It is the final week of the NFL's regular season, and for the first time in history we'll have an 18th week of games.
Most of the playoff invitations have been handed out, though not all, and there is far more chaos involved in determining the seeding of those seven spots in each conference.
A couple of Week 18 games have a very direct influence on the playoff picture, so let's look into where those teams land in this week's Power Rankings and what to do with them:
Las Vegas Raiders (14) | Los Angeles Chargers (15)
This is the most compelling Week 18 game. Winner is in. Loser is (most likely) out. The fact that the Raiders have made it here is hard to comprehend. Credit the Silver and Black for winning three games in a row to get to 9-7, especially Week 17's massive road upset of the Indianapolis Colts. That said, there's no way they're a better team than the Chargers.
First of all, L.A. is a 3-point road favorite in Las Vegas. That alone tells you how the Chargers should be ranked way higher than the Raiders. Perhaps you'd rather consider the difference in point differential for the two teams? The Chargers have a plus-18 point differential this season. The Raiders have a minus-68 point differential. Of course anything can happen on any given Sunday, but the Chargers have been the much better team all season (including their 28-14 win and cover vs. the Raiders way back in Week 4). The Chargers won't "Charger" in this spot. The Chargers will prove they are a playoff team in this spot.
Indianapolis Colts (12)
Speaking of that Colts team that somehow lost to the Raiders at home, it still controls its own destiny in the AFC playoff picture. And all the Colts have to do is beat the Jacksonville Jaguars! The same Jaguars that just lost 50-10 in Foxborough, Massachusetts, against New England. It would be a near-unforgivable letdown if these Colts suffered back-to-back season-ending losses against the Raiders and Jags that cost them a spot in the postseason when they were favored by a combined 24 points! Because it is the Jags, I'm going with the Colts. I don't love it because of what they showed last week, but Jonathan Taylor and that offensive line should be able to dominate in much the same way as the Patriots just did rushing for 181 yards and four TDs.
San Francisco 49ers (11) | New Orleans Saints (19)
These are the two teams in the NFC that are jockeying for the final spot in the NFC. The Saints enter Week 18 as 4.5-point road favorites against the Falcons. The 49ers have a much tougher test as 5.5-point road underdogs against the Los Angeles Rams, but Kyle Shanahan has had Sean McVay's number as of late. The Saints should be able to impose their will with Alvin Kamara and Taysom Hill against the nondescript defense of Atlanta. Can the Niners continue their dominance of L.A.? Will L.A. be playing to maintain the No. 2 seed in the NFC bracket, or will McVay be more concerned with making it out of the game as healthy as possible? I'm comfortable laying the points with the Saints. I'm less confident in San Francisco.