The 2023 NFL regular season ended with some drama.
On the final Sunday before the playoffs, teams across the league jockeyed for seeding and draft position.
Some teams came up with huge victories to get back to the postseason, while others suffered painful losses that will stick with them for months to come.
Here are the winners and losers from Week 18 of the 2023 regular season:
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Winner: Buccaneers claim NFC South for third straight season
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers pitched a shutout to clinch their third straight NFC South title on Sunday.
While the offense struggled in the 9-0 win over the lowly Carolina Panthers, all that Todd Bowles' squad had to do was win -- and that's exactly what it did. After losing Tom Brady and starting the season 4-7, the Bucs won five of six games down the stretch.
NFL
Baker Mayfield, in his first season with Tampa Bay, will now return to the playoffs for the second time in his career. He finished the season with 28 touchdowns and 10 interceptions in a resurgent effort, and he'll now have a chance to perform on the big stage with a home postseason game.
Loser: Jaguars collapse, miss postseason after 8-3 start
While the Buccaneers heated up in the closing weeks, another Florida team melted down. The Jacksonville Jaguars started 8-3, but finished the season at 9-8 after a Week 18 loss to the Tennessee Titans -- which eliminated them from postseason contention and gave the AFC South to the Houston Texans.
The Jags' final defeat of the season was perhaps their most discouraging. They fell behind 28-13 in the third quarter and cut the lead to 28-20 just before the final frame began. But the fourth quarter saw Jacksonville turn the ball over on downs twice, including getting stopped at the goal line with just over seven minutes left.
Trevor Lawrence, coming off a shoulder injury that caused him to miss two games, missed several key throws in the loss. The most notable was on fourth-and-2 on the final drive, when he overshot Evan Engram to clinch the loss.
Winner: Jets snap streak vs. Bill Belichick, Patriots
If this was Bill Belichick's final game with the New England Patriots, the New York Jets can rest easy.
The Jets, the team who Belichick once resigned from before coaching a game, lost 15 straight games to his Patriots entering Week 18. Robert Saleh and Co. exercised the demons in a snowy Foxborough, rolling to a 17-3 win in a defensive battle.
Breece Hall stood out for New York, totaling 178 rushing yards on 37 carries in the season-ending victory. The Jets finished the season 7-10, while the Patriots went 4-13.
Loser: Lions' star rookie goes down
Despite winning winning Sunday's game, the Lions will enter the postseason with a major question mark.
Rookie tight end Sam LaPorta suffered a knee injury in the second quarter of the game against the Minnesota Vikings. He limped off before being carted to the locker room and ruled out.
While the severity of the injury is not yet known, the injury stings extra when you consider the circumstances. The Lions were likely locked into the NFC's No. 3 seed, barring a collapse by the Dallas Cowboys against the Washington Commanders. LaPorta had just set the single-season rookie record for receptions by a tight end in what was an excellent season for the second-round pick. Now, there's a cloud of uncertainty hovering over the team.
Winner: Zac Taylor
Coaches who make the postseason typically get all the praise. But the Bengals' Zac Taylor deserves some recognition after a 9-8 season where Joe Burrow missed seven games.
The Bengals completed their season in Week 18 with a 31-14 blowout win over the division rival Browns. Even though Cleveland was resting plenty of starters, it was still an impressive offensive performance for Taylor's unit. Backup quarterback Jake Browning went 18 of 24 for 156 yards, three touchdowns and one interception, while Joe Mixon added 111 rushing yards and a pair of touchdowns (one rushing, one receiving).
Taylor and the Bengals, presumably, will be back in the playoff picture next season with Burrow returning to the field. But even in what some would call a lost year, Cincinnati learned a lot about its head coach.
