing yards and a rushing score and a 95.6 PFF grade. Willis Will Enter Free Agency After Four Years In The League, Two With The Titans and Two With The Packers, after The Titans Drafted Him In The Third Round of the 2022 Draft. He Left Liberty University As A Toolsy Quarterback Who Needed Development And Above Mac Jones Or Justin Fields. He’s The Best Option As Far As Reclamation-Type Quarterback Projects Go Entering 2026. The Minnesota Vikings' Defense Will Also Look To Stay Hot as the top unit, According To ESPN FPI. The Packers Will Most Likely Enter The Playoffs As A Seventh Seed, A Familiar Place in The Jordan Love Era, and Face Either The Bears or Eagles In Rematches From the 2025 Season. The Packers Have Lost Three Straight, Which Could Turn into four Straight By The End Of Week 18, Not The Way The Packers, Who Held Position At The top of The League Early In The Season, Hope To Enter The Playoffs.