NFL NEWS

SEVEN FROM SUNDAY – WEEK 18

A look at seven statistical highlights from games played during the 1:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m. ET windows on Sunday, January 4, the 18th week of the 2025 season.

• Carolina (NFC South), Chicago (NFC North) and New England (AFC East) won division titles this season after finishing last or tied for last in their divisions in 2024. In 20 of the past 23 seasons (2003-25), at least one team finished in first place in its division the season after finishing in last or tied for last place.
  
  Six teams – Carolina, Chicago, Jacksonville, New England, San Francisco and Seattle – qualified for the playoffs after missing the postseason last year. Since 1990 – a streak of 36 consecutive seasons (1990-2025) – at least four teams every season have qualified for the playoffs after failing to make the postseason the year before.
  
  With one game remaining this season, there have been 72 games decided by three-or-fewer points, the third-most in a season in NFL history, trailing only 2018 (73 games) and 2022 (73).
  
  There have been 60 games this season with a game winning score coming in the final two minutes of the fourth quarter or in overtime, the second-most in a single season in NFL history, trailing only 2022 (66 games).
  
  
• The Denver Broncos (14-3) defeated the Los Angeles Chargers, 19-3, in Week 18 and secured the No. 1 seed in the AFC, a first-round bye and home-field advantage in the AFC playoffs. The Broncos won the AFC West for the first time since 2015 and have won 14 games in a season for the second time in franchise history (1998).
  
  The No. 2 seed New England Patriots (14-3), who clinched their first playoff berth since 2021 and their first AFC East title since 2019, will host the No. 7 seed Los Angeles Chargers (11-6) in the Wild Card round.
  
  The No. 3 seed Jacksonville Jaguars (13-4), who won the AFC South for the first time since 2022 and have 13 wins in a season for the second time in franchise history (14 wins in 1999), will host the No. 6 seed Buffalo Bills (12-5) in the first round of the playoffs.
  
  The Baltimore Ravens (8-8) visit the Pittsburgh Steelers (9-7) on Sunday Night Football (8:20 p.m. ET, NBC), with the winner securing the AFC North division title. Baltimore or Pittsburgh will be the No. 4 seed and host the No. 5 seed Houston Texans (12-5) on Wild Card weekend.
  
  
• The Seattle Seahawks (14-3) defeated San Francisco, 13-3, in Week 18 and secured the NFC West division title for the first time since 2020, along with the No. 1 seed in the NFC, a first-round bye and home-field advantage in the NFC playoffs. The Seahawks, who set a franchise record with 14 wins this season, are the No. 1 seed for the first time since 2014, when they won Super Bowl XLVIII.
  
  The No. 2 seed Chicago Bears (11-6), who won the NFC North for the first time since 2018, will host the No. 7 seed Green Bay Packers (9-7-1) on Wild Card weekend.
  
  The No. 3 seed and reigning Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles (11-6), who won the NFC East for the second consecutive season, will host the No. 6 seed San Francisco 49ers (12-5). 
  
  The No. 4 seed Carolina Panthers (8-9) clinched the NFC South for the first time since 2015 and will host the No. 5 seed Los Angeles Rams (12-5) on Wild Card weekend. 
  
  
• Cleveland defensive end Myles Garrett recorded his 23rd sack of the season in the Browns’ 20-18 victory over Cincinnati and surpassed Michael Strahan (22.5 in 2001 with the New York Giants) and T.J. Watt (22.5 in 2021 with Pittsburgh) for the most sacks in a single season since 1982, when the individual sack became an official statistic.
  
  Garrett, who has a sack in 79 career games, tied Pro Football Hall of Famers DeMarcus Ware (79 games) and Reggie White (79) for the most games with a sack by a player in his first nine seasons since 1982, when the individual sack became an official statistic.
  
  Per Next Gen Stats, on the record-breaking sack, Garrett crossed the line of scrimmage 0.23 seconds after the snap, the fastest on any sack this season. Garrett’s 0.70-second average get-off time ranked as the fastest among all pass rushers with at least 200 pass rushes this season.
  
  For more information on Next Gen Stats, check out NFL Pro, available within NFL+ Premium. With NFL+ Premium, get access to NFL Pro and track advanced analytics powered by Next Gen Stats and watch All-22 film. Available on desktop and mobile web, visit pro.nfl.com for more information.
  
  
• Cincinnati wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase had eight receptions for 96 yards and a touchdown in Week 18 and finished the 2025 season with 125 receptions for 1,412 yards and eight touchdowns.
  
