NFL Week 18 Predictions According to Madden 26

We’ve got the NFL Week 18 Predictions according to Madden 26 to see who the game thinks will win this weekend. Last week, Madden 26 went 11-5 in its predictions. Overall, the game is now 164-92 in predicting NFL games since Week 1 of the regular season. Can it improve those numbers in Week 18? Let’s find out as we simulate every game this weekend on Madden 26.

NFL Week 18 Results According to Madden 26

WEEK 18 SCHEDULE pic.twitter.com/c4kM67GCmR

— NFL (@NFL) December 29, 2025

Carolina Panthers at Tampa Bay Buccaneers – NFL Week 18 Results According to Madden 26

The Carolina Panthers secure their first playoff berth since 2017 as they beat the Buccaneers in Overtime.

No team ever scored twice in a row during the first half, but the Buccaneers had the edge by halftime. They were up 14-10 thanks to a touchdown reception from Chris Godwin. In the second half, they took advantage of an interception from Bryce Young as Baker Mayfield found Emeka Egbuka in the end zone.

Bryce Young avenged his interception with a 22-yard TD pass to Tetairoa McMillan, making it 21-17. The Buccaneers extended their lead with a field goal, but time still remained for the Panthers to tie things up, and they did.

With 1:58 left to go, Rico Dowdle punched in for a four-yard TD run, tying things up with less than two minutes to go. Tampa Bay failed to drive down the field. They failed to do it again in Overtime, allowing the Panthers to get the game-winning, 42 yard FG with 4:37 to go.

Seattle Seahawks at San Francisco 49ers – NFL Week 18 Results According to Madden 26

The 49ers not only sweep the Seahawks, but earn the #1 seed and a bye during the Wildcard round.

In this low-scoring affair, San Fransisco failed to score a single touchdown in the first half but still had the lead thanks to three successful field goals. The Seahawks’ sole touchdown came from a 24-yard TD reception from Jaxon Smith-Njigba.

During the second half, the 49ers extended their lead when Christian McCaffrey ran for a seven-yard TD, making things 16-7. But the Seahawks made it a one-score game again with a 55-yard field goal. Seattle eventually took the lead when Sam Darnold connected with Cooper Kupp on a late TD pass with 3:27 to go.

However, this gave the 49ers more than enough time to drive down the field. A clutch, 13 yard reception on third down from George Kittle gave the Niners life as they drove all the way to the SEA 21. Eddy Pineiro’s 38-yard FG as the clock expired ended what was one of the most dramatic sims of the week.

New Orleans Saints at Atlanta Falcons – NFL Week 18 Results According to Madden 26

The Atlanta Falcons sweep the New Orleans Saints for the first time since the 2016 season.

Kirk Cousins ended things on a positive note for the Falcons although they won’t be making the playoffs. Bijan Robinson also mirrored his performance from last week, earning 140 rushing yards in the win. He had a 37-yard score in the second quarter which put Atlanta up 17-3.

New Orleans tried to catch up in the second half, but failed to do so. They limited the Falcons to just three points, but only scored 10 of their own. Tyler Shough didn’t throw an interception, but his only touchdown pass of the day came way too late. With the loss, the Saints drop to 6-11.

Cleveland Browns at Cincinnati Bengals – NFL Week 18 Results According to Madden 26

The Cincinnati Bengals end their season with a three game win streak and another strong performance from both sides of the ball.

This matchup had no real playoff implications, so there’s not much to say. Shedeur Sanders threw one touchdown pass in garbage time, but also threw an interception earlier in the game. Joe Burrow had another 300-yard game, with 325 passing yards and two passing touchdowns.

Although Browns’ RB Dylan Sampson scored on the team’s opening drive, Cleveland failed to score again until the fourth quarter. During that time, Cincinnati took full advantage, taking a 30-7 lead halfway through the fourth quarter.

Green Bay Packers at Minnesota Vikings – NFL Week 18 Results According to Madden 26

Malik Willis leads the Packers to their 10th win of the season.

With the seventh seed locked, we decided to rest Green Bay’s starters. And with J.J. McCarthy still dealing with an injury, we figured the Vikings would play it safe and start Max Brosmer again.

Brosmer played as expected, barely gaining 100 passing yards in the loss. Most of his yards came off a 34-yard screen pass to Aaron Jones Sr., which led to their one and only scoring drive of the day.

Minnesota’s defense continues to play well, but even their efforts weren’t enough to win the day. They limited the Packers to just 16 points, and their only touchdown came after Brosmer threw an interception, which Bo Melton returned to the MIN 32.

Dallas Cowboys at New York Giants – NFL Week 18 Results According to Madden 26

The Dallas Cowboys end the season on a positive note by beating the New York Giants.

