| National Football LeagueView this press release online |
| Jan 05, 2026 |
| Seven from Sunday – Week 18 |
| NEW YORK –– Jan. 4, 2026 –– A look at seven statistical highlights from games played during the 1:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m. ET windows on Sunday, January 4, the 18th week of the 2025 season.Carolina (NFC South), Chicago (NFC North) and New England (AFC East) won division titles this season after finishing last or tied for last in their divisions in 2024. In 20 of the past 23 seasons (2003-25), at least one team finished in first place in its division the season after finishing in last or tied for last place. Six teams – Carolina, Chicago, Jacksonville, New England, San Francisco and Seattle – qualified for the playoffs after missing the postseason last year. Since 1990 – a streak of 36 consecutive seasons (1990-2025) – at least four teams every season have qualified for the playoffs after failing to make the postseason the year before. With one game remaining this season, there have been 72 games decided by three-or-fewer points, the third-most in a season in NFL history, trailing only 2018 (73 games) and 2022 (73). There have been 60 games this season with a game winning score coming in the final two minutes of the fourth quarter or in overtime, the second-most in a single season in NFL history, trailing only 2022 (66 games). The Denver Broncos (14-3) defeated the Los Angeles Chargers, 19-3, in Week 18 and secured the No. 1 seed in the AFC, a first-round bye and home-field advantage in the AFC playoffs. The Broncos won the AFC West for the first time since 2015 and have won 14 games in a season for the second time in franchise history (1998). The No. 2 seed New England Patriots (14-3), who clinched their first playoff berth since 2021 and their first AFC East title since 2019, will host the No. 7 seed Los Angeles Chargers (11-6) in the Wild Card round. The No. 3 seed Jacksonville Jaguars (13-4), who won the AFC South for the first time since 2022 and have 13 wins in a season for the second time in franchise history (14 wins in 1999), will host the No. 6 seed Buffalo Bills (12-5) in the first round of the playoffs. The Baltimore Ravens (8-8) visit the Pittsburgh Steelers (9-7) on Sunday Night Football (8:20 p.m. ET, NBC), with the winner securing the AFC North division title. Baltimore or Pittsburgh will be the No. 4 seed and host the No. 5 seed Houston Texans (12-5) on Wild Card weekend. The Seattle Seahawks (14-3) defeated San Francisco, 13-3, in Week 18 and secured the NFC West division title for the first time since 2020, along with the No. 1 seed in the NFC, a first-round bye and home-field advantage in the NFC playoffs. The Seahawks, who set a franchise record with 14 wins this season, are the No. 1 seed for the first time since 2014, when they won Super Bowl XLVIII. The No. 2 seed Chicago Bears (11-6), who won the NFC North for the first time since 2018, will host the No. 7 seed Green Bay Packers (9-7-1) on Wild Card weekend. The No. 3 seed and reigning Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles (11-6), who won the NFC East for the second consecutive season, will host the No. 6 seed San Francisco 49ers (12-5). The No. 4 seed Carolina Panthers (8-9) clinched the NFC South for the first time since 2015 and will host the No. 5 seed Los Angeles Rams (12-5) on Wild Card weekend. Cleveland defensive end Myles Garrett recorded his 23rd sack of the season in the Browns’ 20-18 victory over Cincinnati and surpassed Michael Strahan (22.5 in 2001 with the New York Giants) and T.J. Watt (22.5 in 2021 with Pittsburgh) for the most sacks in a single season since 1982, when the individual sack became an official statistic. Garrett, who has a sack in 79 career games, tied Pro Football Hall of Famers DeMarcus Ware (79 games) and Reggie White (79) for the most games with a sack by a player in his first nine seasons since 1982, when the individual sack became an official statistic. Per Next Gen Stats, on the record-breaking sack, Garrett crossed the line of scrimmage 0.23 seconds after the snap, the fastest on any sack this season. Garrett’s 0.70-second average get-off time ranked as the fastest among all pass rushers with at least 200 pass rushes this season. For more information on Next Gen Stats, check out NFL Pro, available within NFL+ Premium. With NFL+ Premium, get access to NFL Pro and track advanced analytics powered by Next Gen Stats and watch All-22 film. Available on desktop and mobile web, visit pro.nfl.com for more information. Cincinnati wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase had eight receptions for 96 yards and a touchdown in Week 18 and finished the 