The first two games of NFL Week 18 were held on Saturday and they resulted in meaningful developments for the NFC playoff picture.<\/p>\n
First, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers beat the Carolina Panthers. This doesn\u2019t necessarily mean the Bucs have won the NFC South and the No. 4 seed. Tampa now needs the New Orleans Saints to beat the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday. If the Bucs don\u2019t get help and the Falcons win, Tampa will lose out to Carolina in a three-way tiebreaker for the division crown. Weird!<\/p>\n
Second, the Seattle Seahawks beat the San Francisco 49ers. This means the Seahawks are now the No. 1 seed and will get a first-round bye. Had the Niners won, they would\u2019ve been the top team in the conference. Instead, they\u2019re going to be either No. 5 or No. 6.<\/p>\n
The results of the Los Angeles Rams\u2019 game against the Arizona Cardinals will determine the top two wild card spots with the Green Bay Packers already locked in as the No. 7 seed. If the Rams (favored by 13.5 points at home) beat the Cardinals, LA is the No. 5 seed and the 49ers are the No. 6 seed. If Jonathan Gannon\u2019s team pulls off the massive upset, the 49ers are the No. 5 seed and the Rams are the No. 6 seed.<\/p>\n
The Eagles are entering Sunday with the hope that they can beat the Washington Commanders while also getting help from the Detroit Lions beat the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field. In that scenario, the Eagles are the No. 2 seed and they\u2019ll host the Packers in the Wild Card round of the playoffs for the second year in a row.<\/p>\n
If the Eagles aren\u2019t the No. 2 seed, they\u2019ll be the No. 3 seed \u2026 which means they\u2019ll host the No. 6 seed at Lincoln Financial Field. And with the Rams heavily favored to beat the Cards, it\u2019s looking like the 49ers could be coming back to Philly for the first playoff meeting between these two teams since the NFC Championship Game in January 2023.<\/p>\n