Lions-Packers set for prime time; NFL releases complete Week 18 schedule

Let the final regular-season games begin. The NFL announced its full Week 18 schedule Monday. As is custom, teams fighting for the last available spots and seeding are playing at the same respective times.

There is one notable exception, as the Lions–Packers drew the Sunday night slot. The two NFC North rivals are currently in a three-way tie with the Seahawks, who host the Rams in the late afternoon.

If the Seahawks lose, the Lions-Packers winner will grab the NFC’s final bid. A Seahawks win would eliminate Detroit, but they’d still need a Packers loss to make the playoffs. Green Bay is in with a win.

Seattle coach Pete Carroll didn’t sound concerned with the order of games.

“That doesn’t mean anything to me,” he told reporters Monday. “We don’t care about it one bit. … The last thing I would ever worry about is coach [Dan] Campbell’s team getting ready to play.”

In the AFC, the Dolphins, Patriots and Steelers are all vying for the seventh seed and playing in Sunday’s 1 p.m. ET slate. The Pats can clinch with a victory at Buffalo. Miami a win versus the Jets plus a New England loss. The Steelers have to beat the Browns in Pittsburgh coupled with losses by the Dolphins and Patriots.

On Saturday night, the Titans play at the Jaguars, where the winner will claim the AFC South crown. The Jags can still make the playoffs with a loss if the Patriots, Dolphins and Steelers all lose. If Jacksonville wins and New England, Miami and Pittsburgh lose, the Patriots would make it in at 8-9.