2025 season with 125 receptions for 1,412 yards and eight touchdowns. Chase, who had 127 receptions in 2024, is the third player all-time with at least 125 receptions in multiple career seasons, joining Antonio Brown and Michael Thomas. Chase is the fourth player all-time with at least 1,400 receiving yards in three of his first five NFL seasons, joining Justin Jefferson (four seasons), Larry Fitzgerald (three) and Demaryius Thomas (three). Chase, who has 6,837 career receiving yards, surpassed Torry Holt (6,784 receiving yards) for the second-most receiving yards by a player in his first five seasons in NFL history. Only Justin Jefferson (7,432 receiving yards) had more. Chase, who has 54 career touchdowns, tied Pro Football Hall of Famer Lance Alworth (54 touchdown receptions) and Rob Gronkowski (54) for the fourth-most touchdown receptions by a player in his first five seasons in NFL history. Only Pro Football Hall of Famers Jerry Rice (66 touchdown receptions) and Randy Moss (60) as well as Dez Bryant (56) had more. Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford passed for 259 yards and four touchdowns with no interceptions while wide receiver Puka Nacua had 10 receptions for 76 yards and a touchdown in the team’s 37-20 victory over Arizona. Stafford is the third player in NFL history with multiple touchdown passes in 15 games in a season, joining Pro Football Hall of Famers Peyton Manning (2013 with Denver) and Dan Marino (1984 with Miami). Stafford, who had a career-high 46 touchdown passes with eight interceptions this season, is the third player in NFL history with at least 45 touchdown passes and fewer than 10 interceptions in a season, joining Tom Brady (2007 with New England) and Aaron Rodgers (2011 and 2020 with Green Bay). Stafford, who is 37 years old and had a career-high 46 touchdown passes this season, surpassed Tom Brady (43 touchdown passes in 2021 with Tampa Bay) for the second-most touchdown passes in a single season by a quarterback age 37-or-older in NFL history. Only Pro Football Hall of Famer Peyton Manning (55 touchdown passes in 2013 with Denver) had more. Stafford, who has 423 career touchdown passes, surpassed Pro Football Hall of Famer Dan Marino (420 touchdown passes) for the seventh-most regular season touchdown passes in NFL history. Only Tom Brady (649 touchdown passes), Drew Brees (571), Pro Football Hall of Famer Peyton Manning (539), Aaron Rodgers (526, entering Week 18), Pro Football Hall of Famer Brett Favre (508) and Philip Rivers (425) have more. Nacua, who has 4,191 receiving yards since entering the NFL in 2023, surpassed Pro Football Hall of Famer Randy Moss (4,163 receiving yards with Minnesota) for the second-most receiving yards by a player in their first three seasons in NFL history, trailing only Justin Jefferson (4,825). Nacua, who has 35 games with at least five receptions, joins Michael Thomas (37 games) and Amon-Ra St. Brown (35) as the only players in NFL history with at least five receptions in 35 games in their first three career seasons. Kansas City tight endTravis Kelcehas 13,002 receiving yards since entering the NFL in 2013 and joined Pro Football Hall of Famer Tony Gonzalez (15,127 receiving yards) and Jason Witten (13,046) as the only tight ends in NFL history with at least 13,000 receiving yards. Additional notes from Sunday include: Denver quarterback Bo Nix passed for 141 yards and had 49 rushing yards in the Broncos’ 19-3 victory over the Chargers. Nix has 24 wins since 2024, tied with Russell Wilson (24 wins) for the most wins by a quarterback in their first two career seasons in NFL history. Detroit quarterback Jared Goff passed for 331 yards and a touchdown at Chicago, while running back Jahmyr Gibbs had 113 scrimmage yards (80 rushing, 33 receiving) and a touchdown reception. Goff, who has 39,622 career passing yards, surpassed Pro Football Hall of Famer Dan Marino (39,502 passing yards) for the third-most passing yards by a player in his first 10 seasons. Only Matt Ryan (41,796 passing yards) and Pro Football Hall of Famer Peyton Manning (41,626) had more. Gibbs has 31 career games with a scrimmage touchdown since entering the NFL in 2023, tied with Pro Football Hall of Famers Randy Moss (31 games) and Barry Sanders (31) for the most games with a touchdown by a player in his first three seasons all-time. Minnesota wide receiver Justin Jefferson had eight receptions for 101 yards in Minnesota’s 16-3 victory over Green Bay. Jefferson, who had 1,048 receiving yards this season, joined Pro Football Hall of Famer Randy Moss and Mike Evans as the only players in NFL history with at least 1,000 receiving yards in each of their first six seasons. |
