It is the final week of the NFL regular season, and the playoff picture is still in flux for both conferences. There are still division battles and wild-card positioning yet to be settled, and one of the tightest races that will come to a resolution Sunday is in the AFC South. Two of the six games in the early window of Week 18 involve the AFC South and will determine whether the Jacksonville Jaguars or the Houston Texans will be crowned division champions.
The AFC South comes down to the final Sunday of the regular season. The Jacksonville Jaguars host the Tennessee Titans, while the Houston Texans welcome the Indianapolis Colts to NRG Stadium. This scenario is simple in terms of winning the division. If the Jaguars win, the outcome of the Colts and Texans no longer matters, as Jacksonville would be crowned AFC South champs.
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For Houston to win the division, they need to beat Indy, then also get help from Tennessee defeating Jacksonville. The winner of the AFC South would get the No. 3 seed (or higher), while the second-place finisher in the division would host as a wild card.
Also with massive playoff implications in the early window is Saints-Falcons, which will decide the winner of the NFC South division title after Saturday’s win from the Buccaneers. With a Falcons win over the Saints, the Carolina Panthers will clinch their first division title since 2015. With a Saints win or tie, Tampa Bay will take home the division title with the fourth seed in the NFC, earning home-field advantage in the wild card.
Saints vs. Falcons, 1 p.m. on Fox
Browns vs. Bengals, 1 p.m. on CBS
Colts vs. Texans, 1 p.m. on CBS
Titans vs. Jaguars, 1 p.m. on Fox
Packers vs. Vikings, 1 p.m. on CBS
Cowboys vs. Giants, 1 p.m. on Fox
Follow along with Yahoo Sports for live updates, highlights and more from the early window in Week 18:
Live30 updates
Sun, January 4, 2026 at 11:19 AM PST
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New Orleans Saints quarterback Tyler Shough runs it in for the touchdown. Saints trail the Falcons 10-7.
Sun, January 4, 2026 at 11:05 AM PST
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Houston Texans quarterback keeps it and runs it in for the short touchdown. Texans lead the Colts 20-10.
Sun, January 4, 2026 at 11:02 AM PST
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Green Bay Packers cornerback Bo Melton left the game with a knee injury and is questionable to return.
Sun, January 4, 2026 at 11:01 AM PST
Kate Magdziuk
Cam Ward’s rookie season has officially come to an end after being ruled out with a shoulder injury in the first half of Week 18.
Ward’s year comes to a close with 3,169 passing yards, 15 passing touchdowns and 7 interceptions, leading the Titans to a 3-13 record in his first 16 starts.
It will be Brandon Allen the rest of the way.
Sun, January 4, 2026 at 11:00 AM PST
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Houston’s defense doing what they’ve done all season, putting pressure on quarterbacks and they force a Riley Leonard fumble on this play.
Sun, January 4, 2026 at 10:56 AM PST
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Houston Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud connects with rookie wide receiver Jayden Higgins for a touchdown pass to claim the lead. Stroud is 8 for 12 with 123 yards and a touchdown in the first half. Higgins has two catches for 23 yards and a touchdown.
Sun, January 4, 2026 at 10:48 AM PST
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It’s a slow start to this game with the Minnesota Vikings leading the Green Bay Packers 3-0. Green Bay started third-year quarterback Clayton Tune with Malik Willis out and Jordan Love dinged up but available as the backup today.
The Vikings started J.J. McCarthy, who is 5 of 8 for 59 yards, a few minutes into the second quarter.
Sun, January 4, 2026 at 10:47 AM PST
Kate Magdziuk
Not even a minute into the first quarter (and just barely 10 minutes removed from the first defensive touchdown of the game), Cleveland managed their second defensive touchdown of Week 18.
This time, it was a fumble recovery against veteran Noah Fant taken to the house for another six points:
Sun, January 4, 2026 at 10:44 AM PST
Kate Magdziuk
Dallas Cowboys rookie running back Jaydon Blue scored his first career touchdown in Week 18,
Blue, a fifth-round selection out of Texas, had an ankle injury ahead of the season and never seemed to gain ground in the pecking order amid a standout season from Javonte Williams. He played just five total games in his rookie season.
Williams posted a career-best 1,201 rushing yards and 11 touchdowns over 16 games before being placed on injured reserve, along with RB Malik Davis, ahead of Week 18, putting Blue in position.
