The 2024 NFL season has been a roller coaster of emotions for plenty of teams, especially those that failed to meet expectations. The New York Jets were expected to end their long playoff drought this season, but ended up being one of the worst teams in the NFL. The Cincinnati Bengals were expected to compete for the Super Bowl title, yet are a loss or Denver Broncos win away from missing the playoffs.
The Broncos and Minnesota Vikings were two of the league’s surprise teams this season, while the Detroit Lions lived up to their expectations as a Super Bowl contender. The Kansas City Chiefs continue to be great, as the Baltimore Ravens and Buffalo Bills are their biggest contenders with MVP candidates Lamar Jackson and Josh Allen.
As the 2024 regular season comes to a close this week, here’s one thing we learned about each team this season.
Marvin Harrison Jr. had some rookie bumps: Harrison isn’t one of the four rookies who amassed over 1,000 receiving yards this season, but that doesn’t mean Harrison isn’t a disappointment. He still has 822 yards and seven touchdowns, averaging 14.4 yards per catch — but hasn’t had a 100-yard game since October nor a receiving touchdown since Dec. 1. It’s been a rookie season of peaks and valleys for Harrison, but he’s shown superstar wide receiver potential. We’ll see how he does in Year 2.
The Kirk Cousins experiment was a disaster: Atlanta needed a quarterback in the worst way, so the Falcons decided to give Cousins $180 million to be their quarterback for the foreseeable future. The Falcons gave Cousins $100 million guaranteed and a $50 million signing bonus to get benched after 14 games and move on with first-round pick Michael Penix Jr. (who they drafted after signing Cousins). Atlanta will be moving on from Cousins this offseason in favor of Penix, and yet still have an excellent shot at ending its playoff drought. Good thing the Falcons had an insurance policy.
Derrick Henry was just what Lamar Jackson needed: The Ravens signed Henry to take pressure off Jackson from carrying the offense, and both immensely benefitted from playing with each other. Henry has rushed for 1,783 yards and 5.8 yards per carry this season (at the age of 30), opening up the passing game for Jackson as he’s in the midst of winning his third MVP in six years. Jackson has completed 67.9% of his passes for 3,955 yards with 39 touchdowns and four interceptions and an 121.6 passer rating — while rushing for 852 yards and averaging 6.2 yards per carry. The Ravens also have the third-best scoring offense and rank first in total offense. Jackson and Henry may be the league’s best quarterback-running back combo.
Their window is far from closed: Heading into the season, some pundits were wondering if the Bills’ window to win a championship was closed after recent moves to create salary cap space (including the offseason trade of Stefon Diggs). The Bills still had Josh Allen, which meant their championship window is still open as long as he’s on the field. Buffalo tied a franchise record with 13 regular-season wins and won the AFC East for the fourth straight year. Allen has thrown for 3,731 yards with 28 touchdowns to six interceptions (101.4 rating) while rushing for another 14 to put him in position to win his first MVP award. This championship window is far from over.
Dave Canales saved Bryce Young’s career: The Panthers still aren’t a good football team, yet they found out Young can play quarterback in the NFL. Canales benched Young after two games and didn’t insert him back into the starting lineup until late October, when Young was a better quarterback. Young has thrown 12 touchdowns to six interceptions and has an 84.7 passer rating since his return. He’s still toward the bottom of the league in completion percentage (60.4%) and rating, but showed signs of improvement as the year went on. Young gets another year and offseason with Canales before the Panthers make a decision on his future.
The offensive line needs to improve: The Bears notoriously had a poor offensive line over the past few years, but it was really poor in Caleb Williams’ rookie season. Williams does hold on to the ball too long and is indecisive at times, but that’s due to being pressured 35.7% of his dropbacks and sacked 11.2% of the time. Williams has been sacked 7+ times in four different games and been sacked 67 times total on the season (second-most since the merger). If Williams is to succeed in the NFL, the pass protection must be better. The Bears have to invest in the offensive line this offseason.
This would be one of the worst teams in the NFL without Joe Burrow: The difference Burrow makes to the Bengals is second to none. Without Burrow, the Bengals are likely heading for a top-five pick in the draft — even with Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins at wide receiver. The true difference-maker at quarterback, Burrow leads the league in passing yards (4,641) and passing touchdowns (42) while throwing just eight interceptions. He carries the Bengals franchise on his back, winning games despite a defense that’s 28th in points allowed per possession (2.32) and a head coach with very questionable decision-making. The Bengals may not make the playoffs, but they wouldn’t sniff the postseason if it wasn’t for Burrow.
