NFL Week 18 Games: Is Third Time the Charm for the Philadelphia Eagles?

San Francisco 49ers, Dallas Cowboys Still Have Shot at Top Seed in NFC

The NFL is saving the best for last as four of the five late Sunday afternoon kickoffs in the NFL Week 18 games could have an impact on the playoff field and seeding in the NFC playoffs.

Philadelphia gets another chance to wrap up the top seed and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs. However, another loss and a win by Dallas would not only prevent the Eagles from receiving a first-round bye, but it would also result in the Cowboys winning the NFC East.

Seattle needs a win to remain in contention for the final playoff spot in the NFC while San Francisco is in play for the top seed in the NFC.

Game of the Week

The biggest question is whether Jalen Hurts will be back at quarterback for the Eagles after missing the last two games with a shoulder injury. He seems to be trending in the right direction. There are also questions surrounding Philadelphia’s leading rusher Miles Sanders. Even with those question marks, this is one of the biggest matchups among the NFL Week 18 games.

In a perfect world, the Eagles would have already wrapped up the top seed in the NFC and a first-round bye so they could rest some of the key players dealing with injuries. However, a two-game losing streak has delayed that from happening.

The Giants are locked in as the No. 6 seed in the NFC. Still, a win over division rival Philadelphia would be a nice way to head into the postseason.

When looking at the NFL game scores, expect a tighter affair than the first meeting of the season between the Eagles and Giants when Philadelphia led by 34 points late in the fourth quarter.

The line opened at -2 thanks to the injury concerns with the Eagles offensive playmakers and moved to -14.

Other Games to Watch

San Francisco has won nine games in a row and still has a chance at the top seed in the NFC playoffs so that alone makes this one of the NFL Week 18 games to keep an eye on.

The most noteworthy thing on the side of the 4-12 Cardinals is that this will be the final game in defensive tackle and former NFL Defensive Player of the Year J.J. Watt’s career as he recently announced his retirement.

San Francisco running back Christian McCaffrey is questionable with an ankle injury. Nick Bosa, one of the frontrunners for the NFL Defensive Player of the Year, needs 2.5 sacks to hit the 20-sack mark.

There hasn’t been much love for an Arizona team that was expected to compete for a playoff spot. The line opened with the Cardinals listed as a 10.5-point underdog. With so much money coming in on the 49ers, the line moved to 14.

Dallas still has a chance at the NFC East title and the No. 1 seed in the NFC. First, the Cowboys need to win. If the Eagles lose and the Cowboys win, Dallas would take the division title. Add in a loss by the 49ers and that would be enough to give Dallas the top seed and home-field advantage throughout the NFC playoffs.

Washington was eliminated from playoffs last week but can still finish with a .500 record with a win.

There is no truth to the rumor that Washington plans on using a different quarterback on every snap. There are reports that Taylor Heinicke was set to start before telling the coaches that rookie Sam Howell deserves the chance to show what he can do.

Speaking of quarterbacks, keep an eye on the status of Dallas starter Dak Prescott as he suffered a knee injury last week. The Cowboys are expected to have running back Tony Pollard back.

The good news for the Denver Broncos is that this will bring an end to a thoroughly frustrating and underwhelming season.

The Chargers have already secured a spot in the AFC playoffs so there isn’t much riding on this matchup other than seeing how Denver looks different now that the Broncos fired head coach Nathaniel Hackett.

When looking at the late games, this is the NFL Week 18 point spread closest to a Pick’em. The Chargers could be getting safety Derwin James back on the field.

The defending Super Bowl champion Los Angeles Rams are just 1-6 on the road as the fall from the top of the NFL mountain has been rather abrupt. The Detroit Lions own the Rams’ first-round pick so the Rams might have some work to do to become relevant in the NFC again.

‘Seattle (8-8) can wrap up a playoff spot with a win and a loss by Green Bay. It would be quite the story with journeyman quarterback Geno Smith leading the way.’

Seattle can put the pressure on Green Bay by taking care of business. The Packers meet Detroit on Sunday night matchup and if Seattle loses, the winner of that game would qualify for the playoffs. Seahawks rookie running back Kenneth Walker needs 64 rushing yards to reach the 1,000-yard mark.

Bobby Wagner, the all-time leading tackler in Seahawks history, will return to Seattle as a member of the visiting team for the first time. He leads the Rams with 133 tackles after being let go by the Seahawks after recording at least 10 tackles in each of his 10 seasons in Seattle.

Seattle opened as a three-point favorite, but the line is now at 6.
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