The NFL has reached the finish line of the regular season with plenty of drama, and high stakes contests on tap for Week 18.
Entering the final Sunday of the 2023 campaign, there are three playoff berths up for grabs and 11 teams still playing for the chance to punch their ticket.
That means that the stage is set for the playoff brackets to be locked in, but it will take standout performances from several players across the league on teams needing a win — and in some cases even some additional help to get in.
Here's a look at the five most important players to their team's postseason chances in Week 18:
Josh Allen, QB, Buffalo Bills
The stakes for the Bills against the Miami Dolphins are clear; win and cash in a dominant final month of the regular season into an AFC East Division championship and return to the NFL Playoffs. However, a loss would leave Buffalo out in the cold. Allen authored one of his finest performances of the season in the Bills' first meeting against the Dolphins, in Western New York, passing for 340 yards and four touchdowns in a 48-20 blowout victory. Over the past four weeks, Allen is averaging 183.3 yards and .75 touchdown passes per game, and while the Bills have rode a suddenly dominant running game down the stretch run, they might need more out of their franchise quarterback in the biggest regular season game for the Bills in recent memory.
Tyreek Hill, WR, Miami Dolphins
Photo by Michael Owens/Getty Images
In a lot of ways Tyreek Hill is the engine that makes Miami's offense go, and certainly one of the most explosive wide receivers in the league. However, back in Week 4, Buffalo held Hill to just three receptions for 58 yards. Granted, the Bills' secondary has suffered myriad injuries since Oct. 1, and this will be a much different Buffalo defense trying to keep a lid on Hill. But, the 29-year-old speedster has only been held under 90 receiving yards four times this season and Miami has lost all four of those contests. Given fellow wide receiver Jaylen Waddle's potential limitations on Sunday, Hill might be the most important player on the field for the Dolphins.
Jordan Love, QB, Green Bay Packers
Against the division rival Chicago Bears, with his first berth in the NFL Playoffs on the line, this is the closest thing to an early-career legacy defining game that we have seen for Packers quarterback Jordan Love. In the season opener in Chicago, Love was magnificent, passing for 245 yards with three touchdowns en-route to a 123.2 passer rating — his third highest of the season, and a 38-20 win. However, the Bears would like nothing more than to replicate what the Lions did to close out the 2023 campaign and stop Green Bay's playoff bid in its tracks on the frozen tundra. If Love can replicate his Week 1 success, and build on the momentum of a 3,843 yard and 30 touchdown campaign, it's going to be difficult to keep the Packers out of the postseason.
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Bijan Robinson, RB, Atlanta Falcons
Photo by Justin Casterline/Getty Images
Somewhat miraculously, the Atlanta Falcons can clinch a playoff berth and the NFC South Division championship by beating the New Orleans Saints combined with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers losing to the Carolina Panthers — which would be a miracle in its own right. Still, the Falcons have hope. That hope may come down to head coach Arthur Smith finally realizing how explosive rookie running back Bijan Robinson is capable of being. The first-round rookie enters Week 18 with 948 rushing yards and four touchdowns, but has yet to rush for 100 or more yards in a single game. Given the dreadful quarterback play Atlanta has had to overcome this season, Week 18 would be an ideal time for a Robinson breakout.
Josh Allen, EDGE, Jacksonville Jaguars
Josh Allen has the chance to put a capstone on one of the most dominant seasons of his career, in a must-win situation for the Jaguars' postseason aspirations. Jacksonville can win the AFC South with a win over the Tennessee Titans or by tying the came combined with a tie in the Texans vs. Colts game. For the Jaguars, generating consistent pressure on the quarterback and winning the turnover battle would go a long way towards flying home from Tennessee with a victory. Allen enters with a career-high 16.5 sacks, but it might take one more disruptive performance to get Jacksonville across the finish line and back into the postseason.
