NFL Finale Will Be Showdown For Playoffs: Chargers At Raiders

LOS ANGELES (AP) - The NFL's schedule changes for Week 18 will feature exactly what the league wanted: a Sunday night showdown for a playoff berth.

To finish off the NFL's first 17-game season, the Los Angeles Chargers at Las Vegas Raiders game was flexed from daytime to primetime. Both AFC West rivals are 9-7 and the winner will advance to the postseason.

"Each week has a life of its own in the NFL. It's having a life of its own since the beginning, and that's the way we need to treat things around here," Chargers coach Brandon Staley said. "And the more, the longer that we're here, the more people will realize that every week is going to feel like this coming week."

Also in the mix for the final wild-card slot in the AFC — New England owns one of them — are the Colts, the Steelers and the Ravens. If Indianapolis wins next Sunday at Jacksonville, it's in. Pittsburgh (7-7-1) must win out; it plays Monday night at home against Cleveland, then visits Baltimore (8-8) and still could fall short.

Baltimore needs all sorts of help, but is mathematically alive and must break a five-game slide on Sunday against Pittsburgh. The Ravens would get the nod if they finish at 9-8 with the Chargers and Colts because they swept the other teams. But if the Raiders are 9-8 along with Baltimore and Indy, Las Vegas goes for the same reason.

A Chargers loss eliminates them.

The league also switched two games from Sunday to Saturday. Kansas City, already the AFC West champion, will be at Denver, followed by Dallas at Philadelphia. Neither of those games has the strong postseason implications of Chargers-Raiders.

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