Nfl Announces Week 18 Schedule Football Weblog

Bonisiwe Shabane

-Dec 31, 2025, 7:38 AM

nfl announces week 18 schedule football weblog

The NFL has announced the official Week 18 schedule, setting the dates and matchups for the final weekend of the regular season. Week 18 will be played Saturday and Sunday, January 3–4, and will begin with a Saturday doubleheader. The opening game will feature the Carolina Panthers at the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, followed by the Seattle Seahawks at the San Francisco 49ers. The regular season will conclude with Game 272 on NBC’s Sunday Night Football, as the Baltimore Ravens travel to Pittsburgh to face the Steelers. Football Weblog’s One Page Schedules have been updated to reflect these changes. You can view the updated schedules by using the NFL Schedules button below or by selecting them from the site menu.

The NFL on Sunday night announced its full Week 18 schedule for Saturday, Jan. 3, and Sunday, Jan. 4, and the regular season will come to a close in Pittsburgh. The Baltimore Ravens (8-8) and Pittsburgh Steelers (9-7) will square off for the AFC North title and the conference's No. 4 seed in the playoffs on Sunday Night Football. Week 18 action kicks off with a Saturday doubleheader, however, which features the Carolina Panthers at the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at 4:30 p.m.

ET on ESPN/ABC, and the Seattle Seahawks at the San Francisco 49ers at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN/ABC. The playoffs are almost here and you won't want to miss a moment. Now you don't have to! With NFL+ Premium, watch every playoff game live on mobile, get NFL RedZone during the regular season, stream game replays, and more! And for a limited time, get 40% off an NFL+ annual plan.

Offer ends 2/16/26. Sign up today! Every year, the NFL waits as long as possible before releasing the Week 18 schedule and that announcement finally came on Sunday night. The final week of the NFL season will kick off on Saturday with a doubleheader and then close out on Sunday night with the Ravens and Steelers battling in Pittsburgh. That will be the 272nd and final game of the 2025 season and the winner will clinch the AFC North title along with the final playoff spot in the AFC. The Steelers and Ravens met back in Week 14 with Pittsburgh topping Baltimore, 27-22.

The biggest game of the weekend will arguably be happening on Saturday with the Seahawks hitting the road to face the 49ers in a massive NFC West showdown. There will be a lot on the line in that game with the winner taking home the NFC West title and the No. 1 overall seed in the NFC. That means the winner will get a bye in the opening round of the playoffs while the loser will be forced to hit the road for the wild card round. In the early game on Saturday, the Buccaneers will be hosting the Panthers in a game that could decide the NFC South. If the Panthers win, they'll clinch the division title.

However, the same can't be said for Tampa Bay. If the Bucs win, they'll also need the Falcons to lose to the Saints on Sunday to clinch the division (A Bucs win combined with a Falcons win would create a three-way tie at... The No. 1 seed in the AFC will be decided on Sunday. The Broncos will be hosting the Chargers at 4:25 p.m. ET on CBS and if they win that game, they'll clinch the top seed.

However, if the Broncos lose, the Patriots could sneak in and steal the top seed by beating the Dolphins. Some how, some way, we are officially headed into the final week of the 2025 NFL season. While a majority of playoff spots—and seeds—have already been clinched, there are still a handful of division championships up for grabs heading into the final slate. Because of that, the league naturally waits to schedule Week 18’s matchup until the last possible second in order to, among other things, maximize its television audience. Before we get there, however, Week 17 across the league gave us plenty to write home about. For starters, the 49ers won an epic back-and-forth battle over the Bears on Sunday Night Football,Drake Maye kept himself in the MVP conversation thanks to a five-touchdown performance against the Jets, Malik Willis may...

