Sport replace (Saturday night): With the Cleveland Browns shedding to the Baltimore Ravens on Saturday, the New York Giants can now not safe the first-overall choice within the 2025 NFL Draft.
Cleveland’s loss means they’re assured a top-three choose.
The ultimate weekend of the 2024 NFL season is right here.
For some groups, that brings one final probability to clinch a playoff spot.
For others, which means yet one more recreation earlier than the offseason begins, and a ultimate recreation in the direction of solidifying their spot within the 2025 NFL Draft.
4 groups — the New England Patriots, the Tennessee Titans, the Cleveland Browns, and the New York Giants — enter Week 18 with a 3-13 report. These 4 groups have the most effective odds of securing the first-overall choice within the 2025 NFL Draft.
There are additionally 5 groups — the Jacksonville Jaguars, the Carolina Panthers, the New York Jets, the Chicago Bears, and the Las Vegas Raiders — getting into Week 18 with a 4-12 report. Nonetheless, as a result of Power of Schedule tiebreaker, none of these groups have an opportunity on the first choose, as New England holds an enormous benefit on this tiebreaker. Extra on that in a second.
How can the Patriots clinch the primary choose within the 2025 NFL Draft?
For lack of a greater phrase, the Patriots management their very own future in relation to locking up the primary choose within the 2025 NFL Draft. With a loss to the Buffalo Payments on Sunday, New England would safe the No. 1 choose.
Nonetheless, Buffalo has already indicated that Josh Allen will solely make a short look on this recreation, because the Payments are locked into the No. 2 seed within the AFC playoffs. Whereas unlikely, there’s a state of affairs the place the Patriots don’t lose on Sunday, that means another pathways to the first-overall choice are value mentioning.
New England can safe the No. 1 choose if their recreation in opposition to the Payments ends in a tie. With a tie in opposition to Buffalo, a Titans win or tie in opposition to the Houston Texans, a Browns win or tie in opposition to the Baltimore Ravens, and a New York Giants tie in opposition to the Philadelphia Eagles, the Patriots clinch the primary choose. They’ll additionally clinch the primary choose with a tie, a Titans win or tie, a Browns tie, and a Giants win or tie. Lastly, they’ll clinch the primary choose with a tie, a Titans tie, a Browns win or tie, and a Giants win or tie.
If the Patriots find yourself profitable Sunday, they’ll nonetheless clinch the primary choose if the Titans, Browns, and Giants all win. All 4 groups would have a 4-13 report, however the Patriots at present maintain a big benefit within the tiebreaker, which is Power of Schedule (SOS). In the mean time New England’s SOS is .467, Tennessee checks in at .515, Cleveland at .540, and New York at .551.
For figuring out draft order, the decrease your SOS, the upper your draft choose.
New England’s massive benefit on this class is why they continue to be within the driver’s seat for the first-overall choose. It is usually why the 4-12 groups stay on the surface trying in in relation to the No. 1 choose. Of these groups solely Jacksonville has a comparable SOS to New England (.474) however with one week remaining the Jaguars can not make up that distinction.
How can the Titans clinch the primary choose within the 2025 NFL Draft?
There are two situations the place the Titans can safe the first-overall choice within the 2025 NFL Draft.
First, with a loss to the Texans and a Patriots win or tie in opposition to Buffalo, the Titans have the primary choose.
If the Titans tie the Texans, Tennessee nonetheless secures the first-overall choice with a Patriots win over Buffalo, a Cleveland win or tie in opposition to Houston, and a New York win or tie in opposition to Philadelphia.
How can the Browns clinch the primary choose within the 2025 NFL Draft?
Cleveland’s path to the first-overall choice is a bit steeper than Tennessee’s, however nonetheless believable.
With a loss to the Ravens, a New England win or tie in opposition to Buffalo, and a Titans win or tie in opposition to Houston, the Browns clinch the first-overall choose.
Cleveland also can clinch the No. 1 choose with a tie, supplied each the Titans and the Patriots win, and the Giants win or tie in opposition to the Eagles.
How can the Giants clinch the primary choose within the 2025 NFL Draft?
Lastly, the Giants enter the ultimate week of the season with an out of doors shot on the No. 1 choose.
With a loss to the Eagles, the Giants would choose first if the Patriots win or tie in opposition to the Payments, the Titans win or tie in opposition to the Texans, and the Browns win or tie in opposition to the Ravens.
New York will even choose first in the event that they tie the Eagles, and the Patriots, Titans, and Browns all win.
