Huge clash decides NFC No. 1 seed, Broncos seal postseason ticket, star WR says he’s ‘out’: NFL Week 18 Sunday review

(CNN) — After 18 weeks of action, the 2024 regular season has come to a close.

Fourteen teams advance to the postseason while the remaining 18 squads go on vacation with their season over.

Two games took place on Saturday, with the Baltimore Ravens securing the AFC North title and the Cincinnati Bengals keeping their slim playoff chances alive.

Here are the main storylines from Sunday’s action.

Lions rout Vikings to clinch No. 1 seed in NFC

It all came down to the final game of the season as the Detroit Lions and the Minnesota Vikings faced each other in a showdown for the NFC North title, a first-round postseason bye and home-field advantage throughout the conference playoffs.

Entering Sunday’s matchup sporting the two best records in the NFC at 14-2 each, it was the Lions who prevailed, dominating the Vikings 31-9 behind a franchise record-tying performance from Jahmyr Gibbs.

Gibbs finished with 170 total yards, rushing for 139 yards and three touchdowns, while hauling in five passes and another score on his career night. The four touchdowns tied the Lions record for most in a single game by running back, joining Pro Football Hall of Famer Barry Sanders.

The victory marks the second consecutive season Detroit has won the division, and the first time in franchise history the Lions have clinched the conference No. 1 seed, setting up a potential deep run in the playoffs as they aim to end a championship drought that dates back to 1957.

“It took the whole unit, but what a great job. Back-to-back division winners in the NFC North, got the one seed, 15 wins,” Lions head coach Dan Campbell said afterwards. “I just couldn’t be more proud of those guys and I just told them that to me this has been in the making for a while. It takes a special group of guys and I think we kind of had to go through what we’ve been through over the last four years.”

On the other side, despite finishing with a 14-3 record, the Vikings will have to hit the road for the Wild Card round, facing off against the Los Angeles Rams at SoFi Stadium on January 13.

Minnesota is the winningest team to play in the Wild Card round, edging out the 1999 Tennessee Titans who had 13 wins. In a bit of a silver-lining, auspicious sign, that Titans team went on to reach the Super Bowl.

Sunday night’s game was far more competitive than what the final score showed, at least through the first three quarters. However, Vikings mistakes in the first half cost the team down the stretch.

Comeback Player of the Year candidate Sam Darnold – who finished throwing 18-of-41 for 166 yards and no TDs – struggled in the contest, mainly with his overthrows which could be attributed in part to the Lions pass rush.

Minnesota’s aggressive play-calling in the red zone, combined with Darnold’s rough night doomed the Vikings.

Facing a 4th-and-goal at the Lions’ three-yard line in the second quarter, the Vikings opted to go for it, but Darnold failed to connect with wide receiver Justin Jefferson resulting in a turnover on downs.

Following a Vikings defense interception on the ensuing possession that gave Minnesota the ball inside the Detroit seven-yard line, Darnold twice missed a wide-open Jefferson in the end zone, forcing the team to settle for a 25-yard field goal to cut the deficit to 7-3.

On its first possession of the second half, Minnesota again was in a 4th-and-goal situation, this time at the Lions’ two-yard line. But yet again, Darnold’s pass attempt to wide receiver Jordan Addison fell incomplete.

Detroit took advantage of Minnesota’s mistake, riding Gibbs to three second-half touchdowns to score 21 unanswered points and pull away for the victory.

“Obviously, a disappointing game. Felt like, for me personally, I didn’t hit the throws that I should hit in the red zone, especially early on,” Darnold said after the game.

Darnold added: “Going down in the red zone and kicking field goals, that’s not going to cut it against a team like that. Just got to be a lot better … We’re looking forward to the challenge against LA moving forward.”

Broncos seal final playoff spot, end Bengals late charge

After a dreadful start to the season, the Cincinnati Bengals won their final five games of the season – including a narrow victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers on Saturday – to keep their postseason chances barely alive.

Heading into Sunday, they needed the Denver Broncos and the Miami Dolphins to lose to book their spot in the playoffs.

Although Miami fell on the road to the New York Jets, the Broncos emphatically closed the door on Cincinnati’s late surge with a thumping 38-0 victory over a Kansas City Chiefs team which rested a lot of players.

The Chiefs opted to sit many of their star players – including quarterback Patrick Mahomes, tight end Travis Kelce and defensive tackle Chris Jones – having already claimed the No. 1 seed in the AFC and the first-round bye that comes with it.

And Denver made the most of those absences, playing excellently on both sides of the ball in a one-sided victory; the Broncos had 479 total yards on offense while the Chiefs had just 98.

Rookie quarterback Bo Nix had an outstanding day, throwing 26-of-29 for 321 yards and four touchdowns, two to Marvin Mims Jr. and one apiece to Courtland Sutton and Devaughn Vele.

Nix, who has enjoyed a stellar debut campaign to lead Denver to 10 wins, began the game with 18 straight completions – the most by any rookie to open a game in NFL history.

