Week 18 recap: Lions lock up the top spot in the NFC, and now we're all playoff-bound

The Athletic Football Show: A show about the NFL

The playoff puzzle was mostly put together going into Week 18, but there was still one huge piece that needed to be put in place. The Lions dropped that piece into the puzzle on Sunday night, knocking off the Vikings to lock up the top spot in the NFC. All that's left now is to put a bow on the regular season, and point ourselves toward the playoffs. That's exactly what Robert Mays and Derrik Klassen do on this episode of The Athletic Football Show.

Rundown

• Lions take care of Vikings, lock up 1-seed in NFC
• The NFC South delivers in classic NFC South fashion
• The NFC playoff field
• The AFC playoff field
• 2025 NFL Draft order
• Patriots fire Jerod Mayo
• Dolphins, Colts not making any head coach or GM changes
• Did You See That?!?
• What Did We Learn Today?

Host: Robert Mays

Co-Host: Derrik Klassen

Executive Producer: Michael Beller

Producer: Michael Beller

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Follow Derrik on Bluesky: @qbklass.bsky.social

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Follow Derrik on X: @QBKlass

Theme song: Haunted

Written by Dylan Slocum, Trevor Dietrich, Ruben Duarte, Kyle McAulay, and Meredith VanWoert / Performed by Spanish Love Songs

Courtesy of Pure Noise / By arrangement with Bank Robber Music, LLC

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