  Chase, who had 127 receptions in 2024, is the third player all-time with at least 125 receptions in multiple career seasons, joining Antonio Brown and Michael Thomas.
  
  Chase is the fourth player all-time with at least 1,400 receiving yards in three of his first five NFL seasons, joining Justin Jefferson (four seasons), Larry Fitzgerald (three) and Demaryius Thomas (three).
  
  Chase, who has 6,837 career receiving yards, surpassed Torry Holt (6,784 receiving yards) for the second-most receiving yards by a player in his first five seasons in NFL history. Only Justin Jefferson (7,432 receiving yards) had more.
  
  Chase, who has 54 career touchdowns, tied Pro Football Hall of Famer Lance Alworth (54 touchdown receptions) and Rob Gronkowski (54) for the fourth-most touchdown receptions by a player in his first five seasons in NFL history. Only Pro Football Hall of Famers Jerry Rice (66 touchdown receptions) and Randy Moss (60) as well as Dez Bryant (56) had more.
  
  
• Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford passed for 259 yards and four touchdowns with no interceptions while wide receiver Puka Nacua had 10 receptions for 76 yards and a touchdown in the team’s 37-20 victory over Arizona.
  
  Stafford is the third player in NFL history with multiple touchdown passes in 15 games in a season, joining Pro Football Hall of Famers Peyton Manning (2013 with Denver) and Dan Marino (1984 with Miami).
  
  Stafford, who had a career-high 46 touchdown passes with eight interceptions this season, is the third player in NFL history with at least 45 touchdown passes and fewer than 10 interceptions in a season, joining Tom Brady (2007 with New England) and Aaron Rodgers (2011 and 2020 with Green Bay).
  
  Stafford, who is 37 years old and had a career-high 46 touchdown passes this season, surpassed Tom Brady (43 touchdown passes in 2021 with Tampa Bay) for the second-most touchdown passes in a single season by a quarterback age 37-or-older in NFL history. Only Pro Football Hall of Famer Peyton Manning (55 touchdown passes in 2013 with Denver) had more.
  
  Stafford, who has 423 career touchdown passes, surpassed Pro Football Hall of Famer Dan Marino (420 touchdown passes) for the seventh-most regular season touchdown passes in NFL history. Only Tom Brady (649 touchdown passes), Drew Brees (571), Pro Football Hall of Famer Peyton Manning (539), Aaron Rodgers (526, entering Week 18), Pro Football Hall of Famer Brett Favre (508) and Philip Rivers (425) have more.
  
  Nacua, who has 4,191 receiving yards since entering the NFL in 2023, surpassed Pro Football Hall of Famer Randy Moss (4,163 receiving yards with Minnesota) for the second-most receiving yards by a player in their first three seasons in NFL history, trailing only Justin Jefferson (4,825). 
  
  Nacua, who has 35 games with at least five receptions, joins Michael Thomas (37 games) and Amon-Ra St. Brown (35) as the only players in NFL history with at least five receptions in 35 games in their first three career seasons.
  
  
• Kansas City tight endTravis Kelcehas 13,002 receiving yards since entering the NFL in 2013 and joined Pro Football Hall of Famer Tony Gonzalez (15,127 receiving yards) and Jason Witten (13,046) as the only tight ends in NFL history with at least 13,000 receiving yards.
  
  
• Additional notes from Sunday include:
  
  
  
  • Denver quarterback Bo Nix passed for 141 yards and had 49 rushing yards in the Broncos’ 19-3 victory over the Chargers.
    
    Nix has 24 wins since 2024, tied with Russell Wilson (24 wins) for the most wins by a quarterback in their first two career seasons in NFL history.
    
    
  • Detroit quarterback Jared Goff passed for 331 yards and a touchdown at Chicago, while running back Jahmyr Gibbs had 113 scrimmage yards (80 rushing, 33 receiving) and a touchdown reception.
    
    Goff, who has 39,622 career passing yards, surpassed Pro Football Hall of Famer Dan Marino (39,502 passing yards) for the third-most passing yards by a player in his first 10 seasons. Only Matt Ryan (41,796 passing yards) and Pro Football Hall of Famer Peyton Manning (41,626) had more.
    
    Gibbs has 31 career games with a scrimmage touchdown since entering the NFL in 2023, tied with Pro Football Hall of Famers Randy Moss (31 games) and Barry Sanders (31) for the most games with a touchdown by a player in his first three seasons all-time.
    
    
  • Minnesota wide receiver Justin Jefferson had eight receptions for 101 yards in Minnesota’s 16-3 victory over Green Bay.
    
