The penultimate weekend of the NFL's 2023 regular season also lands on the final weekend of calendar year 2023 – and there's plenty at stake with openings in the postseason field quickly dwindling.
The Cleveland Browns can punch their ticket by beating the New York Jets in the season's final Thursday night contest. QB Joe Flacco notched a win in this matchup by Lake Erie just a year ago ... albeit while playing for the NYJ.
The Buffalo Bills, Jacksonville Jaguars, Los Angeles Rams and Seattle Seahawks can all secure playoff berths by winning and getting some outside help. The Kansas City Chiefs and Tampa Bay Buccaneers only need to win in order to become division champions. And the San Francisco 49ers could be the NFC's No. 1 seed by Sunday night by overcoming the Washington Commanders and hoping the Detroit Lions and Philadelphia Eagles both lose.
But there's no bigger showdown than the one in Baltimore, the Ravens hosting the Miami Dolphins with much on the line. A victory gives the Ravens the AFC North crown plus home-field advantage and the AFC's first-round bye. If the Dolphins prevail, they'll lock up their division and can claim the AFC's No. 1 seed by beating Buffalo in Week 18. However if the Fins lose at M&T Bank Stadium, they could be in jeopardy of squandering the AFC East lead, too.
How do our experts think it will play out? Read on ...
NFL STATS CENTRAL: The latest NFL scores, schedules, odds, stats and more.
(Odds provided by BetMGM. Access more BetMGM odds here.)
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