Each week, we offer up the very best of the NFL on a given Sunday, kind of like the fantasy football team you wished you had.
All year, we’ve picked one quarterback, two running backs, two receivers and a tight end — OK, this sounds a lot like a super-hindsight fantasy football team. We’re also recognizing an entire offensive line, a few select defensive stars and even a special-teams standout of the week.
Teams playing some of their backups this weekend added a fun wrinkle for the Week 18 Team of the Week. One backup quarterback even made a strong case for a spot.
So, let’s dive into Week 18:
It would be the most Week 18 thing to do if we put Mitch Trubisky here. After all, he had four touchdowns and 259 yards — off the bench, (technically!) — in an easy win over the Jets. But we’ll go with Stafford, who threw for the same 259 yards and four touchdowns and no interceptions in a rout of the Cardinals. Stafford had a chance to get back on a positive note after three interceptions last week against the Falcons — he finishes the year with 46 touchdown passes, which is 12 more than any other QB. That’s the largest touchdown margin since Peyton Manning had 55 in 2013, 16 more than anyone else. Is that enough to edge Drake Maye for MVP honors?
Matthew Stafford credits teammates for success, eyes postseason 👀
Another easy win for a high playoff seed, with Stevenson racking up 131 yards and two touchdowns on just seven carries, with another 22 receiving yards and a score there. It’s the third-best rushing game with seven or fewer carries in the last 25 years — Colin Kaepernick had seven carries for 151 yards in a game in 2014 and Taysom Hill had seven for 138 in a 2024 game. It sets up a nice 1-2 running attack with rookie TreVeyon Henderson and Stevenson in the playoffs in a balanced Patriots offense.
Just as Trubisky shined while Josh Allen was safely on the bench, Davis did the same in giving James Cook a week off, rushing 21 times for 151 yards and adding a receiving touchdown in the Bills‘ win over the Jets. Davis has been outstanding on returns, but had totaled just 124 rushing yards all season with Cook and Ty Johnson handling most of the workload on offense. A fourth-round pick in 2024, he got a rare chance to be an NFL bellcow and took advantage of the opportunity. Props too to Baltimore’s Derrick Henry, who had a monster first half but then got quiet in the Ravens‘ tough loss to the Steelers.
No touchdowns, but another prolific day, getting 11 catches for 139 yards in a close win over the Bears. He finishes the year with 117 catches for 1,401 yards and 11 touchdowns. Somehow, that’s only fifth in the first two categories, but only Davante Adams had more receiving touchdowns. It’s hard to believe Detroit’s season is over, but it wasn’t because of ARSB, who’s now headed to his fourth straight Pro Bowl.
Tom Brady’s LFG Player of the Game: Lions WR Amon-Ra St. Brown 🏆
Baltimore’s passing game was nearly nonexistent for three quarters, but Lamar Jackson and Zay Flowers made history, as the first pass combo to have two go-ahead touchdowns of 50-plus yards in a fourth quarter. The first went 50 yards for the lead, and the second was all the more unlikely and all the more open for a 64-yard score and another lead. It’s all overshadowed by Tyler Loop’s missed field goal as time expired, but if he makes that kick, we’re talking about Jackson and Flowers and two amazing touchdowns with a division title on the line. We’ll throw a bone here to the Colts‘ Alec Pierce, who had four catches for 132 yards and two scores before getting himself ejected for making contact with an official after arguing for another score.
It’s been a quiet year for Otton, who went into the weekend with the most receptions (52) without a touchdown catch in the NFL, but he took care of that with a score from Baker Mayfield. Very little was working for the Bucs’ passing game, but Otton had a season-high 94 yards on seven catches. With all the injuries at receiver, he ends up second on Tampa Bay’s roster with 59 catches and 572 yards. He’s headed for free agency, averaging 50 catches and 500 yards in his four years in Tampa.
OL: New England Patriots
The Patriots protected Drake Maye and didn’t allow a single sack, while clearing the way for 34 carries for 243 yards in an easy win over the Dolphins. New England starts its first playoff push in four years next week, and continuity on the offensive line has been a strength — kudos to Sunday’s lineup (l-r) of rookie Will Campbell, Ben Brown, Garrett Bradbury, Mike Onwenu and Morgan Moses. They’ll have a challenge next week against the Chargers, who totaled 45 sacks this season.
Wilson is a former top-10 draft pick, and it’s not a good thing when you can double your season sack total in Week 18, but Wilson did that with two sacks, two forced fumbles and a safety in the Raiders‘ season-ending win over the Chiefs. There hasn’t been much to be excited about in Las Vegas this season, but a solid defensive showing — albeit against backup quarterbacks in an eliminated Kansas City lineup — might be a positive to send Pete Carroll out on if Sunday is his last game as a head coach.
It ended up in a loss, but Clowney broke out for three sacks Sunday against the Giants, giving him a surprising 8.5 for the season. Clowney has 66 career sacks but has never had a 10-sack season. This year, at age 32, on his seventh NFL team in eight seasons, it’s an unexpected resurgence. He also had a forced fumble, the 16th of his career.
Another former top-10 pick who’s bounced around the league, Bush had a memorable game Sunday, picking off a Joe Burrow pass and returning it 97 yards for a touchdown. He finished with 14 tackles in Cleveland’s season-ending victory. He had three interceptions this year after totaling two in his first six NFL seasons.
Three defensive backs had pick-sixes Sunday, but we’ll go with Jacksonville safety Antonio Johnson, who picked off a Brandon Allen pass when it was still a one-score game with Tennessee and returned it 58 yards on the way to an easy division-clinching win. It was the lone takeaway of the game for Jacksonville, but they finished the season with 31, behind only the Bears, this after being last in the league a year ago.
We could easily give it to the Jaguars‘ Cam Little, who hit a 67-yard field goal, a yard short of the record kick he had earlier this year and now the longest outdoor kick in NFL history. But those were in a lopsided win, and Carlson came through with a 60-yard field goal — no chip shot either — as time expired to beat the Chiefs and end a long year on a positive note. Carlson also had a 55-yarder and matched Harrison Butker with four field goals on a day where neither team could find the end zone.
Greg Auman is an NFL Reporter for FOX Sports. He previously spent a decade covering the Buccaneers for the Tampa Bay Times and The Athletic. You can follow him on Twitter at @gregauman.
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