Someone's got to win the AFC North and the NFC South, right? Right?
Well, tell that to the Steelers, Panthers and Buccaneers, all of whom have had opportunities over the past few weeks to either clinch or run away with the division title.
Instead, we head towards Week 18 with these two divisions still up for grabs.
Let's start in the South. The Buccaneers started the season off hot, rolling into November and their bye week with a 6-2 record. But since their Week 9 bye, everything has gone downhill.
Baker Mayfield and the Bucs have gone 1-7, played without stars Mike Evans, Chris Godwin and Bucky Irving for extended periods of time, lost three consecutive divisional games, and now get set for a must-win Week 18 game.
They are also on a four-game losing skid after falling to Quinn Ewers — a seventh-rounder making his second career start — and the Miami Dolphins in a mistake-filled game.
"I think we got to erase that (game) from our heads because we have to get ourselves together before we worry about Carolina or anyone else," head coach Todd Bowles said post-game. "We're just shooting ourselves in the foot at every chance.
"If we play and do the things we did today, next week we won't be going anywhere."
At least Bowles acknowledges that their downfall has been their own doing.
Tampa Bay's only win since its bye was against the 3-13 Cardinals, and its victory against the 49ers on Oct. 12 marks the last time it defeated an above .500 opponent.
Then there's Bryce Young and the Carolina Panthers, who will be on the opposite sideline next Sunday and have alternated wins and losses since mid-October.
The Panthers defeated the Bucs just last week, and now head to Tampa for the chance to take the crown for the first time since Cam Newton led them to the top in 2015.
Carolina squandered its opportunity to clinch the title on Sunday after an abysmal offensive showing against the Seahawks, where it totalled just 139 yards — 40 of which were through the air.
In the AFC, there's Mike Tomlin and his Steelers who have been allergic to nine- and 10-win seasons since Ben Roethlisberger's retirement.
Pittsburgh waltzed into Huntington Bank Field with the AFC North title up for grabs, but seemed more interested in preventing Myles Garrett from reaching the single-season sack record than actually winning the game.
The Steelers fell to the now four-win Browns 13-6 and will face off against the Ravens in Week 18 without top pass catcher DK Metcalf and six-foot-seven, 311-pound tight end Darnell Washington after he broke his arm.
With the fantasy season now over and most teams left with nothing to gain, at least these two divisional matchups will give football fans something to look forward to in the final week of the regular season.
Here are some other takeaways from around the NFL in Week 17:
No Kittle, no problem
Nothing says you're on a heater like dropping 42 points on prime time against one of the top defences without your star tight end.
That's just been the San Francisco 49ers this season — always able to overcome injuries as they sit at 12-4 and have a chance to win the NFC next week.
The 49ers have played games this season without starting quarterback Brock Purdy, WRs Ricky Pearsall and Jauan Jennings, TE George Kittle, DE Nick Bosa and LB Fred Warner, among many more.
But they keep on winning and proving they're among the NFC's elite despite absences from star players.
With no Kittle on Sunday, the 49ers outlasted the Chicago Bears 42-38 in one of the more entertaining games of the year. It was a true back-and-forth affair, tied at 7, 14, 21, 28 and 35 — the first time that's happened in regular season history.
The win sets up a thrilling Saturday night matchup, where the winner between San Francisco and Seattle will claim the No. 1 seed and a first-round bye in the NFC.
On the other hand, the Bears were four yards away from a walk-off touchdown after clinching the NFC North earlier in the week.
Caleb Williams is looking the part, tossing two long TDs (35, 36 yards) within the span of about six minutes. The defence, which leads the league in takeaways, recorded a pick-six on the first play of the game.
But Purdy and Co. are a resilient bunch, and the Niners are the talk of the NFL town as they ride a six-game winning streak into 2026.
Giants throw away chance at No. 1 pick
Once again, the New York Giants aborted the tank.
The Giants entered Sunday's tilt against the lowly Raiders with a chance to secure the No. 1 pick in April's draft. But Jaxson Dart and the G-Men had other plans, routing the Raiders 34-10 while handing them the keys to the top pick.
New York's win marks the second straight season in which it entered Week 17 with a chance to clinch the top selection, but came away with a win.
Last year appears to have worked out well for the Giants, selecting Abdul Carter with the third pick before taking QB Jaxson Dart — who looks to be the team's franchise guy — 25th overall.
Will the draft gods favour the Giants once again after choking away the top pick? We'll see.
But let's give credit where it's due, as the Giants entertained and saved fans from the toilet bowl match as the lone 4:05 p.m. ET game.
Meanwhile, Las Vegas now owns an 80 per cent chance for the No. 1 pick and will cement it with a loss to the Chiefs in Week 18.
AFC East runs through New England once again
For the first time since the Tom Brady era, the New England Patriots are AFC East champions.
Not to take anything away from the New England's dismantling of the New York Jets on Sunday, but Pats fans can send some Happy New Year cards to the Philadelphia Eagles.
The Patriots needed a Buffalo loss to clinch the title today, and the Eagles snuck by Josh Allen and the Bills after a failed two-point conversion with just seconds left.
Allen has reigned supreme over the division since 2020, but now it's Drake Maye's turn.
Maye tossed a career-high five touchdowns and only two incompletions in less than three quarters, cementing his squad as one of the top seeds in the AFC and keeping them in the race for the No. 1 spot.
A chance for a first-round bye heading into Week 18 was a long-shot thought entering the season, even amongst Pats fans. But it's been an amazing story in Foxborough, completely flipping the script following consecutive four-win campaigns.
But through all the team success lies potential individual accolades, even if they only have two Pro Bowlers.
Maye, a second-year QB, pushed himself closer to MVP status with his performance, while head coach Mike Vrabel is the favourite for Coach of the Year in his first season at the helm in New England.
Tyler Shough is the man in The Big Easy
Four wins in a row for the New Orleans Saints. Should we just make them the NFC South champions?
Just kidding, but the Saints are rolling and appear to have found their guy under centre for the foreseeable future.
QB Tyler Shough is proving the doubters wrong, tossing for 333 yards and two scores on Sunday for his second straight 300-yard performance.
Since taking over as the starter, the 26-year-old rookie has thrown for 1,664 yards and nine TDs, with an additional 152 yards and two scores on the ground.
But most importantly, New Orleans is 5-3 when Shough starts.
Shough has proven that the offence — which has been without Alvin Kamara since Week 12 — can function at a high level without its star running back. Wideout Chris Olave has once again eclipsed the 1,000-yard mark, while TE Juwan Johnson has enjoyed a career season with bests in catches (74) and yards (828).
The Saints still have a ways to go before reclaiming the division title, but with the progression of Shough, the culture first-year HC Kellen Moore has instilled and a wide-open division, New Orleans may be kings of the South sooner than later.
McBride's record season
Cardinals fans, hopefully you asked for 21 more Trey McBrides for Christmas.
If you didn't, be thankful you have one since the other 31 teams wished they did.
McBride separated himself from the rest of the pack on Sunday, catching 10 passes to give him 119 on the year and eclipsing Zach Ertz (116 in 2018) for the most receptions by a TE in a season.
The 26-year-old has been one of the few bright spots in what's been an abysmal season for an Arizona squad that's started almost as many QBs as it has wins.
It feels almost certain that McBride will have a new QB next season, but the star TE has already proved that it doesn't matter who throws him the ball.
In a 2026 season that may not feature future Hall of Famer Travis Kelce, McBride seems poised to carry the torch as the next great tight end.
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