Although their playoff chances ended weeks ago, the Cowboys at least sweep the Giants for the fifth season in a row. The offense played well, especially Dak Prescott, who threw over 360 yards in the win. His biggest play came on a 72-yard TD pass to George Pickens in the 1st quarter.

New York mostly played catch up for the whole game. They kept things close in the first half, but by the end of the third, they were down 24-13. Another TD reception from Pickens sealed the deal as Dallas took a 31-13 lead with six minutes to go.

Tennessee Titans at Jacksonville Jaguars – NFL Week 18 Results According to Madden 26

The Jacksonville Jaguars sweep the Titans as they win the AFC South.

Jacksonville’s defense carried the team in this victory, forcing two key turnovers which led to touchdown drives. On the third play of the game, Titans’ QB Cam Ward threw an interception to LB Dennis Gardeck, who returned it to the TEN 1. Travis Etienne Jr. scored on the very next play.

Ward made up for his interception with a touchdown pass to Gunnar Helm during the two-minute warning to make it 10-7. Jacksonville responded by squeezing in a FG before the half.

Tennessee’s offense failed to do anything in the second half. Down 16-7 in the fourth quarter, Tony Pollard fumbled the ball at the TEN 44, giving the Jaguars the ball with 9:39 left. In just four plays, Etienne scored once again on a 31-yard TD run. The Jaguars never looked back once they took their 23-7 lead.

Indianapolis Colts at Houston Texans – NFL Week 18 Results According to Madden 26

The Houston Texans complete their second straight sweep of the Colts in their attempt to win the AFC South.

Houston’s defense had an easy time against Riley Leonard, who made his first NFL Start of this career. Indianapolis’ offense played seemingly okay at first. They scored a FG on their second drive, and a fumbled punt return cost them a lot of time. But as time went on, they failed to find any consistency.

Leonard completed 22 of 40 passes, but only threw for 171 yards and one interception. C.J. Stroud wasn’t much better, only throwing for 182 yards, but he did at least throw one touchdown with no turnovers.

Up 10-6 in the third quarter, Stroud threw a nine yard TD pass to Nico Collins, giving Houston a 17-6 lead. Another FG in the fourth quarter gave them insurance as they won 20-6.

New York Jets at Buffalo Bills – NFL Week 18 Results According to Madden 26

Considering a win here would only affect seeding, we did decide to rest multiple starters for the Bills.

Mitchell Trubisky played fine, all things considered. Overall, he led the Bills to four separate scoring drives. However, only one of those scores ended up being a touchdown. Trubisky ended the day with one touchdown pass but only 167 passing yards.

They played much better than Brady Cook and the Jets’ offense, whose only touchdown of the day came after a great punt return. Without the help of their special teams, New York only managed to put up one field goal drive.

With the win, the Bills officially stay in the sixth seed (with Houston’s win).

Detroit Lions at Chicago Bears – NFL Week 18 Results According to Madden 26

The Chicago Bears get revenge on the Lions and retain their #2 seed in the NFC.

With nothing to gain from this victory, we did bench some Lions players. But most of their offensive stars were on the field, including Jahmyr Gibbs, who had a monstrous performance. Gibbs had not averaged over 4 rushing yards in a game since November 23rd. He averaged 5.7 yards today as he earned 132 rushing yards and two touchdowns in the win.

But Detroit struggled in the 1st and third quarters, failing to score a single point in either one. Jared Goff did throw for 282 yards, but threw one touchdown to two interceptions which cost the team. His one and only touchdown pass came in garbage time when the Lions were down by 15 with 1:09 left. A missed Onside Kick sealed their fate.

Caleb Williams, meanwhile, was on a roll. He threw three touchdown passes in the win, including an eight yard score to D.J. Moore in the fourth quarter which made it 29-14. With the win, Chicago automatically earns home-field advantage for the first two games of the playoffs (if they manage to go that far).

Los Angeles Chargers at Denver Broncos – NFL Week 18 Results According to Madden 26

The Denver Broncos defeat the Chargers backups and secure the #1 seed in the AFC.

Bo Nix and co. did more than enough to earn their last win of the regular season while avoiding a sweep from L.A.. While they only scored two touchdowns on five redzone possessions, the Broncos had the ball for nearly 39 minutes in the win.

Chargers’ backup QB Trey Lance played as expected with the other 2nd string players. He completed 17 of 33 passes for 169 yards and one touchdown. While he never turned the ball over in the air, he fumbled twice. However, much of the blame goes to the Chargers’ O-Line, which allowed six sacks in the loss.

But things were relatively close in the end. RJ Harvey punched it in for a 1-yard score on 4th & goal with 5:47 left and that changed completely, Up 23-14, Denver’s defense helped them earn their 14th win of the year.

