The 2025 calendar year is here, which means it's time for the final round of CBS Sports NFL bold predictions for the 2024 regular season. Even though plenty of teams' starters are resting in Week 18, there are still plenty of intriguing scenarios to consider.
Come take a look at five that are top of mind for Week 18.
Carson Wentz, Chiefs keep Broncos out of postseason
The reigning Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs (15-1) are resting numerous key starters in Week 18 since they have nothing to play for, having already locked up the AFC's No. 1 seed. Among the starters expected to be put on ice are quarterback Patrick Mahomes, tight end Travis Kelce and defensive tackle Chris Jones -- their big three.
However, the Chiefs will beat a Denver Broncos team (9-7) starved to reach the postseason for the first time since it won Super Bowl 50 back in 2015. Denver is currently in the midst of the longest playoff drought post-Super Bowl victory in NFL history, eight consecutive seasons, per CBS Sports Research. Broncos rookie quarterback Bo Nix has run into a late-season, rookie wall as he's thrown six interceptions in the last four games after tossing just six in his first 12 career games. Those struggles, plus the Chiefs' sense of calm in close games, will be why Kansas City beats them to send them into an early offseason for the ninth year in a row. Kansas City is 11-0 in one-score games, which is tied for the most one-score wins in a season in NFL history with the 2022 Minnesota Vikings.
Even though Wentz is in the game, the muscle memory of playing in close games will permeate through the entire team as the Chiefs escape Denver with their 12th one-score win of the season, setting a new NFL record in the process.
Baker Mayfield tosses record-setting 5 TDs for second game in row
Throwing five passing touchdowns in a game isn't easy, even in today's NFL. Only six quarterbacks have done so this season: Ravens' Lamar Jackson (twice), Bengals' Joe Burrow (twice), Buccaneers' Baker Mayfield, Lions' Jared Goff, Vikings' Sam Darnold and Commanders' Jayden Daniels.
Even more rare is a quarterback throwing at least five passing touchdowns in consecutive games. Since the 1970 AFL/NFL merger, it's only been done four times. Vikings' Daunte Culpepper was the first to do so in the 2004 season. Then, Tom Brady accomplished the feat in the 2007 New England Patriots' 16-0 regular season. Steelers' Ben Roethlisberger did so in 2014, and then-Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson last accomplished this feat in 2020.
Mayfield's game with five passing touchdowns came just last week in a 48-14 blowout of the Carolina Panthers, and this week, Mayfield will replicate the feat against the 5-11 Saints. That would give him 44 passing touchdowns in 2024 -- a figure that would break Brady's Buccaneers single-season record of 43 that he set back in 2021. The Tampa Bay quarterback has a much more motivating factor driving him in Week 18 than just stats: his Buccaneers can clinch the NFC South division title with a win. That, in tandem with a Los Angeles Rams loss against the Seattle Seahawks -- which could easily happen with backup Jimmy Garoppolo playing and starting for the first time in 2024 -- would also vault Tampa Bay to high as high as the third seed in the NFC postseason bracket.
Mayfield sends his squad into the 2024 postseason with a bang while cementing his play in Buccaneers and NFL history.
Packers sack Caleb Williams 10 times as Bears QB sets unwelcomed record
The Chicago Bears (4-12) are stuck in perpetual misery. Their 10-game losing streak is tied for their longest losing streak within the confines of a single season -- also 10 games in 2022. Now, the Bears head to Lambeau Field to face their archnemesis, the Green Bay Packers (11-5), in Week 18. Chicago has lost 11 in a row against the Packers, their longest losing streak against any team in Bears history, all of which have come since Green Bay hired Matt LaFleur as its head coach in 2019.
This week, the Packers will embarrass their NFC North rivals more than they ever have before: they'll sack 2024 first overall pick quarterback Caleb Williams 10 times to saddle him with the NFL's record for the most times sacked in a single season. The current record of 76 currently belongs to another No. 1 overall pick, 2002 Houston Texans quarterback David Carr (sacked 76 times). Williams has been sacked 67 times entering Week 18, the fourth-most in a season ever, and his average time to throw of 3.13 seconds is the fourth-longest in the entire NFL this season.
The Packers are the NFL's sixth-best run defense (100.4 rushing yards per game allowed) in Jeff Hafley's first season as their defensive coordinator, which will force Williams to be stuck in obvious passing situations all game long. Green Bay also has something to play for as well: playoff positioning. With a win and a Washington Commanders loss on the road against the Dallas Cowboys, they can rise as high as the NFC's sixth seed. Otherwise, they'll be the seventh seed, which means a trip to Philadelphia to face the 13-3 Eagles awaits. The Packers come out with a sense of urgency and send Williams and his Bears into the offseason feeling as down as can be.
Drake Maye, Patriots upset Bills to cost themselves first overall pick
Neither the Buffalo Bills (13-3) nor the New England Patriots (3-13) have any motivation to beat each other in Week 18. The Bills have already locked up the AFC East division and the No. 2 seed in the conference's playoff bracket. Buffalo will start quarterback Josh Allen to continue the longest active streak of consecutive starts in the NFL (104), and then he will spend the majority of the game on the bench.
The Patriots can clinch the 2025 NFL Draft's first overall pick with loss. However, head coach Jerod Mayo plans on starting quarterback Drake Maye if he practices during the week while dealing with an injury to his throwing hand. He practiced in a limited fashion on Wednesday and Thursday, so it's quite possible he'll start on Sunday. When he does, he'll lead the Patriots to an upset victory and cost his team the first overall pick. He and New England nearly upset the Bills in Week 16, losing 24-21 in Buffalo. Playing at home against the mostly Allen-less Bills, Maye and Co. steal a surprising victory.
Jayden Daniels, Commanders will beat Cowboys in final minute
The 2024 Dallas Cowboys (7-9) are a zombie of their 2023 selves with numerous key contributors out: quarterback Dak Prescott (hamstring tear), wide receiver CeeDee Lamb (AC joint sprain in shoulder), right guard Zack Martin (ankle), DeMarcus Lawrence (foot), linebacker DeMarvion Overshown (knee) and cornerback Trevon Diggs (knee).
Despite all that, they will hang around with the Commanders until the game's final possession. Cowboys three-time All-Pro edge rusher Micah Parsons' 18% quarterback pressure rate is the second-best in the NFL among 164 players with at least 200 pass-rush snaps, according to TruMedia. Only reigning NFL Defensive Player of the Year Myles Garrett's 18.6% quarterback pressure rate is higher. Parsons' single-game, 2024 season high in sacks is two, a figure he has hit three times including Week 12 in Washington against Jayden Daniels' Commanders.
He'll get in the rookie quarterback's face enough to bother him, but Daniels will come up in the clutch for his first career win against Dallas. He is the only quarterback since at least 2000 with three game-winning touchdown passes in the last 30 seconds of regulation or overtime in a season. Daniels adds his fourth with the Cowboys surprisingly hanging around even though they're eliminated from postseason contention.