Elsewhere, the Texans took care of business over the Chargers in L.A., Philip Rivers was emotional about his send off with the Colts, and Cardinals tight end Trey McBride made NFL history with his... And with that, we're on to Week 18. Here’s a complete look at the upcoming slate, with dates, times, and where to watch each contest. It all comes down to this. There is only one week remaining in the 2025-26 NFL regular season, with two playoff spots on the line. There is one spot up for grabs in the AFC and one in the NFC, with both games determining those positions set to be highlighted in Week 18.

On Sunday, the team finally announced its TV schedule and kickoff times for every game in the final week, with two games on Saturday and a loaded Sunday schedule. MORE: Updated 2026 NFL draft order after Sunday’s Week 17 games has new No. 1 pick The opening game on Saturday features the Tampa Bay Buccaneers hosting the Carolina Panthers on ABC and ESPN, which will determine the NFC South champion. Dec 29, 2024; Tampa, Florida, USA; Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield (6) greets Carolina Panthers quarterback Bryce Young (9) after a game at Raymond James Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

The Baltimore Ravens and Pittsburgh Steelers will meet in Week 18 with the AFC North title at stake. Scott Taetsch / Getty Images Week 18 of the NFL season surely will not be a relaxing end to a grueling regular season. Far from it. Four division titles are still up for grabs, with at least two — and possibly three — to be decided in winner-take-all matchups. The two conferences’ No.

1 seeds and the playoff byes that come with them remain in play. And, yes, even the No. 1 pick in the 2026 NFL Draft is in question. That left the league with tough decisions for how it would configure the Week 18 schedule, including which game would be featured in the coveted “Sunday Night Football” finale on NBC. However, the league didn’t have to wait for the conclusion of Monday night’s game between the Los Angeles Rams and Atlanta Falcons to make its selections. The 2025 NFL regular season will end in the Steel City.

The NFL's Week 18 schedule is finally here. The penultimate week of regular-season action clarified which few pieces of the playoff puzzle still have to fall in place. With that coming into focus, the league was able to determine a setup for every team's finale. The Carolina Panthers and Tampa Bay Buccaneers will meet on Saturday afternoon to determine the likely winner of the NFC South (barring the Atlanta Falcons winning out). Then, the Seattle Seahawks and San Francisco 49ers will clash Saturday night with the NFC's No. 1 seed on the line.

The Baltimore Ravens and Pittsburgh Steelers will close out the season on Sunday night to decide the AFC North title. Here's a look at the NFL Week 18 schedule with times and dates for all 16 showdowns: Week 17 of the NFL season is almost in the books, and a majority of the playoff picture has already been decided. However, with the final week of the regular season still on the calendar, a few key matchups remain that could help finalize playoff seedings for various teams. But with the flexible schedule that the final week offers. As a result, fans had to wait a bit longer before the official schedule was released.

However, now that the schedule is available, here’s everything you need to know about Week 18. Sunday Night Football (8:20 p.m. ET on NBC) Twelve of the 14 teams in the playoff field have already clinched a playoff berth. However, the seeding still remains in flux in both conferences. With 10 teams registering 11 or more wins, the road to the postseason has been grueling.

But in the final week, two playoff spots still remain up for grabs. After the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Carolina Panthers, and the Pittsburgh Steelers all lost, two key matchups are going to decide the divisions in both conferences. The NFL announced the Week 18 slate on Sunday night after the 49ers beat the Bears, which means Seahawks vs. 49ers next week will be for the No. 1 seed in the NFC. Week 18 will see the final two playoff spots decided.

The AFC North champion will be crowned when the Steelers host the Ravens. In the NFC South, the Panthers can win the division with a win over the Buccaneers in Tampa, while the Buccaneers need a win on Saturday and a Falcons' loss in Week 18. Here's the schedule for the final week of the regular season, including which games you can watch on FOX: Carolina Panthers at Tampa Bay Buccaneers This game will likely decide the NFC South. If the Falcons win their final regular season game, Carolina would still win the division with a loss, causing a three-way tie at 8-9.

Nfl Announces Week 18 Schedule Football Weblog

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