NFL Week 18 scores and playoff standings: Complete wildcard weekend schedule after Steelers beat Ravens

The road to the Super Bowl will pass through Denver and Seattle after the Broncos beat the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday to take first place in the AFC, while the Seahawks won the NFC title on Saturday.

Both teams now have next week off to rest and recover while the remaining 12 teams battle it out in the wildcard round.

AFC Seeds

The New England Patriots won on Sunday but had to settle for second place with Denver owning the tiebreaker and will host the Chargers, who rested their starters, next week in Foxboro.

The Jacksonville Jaguars won to secure victory over the Houston Texans for the AFC South title — but both teams are hot as they enter the playoffs having won nine and eight games, respectively.

Current team MVP Josh Allen played just one game on Sunday, but he will lead the Buffalo Bills as a tight favorite in Jacksonville next week, where the Texans and their top-ranking defensive backs will take on the Steelers in Pittsburgh.

NFC seeds

Seattle has qualified for the Super Bowl each of the previous three times they have finished first, so they will fancy their chances, but they have a strong NFC challenge ahead of them.

Caleb Williams nearly led another comeback for the Chicago Bears on Sunday, but lost 19-16 at home to the Detroit Lions.

The Bears will face fierce rivals the Green Bay Packers next week. It’s the NFL’s oldest and most-played rivalry, but this would be just the third playoff meeting between the two, after 2010 and 1941.

Defending champion Philadelphia decided to rest most of its starters for their 24-17 loss to the Washington Commanders, but the Eagles will be at full strength against the San Francisco 49ers.

Matthew Stafford pressed his MVP claims with three second-half touchdowns and four in total as the Los Angeles Rams snatched fifth place from the 49ers, resulting in what appeared to be a much better tie at the Carolina Panthers rather than Philadelphia.