On the other side of the ball, the defense held Kansas City backup quarterback Carson Wentz in check, with Nik Bonitto continuing his excellent breakout season with two sacks; the outside lineback has racked up 13.5 sacks this season.

“It’s fun to clinch a playoff spot and the last game of the year, against a divisional team, and it’s just kind of a great story,” quarterback Bo Nix said after the game. “But now playoff time starts, and our goal wasn’t just to make the playoffs, even though it hadn’t been done in a while. It’s for a lot more than that.”

The playoff spot is the Denver’s first since winning Super Bowl 50 in 2015.

Although the Broncos’ win made Miami’s result irrelevant in the playoff race, the Dolphins’ defeat ended a disappointing season on a sour note.

The team has battled injuries to key players, but star wide receiver Tyreek Hill suggested after Sunday’s loss to the Jets that he could be on the move in the offseason.

“This is my first time I haven’t been in the playoffs,” Hill told reporters. “I just gotta do what’s best for me and my family. If that’s here or wherever the case may be, I’m finna open that door for myself. I’m opening the door. I’m out, bro.

“It was great playing here, but at the end of the day, bro, I got to do what’s best for my career. I’m too much of a competitor to be just out there.”

Hill finished 41 yards short of reaching 1,000 receiving yards for the fifth straight season as he battled a wrist injury.

Although Miami head coach Mike McDaniel avoided commenting on the situation afterwards, Hill added he’s got some thinking to do following the end of the 2024 season.

“At the end of the day, there’s a lot of things I need to reassess for my career,” Hill said. “Just see what I need to do to continue to do to get better as a player, so I can continue to reach that 1,000-yard mark. It is what it is.”

Titans claim No. 1 pick in 2025 Draft

The Tennessee Titans claimed the first overall pick in the 2025 Draft after a day of drama on Sunday.

The New England Patriots entered the day in the top spot in the order but because of their victory over the Buffalo Bills – who were resting many of their starters – they opened the door to the Titans moving up.

And Tennessee did what it needed to do, losing 23-14 at home to the Houston Texans.

The Patriots ended the day with the fourth pick while the Titans (3-14) finished first, the Cleveland Browns (3-14) will get the second selection and the New York Giants (3-14) have the third.

Despite having the best opportunity to breathe some positivity back into the organization, Titans head coach Brian Callahan expressed his frustration at how the whole season panned out.

“Not where I wanted to be this year, not where our team wanted to be. Those are the things that you get when you’re not playing well enough and that’s where we are,” Callahan told reporters. “Yeah, not something I’m going to take a whole lot of solace in, but we’ll move to that phase starting tomorrow.”

Callahan added: “The order is why the teams with the worst records pick at the top. It’s not a position I’d ever want to be in again. But there is the benefit of that is it does open up some opportunities for you to try to improve your football team.

“And not only that you get the first pick, you get the first pick in the rounds after that as well. So you do have a chance to improve your team. I’ve seen it done. I’ve been a part of it. It is the one bonus to a season like this. And again, not one I ever want to be a part of again. But we are here and we’ll use it to our advantage to improve our team as best we can.

Just minutes after the end of the Patriots’ season-ending victory, the team announced that they had fired first-year head coach Jerod Mayo.

Full Week 18 Sunday scores

Away @ home (winners in bold)

Carolina Panthers 44-38 (OT) Atlanta Falcons

Washington Commanders 23-19 Dallas Cowboys

Chicago Bears 24-22 Green Bay Packers

Jacksonville Jaguars 23-26 (OT) Indianapolis Colts

Buffalo Bills 16-23 New England Patriots

New York Giants 13-20 Philadelphia Eagles

New Orleans Saints 19-27 Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Houston Texans 23-14 Tennessee Titans

San Francisco 49ers 24-47 Arizona Cardinals

Kansas City Chiefs 0-38 Denver Broncos

Seattle Seahawks 30-25 Los Angeles Rams

Los Angeles Chargers 34-20 Las Vegas Raiders

Miami Dolphins 20-32 New York Jets

Minnesota Vikings 9-31 Detroit Lions

Full Wild Card Weekend schedule

Away @ home

Saturday, January 11

AFC: No. 5 Los Angeles Chargers vs. No. 4 Houston Texans – 4:30 p.m. ET

AFC: No. 6 Pittsburgh Steelers vs. No. 3 Baltimore Ravens – 8 p.m. ET

Sunday, January 12

AFC: No. 7 Denver Broncos vs. No. 2 Buffalo Bills – 1 p.m. ET

NFC: No. 7 Green Bay Packers vs. No. 2 Philadelphia Eagles – 4:30 p.m. ET

NFC: No. 6 Washington Commanders vs. No. 3 Tampa Bay Buccaneers – 8 p.m. ET

Monday, January 13

NFC: No. 5 Minnesota Vikings vs. No. 4 Los Angeles Rams – 8 p.m. ET

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