Sun, January 4, 2026 at 10:40 AM PST
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Atlanta strikes first at home against New Orleans with this Kirk Cousins to Drake London touchdown. There are big implications in this game regarding the NFC South. If the Falcons win, Carolina would win the NFC South despite losing the season finale to Tampa Bay. If the Saints win, then the Bucs win the South and claim the No. 4 seed in the NFC playoffs.
Sun, January 4, 2026 at 10:35 AM PST
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The Colts are leaving everything on the field, pulling out the fake punt, and punter Rigoberto Sanchez converting it for a first down. On the next play they catch Houston with too many men on the field, causing a penalty.
Sun, January 4, 2026 at 10:35 AM PST
Kate Magdziuk
Browns linebacker Devin Bush had the play of his career in Week 18, putting a stop to a potential scoring drive for the Bengals with a stunning 97-yard pick 6.
Sun, January 4, 2026 at 10:31 AM PST
Kate Magdziuk
The Jaguars didn’t bat an eye after giving up a touchdown to the Titans on Tennessee’s first possession of the game, marching 67 yards down the field on seven plays, capped with a 23-yard passing touchdown from Trevor Lawrence to WR Parker Washington.
It was the second 20+ yard gain for Lawrence on the drive, with the first having been a 22-yard connection to Brian Thomas Jr.
With the successful PAT, the Jaguars tie it up in the first quarter, 7-7.
The Jaguars will secure the AFC South title with a win over the Titans in Week 18, with the AFC’s No. 1 seed still in play.
Sun, January 4, 2026 at 10:26 AM PST
Kate Magdziuk
Backup Brandon Allen is officially in at quarterback, as rookie Cam Ward is questionable to return with a shoulder injury, the team announced.
Sun, January 4, 2026 at 10:24 AM PST
Kate Magdziuk
The New York Giants are first on the board in Sunday’s NFC East showdown, taking advantage of a Dak Prescott fumble. The G-Men gained just two yards after the turnover, but kicker Ben Sauls knocked in a field goal from 45 yards to take a 3-0 lead in the first quarte.r
Sun, January 4, 2026 at 10:19 AM PST
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Indianapolis Colts rookie quarterback Riley Leonard completed his first pass of the game, and it was a 66-yard touchdown strike to Alec Pierce on the team’s first offensive drive of the game. Leonard had appeared in four games this season but is getting his first start this week. Leonard’s last start was at Notre Dame last season in the National Championship game against Ohio State.
Sun, January 4, 2026 at 10:18 AM PST
Kate Magdziuk
We’ve got points in Cincy! Joe Burrow & Co. didn’t have anything on the line in Week 18 with the division and playoff hopes long out of reach, but they still rolled out their starters, who took full advantage of a Shedeur Sanders turnover.
After a sack fumble versus Sanders, recovered by the Bengals, Cincy took over at Cleveland’s 29-yard line, where Joe Burrow connected with WR Tee Higgins for 21 yards, followed by a two-yard rush from Samaje Perine to set up a Joe Burrow-to-Chase Brown touchdown.
The PAT was blocked, which puts the Bengals up with a 6-0 lead over Cleveland early in the first quarter.
That marks Brown’s fourth receiving touchdown in the past five games.
Sun, January 4, 2026 at 10:08 AM PST
Ben Fawkes
The Minnesota Vikings closed as 13.5-point home favorites against the Green Bay Packers today.
That’s the biggest home favorite the Vikings have ever been vs. the Packers in Minnesota’s franchise history (since 1961).
Sun, January 4, 2026 at 10:00 AM PST
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Indianapolis Colts quarterback Philip Rivers is expected to get attention from teams regarding head coaching positions during the offseason. Rivers will complete his comeback to the field on the sideline in Week 18 as the Colts will start rookie Riley Leonard.
Rivers had been coaching high school since his first retirement in 2020
Sun, January 4, 2026 at 9:50 AM PST
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Miami Dolphins head coach McDaniel is expected to do his traditional Monday afternoon press conference to end the season amid all the talk of his job security being in jeopardy. This is McDaniel’s fourth year as head coach in Miami, and the second year in a row that Miami will miss the playoffs after qualifying in his first two seasons.