They are tanking for the future: The Deshaun Watson contract was one of — if not the — worst in NFL history. Watson’s season-ending injury spearheaded the Browns’ plans to move on, as Cleveland already has restructured his contract and benched jameis Winston in favor of Dorian Thompson-Robinson. Will Kevin Stefanski survive the rebuild? Will he get to pick the next quarterback of the franchise or will he move on to another team? Myles Garrett may be on the move as well. Changes are coming in Cleveland, as evidenced by the moves the franchise is making on the field toward the end of the season.
Dan Quinn is greatly missed: The Cowboys did lose talent on defense, yet they would have still been a good unit if Quinn didn’t leave to become a head coach again. Dallas was 10th in points allowed per possession (1.75) and ninth in yards allowed per possession (28.5) in Quinn’s final season, yet have fallen to 30th in points allowed per possession (2.40) and 19th in yards allowed per possession (31.7) this season — the main culprit of their record falling from 12-5 to 7-9. Injuries hurt, but the defense was significantly impacted by Quinn leaving.
Bo Nix was better than everyone thought: Many thought the Broncos reached when they took Nix at No. 12 overall , the sixth quarterback selected in the first round. Based on the rookie seasons of the six quarterbacks, Nix is the second-best quarterback after Year 1. His arm talent has been on display in the second half of the season, as Nix has thrown for 17 touchdowns to just six interceptions and a 100.6 passer rating (10th in NFL). The Broncos have a defense that significantly improved from 2023 to 2024 (28th in points allowed per possession to fifth), but Nix’s improvements in his rookie campaign have gotten Denver to one win away from the playoffs. This team will only get better.
The offense is the best the NFL has seen this decade: This decade has reached the halfway point at the conclusion of 2024, but the Lions offense has taken over the title of the most potent unit. The offense averages 33.3 points per game, the most since the 2018 Chiefs (35.3), and have five games with 40+ points and zero turnovers this season — an NFL record. The six 40+ point games this season are tied for the most in NFL history and Detroit is the second team in NFL history to have 35+ passing touchdowns and 25+ rushing touchdowns in a season — joining the 2000 Rams. Detroit’s offense can win the franchise its first Super Bowl, and may have to carry the team to the championship game.
They struggle against the elite teams: The Packers are 0-5 against the Vikings, Lions and Eagles this season — the three teams in the conference with 13+ wins and the three teams with a better record than them in the conference. Those five losses to these 13+ win teams are by a combined 22 points, so they aren’t getting blown out in these games — but a loss is a loss. Green Bay is also just 1-5 against teams with 10+ wins, and that win over the Rams was without L.A.’s top two receivers in Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua. The numbers — seventh in points per possession (2.54) and sixth in points allowed per possession (1.81) — show Green Bay is a top-10 team. The Packers have to start beating those teams.
C.J. Stroud had a sophomore slump: Stroud set the standard for rookie quarterbacks in Year 1, but took a step back in Year 2 with more film on him, a poor offensive line, and multiple injuries to his top playmakers. Stroud has a 78.5 passer rating in the second half of the season, 29th in the NFL, while throwing for eight touchdowns to eight interceptions and being sacked 22 times. The Texans aren’t as good as they were last season, and much of that has to do with a disjointed offense combined with the struggles of Stroud. He’s still a good quarterback, but the weaknesses are out on him.
Shane Steichen may not be back for Year 3: Steichen was credited for the success of Jalen Hurts in Philadelphia, but hasn’t been able to find it with Anthony Richardson — who the Colts benched for a few weeks midseason. On top of Richardson’s struggles, Steichen doesn’t handle press conferences with the best answers, even admitting not every player is going to be on time to meetings and practices. He defended his team’s accountability, yet the Colts seem like a disjointed bunch — that’s higher up than Steichen. Losing to the Giants may have been the final straw, as the Colts have not sniffed the playoffs since 2020. This is the definition of a mediocre franchise.
The franchise is headed for a reset: Doug Pederson hasn’t been fired by Jaguars ownership yet, although the move has been anticipated all season. In what was supposed to be the most talented team in franchise history, the Jaguars have four wins and haven’t been in contention for anything all year. The Jaguars are 5-17 in their last 22 games, while continuing to have one of the worst defenses in the NFL (31st in points allowed per possession and 32nd in points allowed per possession). Pederson is likely done as head coach and Trent Baalke is probably finished as general manager. The franchise is ready to hit the reset button.
They’re getting healthy at the right time: Kansas City has won plenty of one-score games thanks to the clutch play of Patrick Mahomes and one of the top defenses in the NFL (eighth in points allowed per possession). Notice how the league’s only 15-win team is getting healthy in preparation for the postseason? Hollywood Brown is back at wide receiver and Isiah Pacheco has also returned as the No. 1 running back. Defensive tackle Chris Jones will be back by the playoffs, along with cornerback Chamarri Conner and tackle D.J. Humphries. The Chiefs have home-field advantage heading into the postseason too, and may be set to win their third straight Super Bowl title.