    Jefferson, who had 1,048 receiving yards this season, joined Pro Football Hall of Famer Randy Moss and Mike Evans as the only players in NFL history with at least 1,000 receiving yards in each of their first six seasons.

NFL ROUNDUP: BRONCOS STUFF CHARGERS, CLINCH TOP SEED IN AFC

Ja’Quan McMillian returned an interception 45 yards for the only touchdown of the day, Wil Lutz kicked four field goals and the host Denver Broncos secured the No. 1 seed in the AFC with a grinding 19-3 win over the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday.

It is the first time in 10 years that Denver (14-3) has clinched home-field advantage in the AFC. The Broncos went on to win Super Bowl 50 in that 2015 season in Santa Clara, Calif., which is the site of this year’s game. They will have a week off before hosting a playoff game.

Bo Nix finished 14-for-23 passing for 141 yards and ran for a season-high 49 yards for Denver, and the defense sacked Trey Lance four times to finish with 68 for the season, a franchise record and the most in the league.

Los Angeles (11-6), which rested several players including quarterback Justin Herbert, is the seventh seed and will travel to No. 2 New England next weekend for the first round of the playoffs. Lance, making his sixth NFL start for his third team, was 20-for-44 passing for 136 yards, rushed for 69 yards, threw one interception and lost a fumble.

Patriots 38, Dolphins 10

Rhamondre Stevenson rushed for 131 yards and had two rushing touchdowns and a scoring reception to lead host New England to a rout of Miami.

Rookie TreVeyon Henderson rushed for two touchdowns for New England, which amassed 243 yards on the ground to cap its sixth 14-win season in franchise history. The Patriots (14-3) settled for the No. 2 seed in the AFC playoffs after Denver secured the lone first-round bye by defeating the Los Angeles Chargers; New England will host the seventh-seeded Chargers next weekend in the AFC wild-card round.

The Dolphins (7-10) fell short of the postseason and finished with a losing record for the second consecutive season. Rookie quarterback Quinn Ewers made his third start and completed 16 of 23 passes for 137 yards, one touchdown and one interception.

Jaguars 41, Titans 7

Jacksonville clinched its first AFC South title since 2022 with a dominant victory over visiting Tennessee.

Trevor Lawrence completed 22 of 30 passes for 255 yards and three touchdowns, breaking the franchise’s single-season total touchdowns record (38) and moving into second place on Jaguars’ all-time passing yards leaderboard (17,822) in the victory. Parker Washington caught five passes for 87 yards and Brenton Strange caught six passes for 52 yards, both recording touchdown catches for Jacksonville (13-4).

Brandon Allen was 17-of-30 passing for 72 yards and an interception in relief of Tennessee quarterback Cam Ward. The No. 1 overall pick’s rookie season ended prematurely when he sustained a first-quarter shoulder injury. Elic Ayomanor led the Titans (3-14) with three catches for 50 yards.

Texans 38, Colts 30

Ka’imi Fairbairn kicked a career-best six field goals, including the go-ahead 43-yarder with 12 seconds remaining, as host Houston defeated Indianapolis for its ninth victory in a row.

The Texans (12-5) will be the No. 5 seed in the AFC and will visit either the Pittsburgh Steelers or Baltimore Ravens in the wild-card round next weekend. With the Jaguars well ahead in their game, the Texans rested several starters in the second half, including C.J. Stroud, who completed 14 of 23 passes for 169 yards and one touchdown in the first half. Davis Mills was 3-of-9 passing for 36 yards in the second half. Tommy Togiai scored on a 17-yard fumble to end the game when Indianapolis’ lateral-fest backfired.

The loss was the seventh straight for the Colts (8-9). Riley Leonard completed 21 of 34 passes for 270 yards, two touchdowns and one interception for the Colts in his first NFL start. Blake Grupe kicked a 22-yard field goal with 2:39 remaining to give Indianapolis a 30-29 lead.

Falcons 19, Saints 17

Zane Gonzalez made all four of his field goal attempts, Dee Alford had a crucial fourth-quarter interception and Atlanta beat visiting New Orleans.

With the win, Atlanta (8-9) sent the Carolina Panthers to the postseason. Had the Falcons lost, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers would have clinched the NFC South. Kirk Cousins threw for 180 yards and a touchdown, while Drake London had 78 receiving yards and a score for the Falcons, who finished the season on a four-game winning streak.

Tyler Shough threw for 259 yards and a touchdown, while adding a score on the ground for the Saints (6-11), who saw their four-game winning streak snapped.

Browns 20, Bengals 18

Myles Garrett notched his record-breaking 23rd sack of the season in the fourth quarter, Andre Szmyt hit the game-winning 49-yard field goal as time expired and Cleveland defeated host Cincinnati.