Kansas City Chiefs at Las Vegas Raiders – NFL Week 18 Results According to Madden 26

The Raiders failed to score a single point in their season finale as Chris Oladokun earns his first career win.

Not much to say here other than it was the most boring simulation of the week. Kenny Pickett and Oladokun threw for a combined 210 yards (I’m not joking). Pickett finished the day with 55 yards on 11 completions (24 attempts). He also threw an interception which led to the Chiefs’ second FG of the day.

Kareem Hunt put the game away with a three-yard TD run with 6:21 left in the fourth quarter. Pickett failed to drive the Raiders downfield one last time as they drop to 2-15 on the season.

Arizona Cardinals at Los Angeles Rams – NFL Week 18 Results According to Madden 26

The Rams’ season ends on a somewhat positive note, as they sweep the Cardinals for the second time in three seasons.

Matthew Stafford played much better this week by posting a three touchdown performance. L.A. took a 21-0 lead before the Cardinals put up their first points of the day. Then, another TD from Kyren Williams made it 28-7 with 11:38 to go in the third.

The Cardinals did end up scoring 10 unanswered points, while their defense actually started to make improvements. But it was too little, too late. They were unable to catch up as they drop to 3-14 on the season.

Miami Dolphins at New England Patriots – NFL Week 18 Results According to Madden 26

The New England Patriots didn’t get the 1st seed in the AFC, but they sweep the Dolphins as they rise to 14-3 on the season.

Needing a win to retain the #2 seed, the Patriots took their sweet time in winning this game. Their first score came halfway through the second quarter when TreVeyon Henderson ran for a two-yard score. Both teams kept trading field goals until the half.

Up 13-3, Drake Maye extended New England’s lead with a TD pass to Hunter Henry. Another field goal and the Patriots found themselves up 23-3. Dolphins’ QB Quinn Ewers finally earned his first score of the day (1-yard rush), but he also threw an interception on the following drive, which S Craig Woodson returned for a 27-yard TD.

Washington Commanders at Philadelphia Eagles – NFL Week 18 Results According to Madden 26

Washington kept it close, but ultimately failed to prevent a sweep from the Philadelphia Eagles.

The Eagles scored on their opening drive (six-yard TD reception from Dallas Goedert), but didn’t score again until there was two minutes left in the third quarter. During this time, Josh Johnson and the Commanders actually took a brief, 9-7 lead. But Saquon Barkley’s 51-yard TD run in the third put the Eagles back up.

Philadelphia then proceeded to tack on 10 more unanswered points, including a 21-yard TD reception from Goedert which made things 24-9. With the win, the Eagles don’t jump to the second seed, but they earn their 12th win of the year.

Baltimore Ravens at Pittsburgh Steelers – NFL Week 18 Results According to Madden 26

The Ravens overcome a 27-14 deficit as they beat the Steelers and secure a ticket to the playoffs.

Despite the absence of D.K. Metcalf, Pittsburgh’s offense played much better than they did in Week 17. That’s because Jaylen Warren earned two rushing touchdowns of over 23 yards in the first half. Aaron Rodgers played fine, completing 22 of 28 passes for 233 yards and a touchdown… with one interception

Chris Boswell’s 44-yard Field goal put Pittsburgh up 27-14 with 1:38 left in the third quarter. But that ended up being their last score of the day for the Steelers.

Meanwhile, the Ravens’ offense scored two unanswered touchdowns. Derrick Henry broke off for a 31-yard TD run with 8:45 left to go. After the Ravens forced a punt, returning QB Lamar Jackson found Zay Flowers for what ended up being the game-winning, 16-yard TD pass.

With 4:20 left and only needing a field goal, the Steelers drove down to the PIT 40. But Rodgers threw an interception to Chidobe Awuzie, allowing the Ravens to drain the clock, win the division, and go to the playoffs.

According to all of these results, here is the playoff picture:

AFC:

• (1) Denver Broncos (BYE)
• (7) L.A. Chargers at (2) New England Patriots
• (6) Buffalo Bills at (3) Jacksonville Jaguars
• (5) Houston Texans at (4) Baltimore Ravens

NFC:

• (1) San Francisco 49ers (BYE)
• (7) Green Bay Packers at (2) Chicago Bears
• (6) Los Angeles Rams at (3) Philadelphia Eagles
• (5) Seattle Seahawks at (4) Carolina Panthers

Overall, that wraps up our NFL Week 18 Results according to Madden 26. We hope you enjoyed reading, and we look forward to seeing how it performs! Regardless off the outcome, we look forward to seeing what crazy stuff the game might predict will happen.

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