Brock Bowers is the best rookie tight end ever: Plenty of things were wrong with the Raiders offense this season, but Bowers is already one of the elite tight ends in the game. Bowers has the record for receptions by any rookie player (108) and broke Mike Ditka’s rookie receiving yards record by a tight end (1,144) — a record that stood for 63 years. Bowers is just eight receptions away from matching Zach Ertz for the most receptions by a tight end in a season and has a legitimate shot at 1,200 receiving yards — this is with Aidan O’Connell and Gardner Minshew as his quarterbacks. How good will Bowers be when he has a franchise quarterback? The Raiders may be getting one for him.
Jim Harbaugh makes playoffs during building phase: Harbaugh turned the Chargers franchise around in a year, doubling the amount of wins in his first season and taking them to the playoffs. The Chargers have the league’s top defense in points allowed per possession (1.64) and Justin Herbert has 21 touchdowns to just three interceptions in 16 games, joining Tom Brady (2016) and Aaron Rodgers (2018) as the only quarterbacks to have 400+ pass attempts and three or fewer interceptions in a season. This is with an offense that didn’t have a No. 1 wide receiver nor tight end with a bounce-back season from J.K. Dobbins. How good will the Chargers be in the years to come when Harbaugh gets a better roster?
The defensive line is one of the best young units in the league: Give credit to the Rams’ ability to draft good young pass rushers in recent years. Kobie Turner and Byron Young stood out in 2023 and Jared Verse and Braden Fiske were the right picks in 2024. Fiske, Turner and Young each have 7+ sacks while Verse has 74 pressures in his rookie campaign (tied for fourth in the NFL). All four players have 40+ pressures and have been the backbone of a pass rush that should create problems for opposing quarterbacks for years to come. The oldest player in this group is 26 (Young).
They are a playoff team when Tua Tagovailoa is healthy: This is the problem that lies with the Dolphins. When Tagovailoa is healthy, the Dolphins do win games. Tagovailoa just isn’t available enough for the Dolphins to justify his contract. He’s played in just 11 of the 16 games for Miami this season and the Dolphins are 6-5 in Tagovailoa’s starts, averaging 24.1 points in those games compared to 12.0 points per game in the contests he doesn’t play. The Dolphins don’t have a problem beating .500-or-worse teams either, as they are 18-4 against those teams and 1-10 against teams over .500 over the last two years. If Tagovailoa is healthy, they are a playoff team. Problem is, Tagovailoa is a head injury away from his career potentially being over and are the Dolphins an elite team when he does play? That question still isn’t answered.
Sam Darnold is getting paid this offseason: The surprise of the NFL this season has been Darnold, who is a huge reason why the Vikings have won 14 games and are a win away from winning the NFC North title. Darnold is eighth in the NFL in completion rate (68.1%), fourth in yards per attempt (8.2), fifth in pass touchdowns (35), and fifth in passer rating (106.4). At the very least, Darnold is a top-10 quarterback in Kevin O’Connell’s offense and he’s just 27 years old. Darnold, a free agent this offseason, is getting paid by somebody. Looks like it will be Minnesota, based on the locker room celebration last week.
Jerod Mayo may be a one-and-done head coach: Mayo was in for a rough first year due to the lack of talent on the Patriots roster, yet this team has not shown much improvement as the season progressed. Mayo looks ill-equipped to be a head coach in this league, specifically in his decision-making on game days. The defense has also taken a major step back in points per possession from fifth (1.60) to 29th (2.34), a sign Mayo may be a better coordinator than coach. New England has an out to reset and start over for 2025, especially since it appears the Patriots have a starting quarterback in Drake Maye.
Dennis Allen shouldn’t have been the head coach this year: The Saints proved this correct when they fired Allen after nine games and a 2-7 start — mired in a seven-game losing streak. Allen’s best season in New Orleans was a 9-8 record last year, and that was an underwhelming start. The 2-0 start was a mirage, especially since the offense averaged 45.5 points per game against two of the worst defenses in football. The Saints wasted a season giving Allen another opportunity, especially in an NFC South where the winner will finish with at least nine wins. Salary cap issues have harmed the Saints for years, but this team showed it was better than 5-11 — especially after interim head coach Darren Rizzi took over.
Time to move on from Joe Schoen and Brian Daboll: The Giants were not going to be a good team in 2024, but this season was significantly worse than expected. The team failed to win a home game until Week 17, benched Daniel Jones in a controversial way (then released him), and let Saquon Barkley walk out the door only to witness him have an MVP-caliber season with the rival Eagles. The offense is last in points scored per game (15.4) and 30th in yards per play (4.7). New York needs to clean house with a new head coach and general manager, and start anew with finding the next franchise quarterback.
