Previewing NFL Week 18

The NFL has never had the final week of the regular season resemble this one.

The concern about Damar Hamlin, who is sedated and in critical condition in a Cincinnati hospital after underdoing cardiac arrest on the field Monday night, has overshadowed what will happen on the field Saturday and Sunday.

Nobody knows if the Cincinnati-Buffalo game that was postponed when Hamlin was injured will even be played or whether the Bills players will be mentally ready to play their season finale at 1 p.m. against New England.

The weekend starts with two games on Saturday – Kansas City at Las Vegas at 4:30 and Tennessee at Jacksonville at 8:30. Both will be on ABC and ESPN.

The winner of the Tennessee Jacksonville game will win the AFC South and host a playoff game. Kansas City needed a victory over the Raiders and a loss by the Bills in one of their two games to get the No. 1 seed but nobody knows if the Bills will play their last two games. It is even uncertain if the Bills will be ready to play NewEngland Sunday. The Patriots need a victory to clinch the final AFC wild card spot.

The Sunday night game will feature Detroit at Green Bay and Green Bay can clinch a wild card spot with a win.

Baltimore and Cincinnati have both clinched playoff but the winner of their 1 pm. game may decide which one wins the division.

Philadelphia has lost its last two games with backup Gardner Minshew at quarterback but can still win the top seed with a victory over the Giants or a Dallas loss to the Commanders.

Once the games are played Sunday, the NFL will decide what happens next.

Never has the NFL dealt with so much uncertainty at the end of the year.

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