Eight teams to fight it out for three playoff places in Week 18 of the NFL

Miguel Baeza

The NFL regular season is one week away from concluding and almost all the playoff spots have already been secured. Of the 14 available, 11 are occupied by teams that have done enough this season to book their places already. However, three of the spots will be decided on a final day that promises plenty of drama.

The AFC still has two playoff spots available and five teams competing for them. Meanwhile, in the NFC, three franchises will fight it out for the last available playoff berth. The stakes are high and week 18 promises to be gripping as a result.

What makes the NFL's final day even more exciting is that it is always set up with divisional games, so some of the teams looking to reach the postseason will face each other in high-tension duels.

Specifically, this is the case for the Green Bay Packers and Detroit Lions in the NFC North and the Jacksonville Jaguars and Tennessee Titans in the AFC South.

These are two of the games to keep an eye on over the coming weekend. While the Packers, Lions and Jaguars are on a clear upward trajectory, the Titans have doubts creeping in after six consecutive defeats.

Elsewhere, Bill Belichick's New England Patriots have the toughest task of all by needing to beat the Buffalo Bills for qualification.

The Miami Dolphins, Pittsburgh Steelers and Seattle Seahawks all have easier challenges to secure a spot, facing the Jets, Browns and Rams respectively.

Many permutations in the AFC

With two slots and five teams in contention in the AFC, there are numerous combinations that could play out depending on the results of the final day of the regular season.

First and foremost, if the Jaguars and Patriots win, no matter what happens in the other matches, both will qualify.

A slip-up by either of those two franchises would open the door for the rest of the field and give rise to new possibilities.

If the Titans win against Jacksonville and the rest of the teams lose, both those teams would make the Playoffs.

The case of Tennessee is particularly interesting. If they win, they would be champions of the AFC South and would go straight into the postseason despite having the worst record of all the teams mentioned (7-9) right now.

A victory puts the Tennessee Titans in the PlayoffsAFP

After a commendable final stretch of the season, the Steelers are dependent on many external factors going their way. For a start, they must win their game. Further, they will need slip-ups by the Dolphins and Patriots to stay in the playoff picture. That's the only scenario that works for Mike Tomlin's men.

The Dolphins have made the end of the season very difficult for themselves. After a comfortable 8-3 record, five straight losses have condemned them to rely on things out of their hands.

The magic of Tua Tagovailoa (24) has vanished and they have returned to mediocrity. To make the playoffs they have to win and hope for a slip-up by the Patriots, against whom they lost in their last game (23-21).

Everything hinges on Green Bay in the NFC

The only playoff spot in the NFC depends solely and exclusively on the Green Bay Packers.

Matt LaFleur's troops have reached the decisive game of the season depending only on themselves - a win against the Lions would give them the golden ticket they need.

At the other end of the spectrum is Detroit. The team from the 'Motor City' have been in fine form for many weeks, winning seven of their last nine games. They now have to beat their Wisconsin rivals and hope for a Seattle loss in their divisional match-up against the Los Angeles Rams.

Speaking of Seattle, the third-place Seahawks' chances have pretty much been explained in their entirety above. If Pete Carroll's side get a positive result and the Packers lose, they will clinch the seventh seed.