Aaron Rodgers is not the same player: A 40-year-old quarterback coming off a ruptured Achilles was always going to be a rough proposition, but not even the Jets could have thought Rodgers would be this bad in 2024. Rodgers has his lowest completion percentage since 2019 (63.0%), lowest touchdown rate (4.4%) since 2018, and lowest yards per attempt (6.6) of his career. The 89.1 passer rating is also the lowest for Rodgers in a full season. The Jets are a mediocre offensive team with Rodgers, as the offense is controlled by his approval (see Nathaniel Hackett as offensive coordinator). Rodgers is now 41 and isn’t getting any younger. He could be better in 2025, but this clearly isn’t the MVP version of Rodgers that the Jets traded for prior to the 2023 season.
Vic Fangio transformed this defense: The biggest reason for the Eagles’ collapse last season was a defense that finished 26th in yards allowed per game (356.1) and 31st in pass yards allowed per game (252.1). Philadelphia was 30th in points allowed per possession (2.35) last season, so the Eagles brought in Fangio to stabilize the defense. The unit was revamped with several new starters in the back seven, and the Eagles are third in points allowed per possession (1.66) and first in yards per game allowed (280.9). They are first in yards per play allowed (4.8) and pass yards per game allowed (176.4) as well. The complete 180 on defense is why the Eagles are one of the best teams in football.
Russell Wilson can still start: Whether Wilson should be the starting quarterback for the Steelers in 2025 is up for debate, but he did show he can still start in the league at 36 years old. Wilson has completed 64.6% of his passes for 2,334 yards with 15 touchdowns to five interceptions and a 97.4 passer rating in his 10 games (and the Steelers are 6-4 in those starts). If Wilson had a better cast of skill-position players (and a healthy George Pickens), the outlook on him would be better than most. He’s not a long-term answer, but a good bridge quarterback if a good team needs one.
This could be the end for Kyle Shanahan: This isn’t Shanahan’s fault by any means, but it appears his tenure as the 49ers head coach has run its course. Shanahan has taken the 49ers to two Super Bowl appearances and failed to make the playoffs in the next season following the Super Bowl loss, having losing seasons in each campaign. Shanahan actually has as many losing seasons as winning season (four) in San Francisco. 49ers CEO Jed York has said Shanahan “isn’t going anywhere,” but the organization could look to restock the cupboard with draft picks as the Brock Purdy extension looms, along with other roster decisions that will shake up the core of the team. Shanahan may be better off with a fresh start somewhere else.
Offense has too much talent to be this poor: The Seahawks are 23rd in points per possession (1.82) and 17th in yards per possession (30.7), yet have a collection of skill-position players in Geno Smith, Kenneth Walker, Zach Charbonnet, DK Metcalf, Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Tyler Lockett. This simply isn’t good enough, and why the Seahawks are missing the playoffs in Mike Macdonald’s first season. Smith still turns the ball over too much for a veteran quarterback at 34 years old and Walker was underwhelming, averaging 3.7 yards per carry. Ryan Grubb will have to change this up, but perhaps this franchise needs to find a succession plan for Smith (or maybe it will be Sam Howell in due time).
Bucky Irving may be the next star running back: The Buccaneers selected Irving in the fourth round of this year’s draft to complement Rachaad White, but ended up with the best rookie running back in football. Irving has 1,033 rushing yards and seven rushing touchdowns, averaging 5.5 yards per carry. He also has 1,430 yards from scrimmage and 1,606 all-purpose yards, which ranks seventh in the NFL. The Buccaneers are fourth in the NFL in rushing yards per game (147.3) and third in yards per carry (5.2), one year after ranking last in the NFL in both categories. Irving has been a big part of why the Buccaneers offense has been its most balanced in years, making Tampa Bay a tough out in January.
They have to find a franchise quarterback: This probably was answered prior to the season when Tennessee decided to give the Will Levis experiment another year, but it was confirmed once the Titans benched Levis midseason. The Titans are 28th in team passer rating (78.4) and 31st in touchdown-to-interception ratio (1.0). Levis was 31st out of 34 qualified quarterbacks in passer rating (79.8) and had 12 interceptions in 11 games. With a top-five draft pick coming, it’s pretty obvious what Tennessee will be searching for in the April draft.
Jayden Daniels is a franchise quarterback: The Commanders got their pick right with Daniels, who has exceeded expectations in Year 1 as the team’s quarterback. Daniels is the first rookie in NFL history with 10+ wins, 30+ total touchdowns and 4,000+ total yards in a season, while setting the record for most rushing yards by a rookie quarterback (864). Daniels has led the Commanders to the playoffs and their first 11-win season since 1991, changing the fortunes of the franchise. The Commanders aren’t a laughing stock any more thanks to Daniels.
