Which Game Could Be Flexed Into the Week 18 SNF Slot?

 As you probably know, the NFL sets up their Week 18 schedule to maximize the drama of the playoff race. So there will be games played at the 1pm slot that could be for seeding or division championships, and games at the 4pm slot that will do the same. But the big game is the NBC Sunday Night Football matchup which typically is a "win and your in" type of game.

So with two weeks left in the season, what games are on the radar to be that showdown?

VIKINGS AT LIONS: Both teams are 13-2 right now and there's a good chance that their Week 18 showdown will be for the No. 1 seed in the NFC. The winner gets that bye and home field advantage for the playoffs, while the loser likely drops to the No. 5 seed and will play on the road against either the NFC South or West champion. 

SEAHAWKS AT RAMS: There will need to be some things happen in Week 17 to make this game matter. Obviously, it needs Seattle to beat the Bears in Chicago and the Rams to lose to the Arizona Cardinals. If those two things happen, I believe this would end up being the frontrunner to be the Week 18 SNF game as the winner makes the playoffs while the loser would be knocked out. 

COMMANDERS AT COWBOYS: There's an outside shot that the Commanders could be sitting at 10-6 with a loss to the Falcons in Week 17, and Washington may need to win this game to clinch a playoff spot. While this has a lot of moving parts, it is a candidate to be the SNF game. Again, Washington would have to lose to Atlanta next week, giving the Falcons the tiebreaker. Tampa Bay beat Washington way back in Week 1 which could make the Commanders game a must-win if both the Buccaneers and Falcons beat the Panthers and Saints, respectively, at home. 

CHIEFS AT BRONCOS: Similar to the Commanders game, the Broncos are holding onto the final spot in the AFC, and play a team behind them in the standings next week (Bengals). If Cincinnati beats Denver next week, it puts pressure on Denver to beat Kansas City in the finale. The issue here is that the Chiefs could have clinched the No. 1 seed and will sit most of their starters -- most notably Patrick Mahomes. Now, that's happened in this game before, but with better options on the table, I could see this in that 4pm window with the Bengals-Steelers game playing concurrently.