Why this week's NFL slate is unlike any other in almost a decade

There are only three weeks left in the 2025 NFL regular season, and yet so much of the playoff picture remains completely up in the air

There are only three weeks left in the 2025 NFL regular season, and yet so much of the playoff picture remains completely up in the air.

How intense will the jockeying for postseason position be in the coming weeks? Arguably the most it has been since Barack Obama was still in office.

Entering Week 16, not a single one of the league’s eight divisions has a champion yet, the first time that has happened since 2016, per ESPN. That means playoff seeding — including the only first-round bye — are wide open in each conference.

The foggy picture has set the stage for three massively important games beginning Thursday night, each of which will have a significant impact on who wins a division — and who gets to open the postseason at home.

This is not your older sibling’s Thursday night game. What used to seem a dumping ground for the league’s less-than-elite matchups is now in Week 16 one of the most important games of the year.