Garrett, whose defensive teammates Devin Bush and Sam Webb returned an interception and a fumble for touchdowns early in the game, rushed up the middle to sack Joe Burrow with 5:04 to play. Garrett surpassed the NFL single-season record of 22.5 shared by Michael Strahan and T.J. Watt.

Rookie Shedeur Sanders completed 11 of 22 passes for just 111 yards but improved to 3-4 as a starter for the Browns (5-12), who finished with back-to-back wins against AFC North rivals. Burrow completed 29 of 39 passes for 236 yards, three touchdowns and one interception for the Bengals (6-11). Cincinnati kicker Evan McPherson missed two extra points.

Rams 37, Cardinals 20

Matthew Stafford threw four touchdown passes and Los Angeles wrapped up the No. 5 seed in the NFC playoffs with a victory over Arizona at Inglewood, Calif.

Colby Parkinson had two TD receptions for the Rams (12-5), Puka Nacua and Tyler Higbee had one each. Stafford finished the regular season with a career-high 46 passing TDs to lead the league for the first time in 17 NFL seasons. Los Angeles ended a two-game losing skid and set up a wild-card game at the Carolina Panthers next weekend.

Jacoby Brissett completed 22 of 31 passes for 243 yards and two TDs as the Cardinals (3-14) closed on a nine-game losing streak. Trey McBride had seven receptions to finish with 126 on the season, extending his single-season NFL record for a tight end. Michael Wilson had five receptions for 99 yards and a touchdown for Arizona.

Giants 34, Cowboys 17

Jaxson Dart threw for 230 yards and two touchdowns as New York closed the season with a win over rival Dallas in East Rutherford, N.J.

Dart put the Giants ahead for good with a 29-yard touchdown pass to Daniel Bellinger with 20 seconds left in the first half, capping a 96-yard drive. Rookie kicker Ben Sauls added four field goals for the Giants (4-13), who could have earned the No. 1 draft selection in 2026 with a loss and a Las Vegas win. Instead, the Raiders clinched the top pick.

Dak Prescott played the first half for the Cowboys (7-9-1) and completed 7 of 11 passes for 70 yards. Joe Milton III played the second half and hit 7 of 13 passes for 73 yards with an interception.

Vikings 16, Packers 3

Justin Jefferson caught eight passes for 101 yards and Minnesota pulled away from visiting Green Bay. Jefferson surpassed 1,000 receiving yards for the sixth consecutive season to start his career, joining Randy Moss and Mike Evans as the only players to achieve the feat.

C.J. Ham rushed for a touchdown for Minnesota (9-8), which won its fifth in a row to finish the season. J.J. McCarthy completed 14 of 23 passes for 182 yards before giving way to Max Brosmer, who completed 7 of 8 passes for 57 yards. Jordan Mason rushed for a game-high 94 yards on 14 carries.

Chris Brooks had 13 carries for 61 yards to lead Green Bay (9-7-1), which rested many of its starters as it prepares for a wild-card playoff game next weekend. Clayton Tune made his second career start and completed 6 of 11 passes for 34 yards.

Lions 19, Bears 16

Jake Bates kicked a 42-yard field goal on the final play to lift visiting Detroit past NFC North champion Chicago.

Lions quarterback Jared Goff passed for 331 yards and a touchdown. Jahmyr Gibbs rushed for 80 yards and also caught a touchdown pass, while Amon-Ra St. Brown caught 11 passes for 139 yards as the Lions finished with a 9-8 record.

Caleb Williams passed for 212 yards and two touchdowns for the Bears, who rallied from 16-0 fourth-quarter deficit. Colston Loveland caught 10 passes for 91 yards and a touchdown. Despite the loss, Chicago (11-6) held onto the No. 2 seed in the NFC playoffs thanks to Philadelphia’s loss to Washington. The Bears, who clinched the division the previous week, will host the seventh-seeded Packers on wild-card weekend.

Bills 35, Jets 8

Mitchell Trubisky completed 22 of 29 passes for 259 yards and four touchdowns and Ray Davis rushed for 151 yards on 21 carries to help Buffalo beat visiting New York in the final regular-season game played at 53-year-old Highmark Stadium in Orchard Park, N.Y.

The Bills (12-5), who will move into a new facility next season, will open the AFC playoffs on the road as the No. 6 seed against the Jacksonville Jaguars. Josh Allen, who has a sore right foot, extended his streak of games started to 135, but jogged off the field after handing off to James Cook on Buffalo’s first play from scrimmage.

