Week 18 Predictions for the 2025-2026 NFL Season: The Finish Line is Here

Two disasters took place in week 16 of the NFL season, my Pittsburgh Steelers laid a golden egg in Cleveland blowing a chance to win the AFC North Division title. The other crisis was with my NFL predictions. Perhaps picking the Steelers to easily defeat the Browns jinxed my picks as that forecast completely backfired, but I picked only 3 of 16 games correctly. OUCH.

That was my worst week of the season and Mike Tomlin seeing his team go down in Cleveland was arguably the worst loss in his career as head coach of the Steelers. But the Steelers were not the only disappointment but probably the biggest. Steelers Nation is on fire with anger, embarrassment, and frustration and the calls continue hoping that Mike Tomlin is near the end as the head coach.

With that all said, now is the time to react to all those games I wrongly picked.

Week 17

Dallas 30 Washington 23 (Harv's score: Commanders 24-20). With both teams out of the playoffs I honestly thought the Commanders could pull off a victory at home. Strike one for me.

Minnesota 23 Detroit 10 (Harv's score: Lions 41-12). Another swing and a miss for Harv. Perhaps the Steelers’ defeat of Detroit a week ago took the wind out of the sails of the Lions.

Denver 20 Kansas City 13 (Harv's score: Chiefs 23- 21). Talk about a fall from grace. From AFC champions to a record this season of 6-10; the Kansas City Chiefs are a far cry from what they represented one season ago. The Broncos are cruising into the post season.

Houston 20 Los Angeles Chargers 16 (Harv's score: Chargers 27-24). The Texans have won eight straight and counting. They are the hottest team in the league at this point. Los Angeles is still a dangerous team that can hang with anybody.

Baltimore 41 Green Bay 24 (Harv's score: Packers 20-17). My strikes for the week just keep coming. Thinking Jordan Love would play I gave the Packers the edge. Malik Willis held his own in relief, but it was not enough to overtake Baltimore and their backup QB.

Seattle 27 Carolina 10 (Harv's score: Panthers 25-24). Sam Darnold just keeps proving critics wrong and they hand me another mark in the “L” column. Now the Panthers coupled with Tampa’s loss will play for the division title in the final week of the season.

Cincinnati 37 Arizona 14 (Harv's score: Bengals 47-13). Yea! I picked one right! This was an easy one to pick as the Cardinals have simply had a pathetic season. Once again Joe Burrow got healthy to late to save his team.

New Orleans 34 Tennessee 26 (Harv's score: Titans 26-24). Both teams are bad, so I guess I just picked the wrong bad team.

Jacksonville 23 Indianapolis 17 (Harv's score: Colts 28-24). So much for counting on Philip Rivers to lead the Colts to a victory. Now he is 0-3 since his unretirement. The Jaguars have become an extremely dangerous team.

Miami 20 Tampa Bay 17 (Harv's score: Bucs 31-17). My goodness how Baker Mayfield and the Bucs have taken a deep slide. They still have a shot at the division title when they host the Panthers this week, but they could have wrapped up this division long ago. The Dolphins have played better in the second half of the season, but they still have a quarterback question for 2026.

New England 42 New York Jets 10 (Harv's score: Patriots 33-10). 16 down and one to go for the New York Jets before they set an NFL record no other team would want. That is without getting an interception of Drake Maye in this game, the Jets have not made one interception in any game this season. No team in history has ever gone an entire season without a pick. It cannot get any worse than that for the Green and White in addition to getting their ass kicked in this one. Watch out for the Patriots in the playoffs.

Cleveland 13 Pittsburgh 6 (Harv's score: Steelers 20-9). It is hard to find words to describe this fiasco as a Pittsburgh Steelers fan. It was plain and simple a joke. Embarrassing to boot. DK Metcalf has much to answer in being suspended and probably a major difference in the outcome of this game. The AFC North could have been decided here but instead we have a Sunday Night Football showdown.

New York Giants 34 Las Vegas 10 (Harv's score: Raiders 23-19). See the Saints/Titans game.

Philadelphia 13 Buffalo 12 (Harv's score: Bills 27-17). A slugfest here without any noticeable stats. A war of attrition but the Eagles outlast the Bills. Both teams are playoff bound.

San Francisco 42 Chicago 38 (Harv's score: 49ers 30-21). This seemed like playground football. A true shootout with two excellent teams. Both will make noise in the playoffs.

Atlanta 27 Los Angeles Rams 24 (Harv's score: Rams 38-13). Geez...I close out last week’s games with yet another incorrect pick. Who would have thought the Falcons would upset the Rams? Oh well…the Rams do not care as they are going to the post season. Atlanta has fought their way back in what might be the NFL’s worst division and will actually finish in second place if Carolina defeats Tampa next Sunday.

I certainly hope my picks for the final week of the 2025 season (not including the playoffs) are much better than my results from week 17. There are some playoff scenarios still to be decided and division to be won. Let us get to it.

Week 18