Rookie quarterback Brady Cook made his fourth straight start for the Jets (3-14) and was 11 of 22 for 60 yards. He threw a 2-yard TD pass to Andrew Beck with 7:33 left and then completed a pass to Quentin Skinner for the two-point conversion. The Bills had a 470-122 edge in net yards.

Raiders 14, Chiefs 12

Daniel Carlson booted the game-winning field goal from 60 yards out with eight seconds remaining to give host Las Vegas a win over backup-laden Kansas City.

The Chiefs (6-11) made two late field goals to pull ahead 12-11 with 1:01 remaining, but Aidan O’Connell completed 21- and 5-yard passes to get the Raiders in range for Carlson’s new career-long field goal. Tyree Wilson had two sacks, two forced fumbles and one safety for the Raiders (3-14), in a game played after the team was mathematically locked into the No. 1 draft pick in 2026.

The Chiefs’ Shane Buechele completed 7 of 14 passes for 88 yards in relief of Chris Oladokun finished 11 of 17, amassing 58 yards.

Commanders 24, Eagles 17

Josh Johnson earned his first NFL win since 2018 and visiting Washington scored two fourth-quarter touchdowns to beat Philadelphia, which begins its Super Bowl defense as the NFC’s No. 3 seed by hosting the sixth-seeded San Francisco 49ers in a wild-card playoff game next weekend.

Johnson, 39, collected just his second win since entering the league as a 2008 fifth-round draft pick. The previous victory was a 16-13 road win over Jacksonville on Dec. 16, 2018. He was 14 of 22 for 131 yards, one touchdown and one interception against the Eagles. The Commanders (5-12) won for just the second time in their last 12 games.

The NFC East champion Eagles (11-6) rested many of their starters, including quarterback Jalen Hurts and running back Saquon Barkley. Tanner McKee, making his second career start for Philadelphia, passed for 241 yards with a TD and an interception. Tank Bigsby had 106 yards from scrimmage with a TD and Jalyx Hunt had an interception and a fumble recovery.

NFC WEST LEADS SUPER BOWL ODDS; 4 ROAD TEAMS FAVORED IN OPENING ROUND

While 14 teams from all eight divisions made this year’s NFL playoffs, the betting market has a lot of belief behind an NFC West team bringing home the title.

The Seattle Seahawks (+340 on DraftKings, +420 on FanDuel) and Los Angeles Rams (+425, +430) are the teams with the best odds to win Super Bowl LX and hoist the Lombardi Trophy on Feb. 8 in Santa Clara, Calif.

Seattle (14-3) earned the No. 1 seed with a 13-3 win over the San Francisco 49ers on Saturday night. The Rams (12-5) are the No. 5 seed in the NFC. The 49ers (12-5), whose stadium will host this year’s Super Bowl, are the No. 6 seed and have the 11th-best odds to win the Super Bowl at +2200 on FanDuel and +2800 on DraftKings.

The Denver Broncos, the No. 1 seed in the AFC with a 14-3 record, have the best odds on that side of the bracket at +650 on both sites.

The New England Patriots (+950 on DraftKings, +1000 on FanDuel), Buffalo Bills (+950, +1000) and the defending-champion Philadelphia Eagles (+1000, +850) round out the top six in odds.

Although the Jacksonville Jaguars (+1400 on DraftKings, +1500 on FanDuel) won the AFC South and will start with a home playoff game, the sportsbooks gave the Houston Texans (+1200, +1100) slightly better odds even though they finished a game back in the division.

The sportsbooks also view NFC North competitors in the Chicago Bears (+2200, +1800) and Green Bay Packers (+2200, +1700) similarly after the pair split the season series and Chicago won the division.

The Carolina Panthers (+15000, +22500) have by far the longest Super Bowl odds after winning a three-way tie in the NFC South with an 8-9 record.

Well ahead of them are the Los Angeles Chargers (+3000 in both) and Pittsburgh Steelers (+5000, +5500), who have the third- and second-longest odds.

As for odds on individual games in the wild-card round, the Rams are 10- to 10.5-point road favorites at the No. 4 seed Panthers (4:30 p.m. ET) and the Packers are 1.5-point road favorites at the Bears (8 p.m. ET) in Saturday action.

On Sunday, the Bills are 1.5-point road favorites at the Jaguars (1 p.m. ET), the Eagles are 3.5-point home favorites against the 49ers (4:30 p.m. ET) and the Patriots are 3.5-point home favorites against the Chargers.

In Monday’s wild-card finale, the Texans, who enter on a nine-game winning streak, are 3- to 3.5-point road favorites over the Steelers.

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