It is the final week of the 2024 NFL Regular Season, and there are still many things to decide. We’ll see how the Baltimore Ravens and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers got on later. But there is only one place where any look back this week can start.
Lions vs Vikings in the Decider
Everything in the NFL North was still to play for in the season’s final week. The Detroit Lions and the Minnesota Vikings were tied with a 14-2 record going into the decider. The winner would win the division and claim the number one seed in the NFC. The loser would take the five-seed (which is incredibly unfair, considering they would be the second-best team in the conference). So, who will win the battle?
The Lions had the game’s opening drive but would be unable to do anything with this. However, they would have a better attempt on their second drive. Starting from their 22-yard line, the Lions’ offense led by Jared Goff, was able to move down to the Vikings’ 25-yard line. Jahmyr Gibbs would find the endzone for the rushing touchdown to give the Lions the early lead.
In response to this score, the Vikings could not do anything. On their following drive, the offense, led by Sam Darnold, made their way down to the Lions’ three-yard line. Here, a crucial fourth down attempt was taken. But Darnold’s pass was incomplete, handing possession back to Detroit.
But, the Lions did not hold onto the possession for long. On their 26-yard line, a mistake was made when Goff threw an interception. This was returned by the Minnesota defense to the seven-yard line. On the subsequent drive, the Vikings offense did not go anywhere, but this allowed kicker Will Reichard to make a 25-yard field goal.
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The Vikings would again attempt to find the uprights on their next drive when the offense stalled on the Lions’ 13-yard line. Reichard’s kick, this time from 31 yards out, was successful, and the Lions’ lead fell to only one point.
But, the lead was extended on the final play of the half. The Lions’ offense went down to the Vikings’ 30-yard line to set up a field goal attempt to end the half. Jake Bates’ kick from 48 yards out was successful.
This meant that as the teams returned to the locker rooms, the Lions had a 10-6 lead over the Vikings.
On the second half’s opening drive, the Vikings were looking to put themselves into the lead. The Darnold lead offense would be able to make it down to the Lions’ two-yard line, where another fourth-down conversion to score the touchdown was attempted. However, like their attempt from the first half, it was unsuccessful.
But the Vikings would not be without the ball for long. On the first play of the following drive from the Lions, Goff’s deep pass was intercepted by the defense. In response, Minnesota made their way to the Lions’ 33-yard line but no further. This set up Reichard with a 51-yard field goal, which was successful.
The teams were now split by one point, but not for long. Shaking off the interception on the previous drive, Goff was able to lead the Lions down to the Vikings’ 10-yard line. From here, he found Gibbs for the touchdown pass to widen their lead. Minnesota attempted to cut the lead, but their field goal attempt from 51 yards out (the same distance as the one Reichard had made earlier) went wide right.
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Detroit would be able to capitalize on this error and widen their lead. From their 41-yard line, Goff and company made their way down to the Vikings’ 13-yard line. Here, Gibbs again found the endzone to almost seal the win at the beginning of their fourth quarter.
On their next drive, the Lions were able to seal the win and the division title. Starting from their 26-yard line, the offense went down to the Vikings’ four-yard line before Gibbs found the endzone for his third rushing touchdown.
The Vikings could not do anything on their final drives, meaning the Detroit Lions had defeated the Minnesota Vikings 31-9.
The Lions continue the best season in their history by claiming the number-one seed for the first time. This gives them a first-round bye, and they will enter the playoffs in the divisional round. As for the Vikings, the defeat will not massively impact their season. However, they are not division champions and will have to enter the playoffs in the wildcard round next week. Still, either of these teams could make a run to the Super Bowl and even be champions.
The Ravens win the AFC North
Staying in the North but switching from the NFC to the AFC, the Baltimore Ravens came into the week knowing that a win in their final game of the regular season would be enough to give them the division title. Their opponents for this final game were the Cleveland Browns, who have been one of the worst-performing teams this season, and a defeat to the Ravens would put them in contention for the number one pick of the draft.
Neither team had a good opening drive, but soon after, the Browns would make the first mistake of the game. On their 23-yard line, Browns’ quarterback Bailey Zappe threw a pass that Nate Wiggins intercepted. Wiggins would then return the ball to the endzone to give the Ravens the early lead of the game.
A few drives later, the Ravens were able to extend their lead. Starting on the Browns’ 47-yard line, the Ravens offense, led by Lamar Jackson, would make their way down to the Browns’ 12-yard line. Here, Jackson found Mark Andrews for the touchdown pass.
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Cleveland would be able to respond to this. The Zappe-led offense would make their way down to the Baltimore five-yard line, where their drive would stall. This set up kicker Dustin Hopkins with a 23-yard field goal, which he would make.
Not much happened at the end of the half, so the Ravens had a 14-3 lead over the Browns at halftime.
The Ravens could extend their lead on their first drive of the second half. The Jackson-led offense made its way down to the Browns’ seven-yard line. From here, the quarterback found Rashod Bateman for the touchdown pass.
Early in the fourth quarter, the Browns would be able to find the endzone for what was essentially a consolation touchdown score. Zappe found Jordan Akins for a 16-yard touchdown pass to give the Cleveland fans a moment of joy in a poor season. However, the Ravens would immediately take the pleasure from the Browns fans, as Derrick Henry found the endzone on the following drive to score a two-yard rushing touchdown.
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On Baltimores’ next drive, the lead would get even more prominent as Henry again found the endzone from 43 yards out.
As the game ended, the Baltimore Ravens defeated the Cleveland Browns 35-10.
The win gives the Ravens their eighth AFC North title. As for the Browns, they finish the season with a 3-14 record.
The NFC South goes down to the wire
Another division that went down to the wire was the NFC South. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Atlanta Falcons had the chance to win the division and make the playoffs. We were set for an entertaining couple of hours, and both games were held simultaneously. However, when each match was on its own, Tampa Bay had the easy task. All they had to do was defeat the New Orleans Saints and they would win the NFC South. Could they do it, or would the Saints open the door for the Falcons?
The Saints had the game’s opening drive and could get the opening points from it. Starting from their 30-yard line, the offense, which Spenser Rattler led, was able to move down to the Buccaneers’ 16-yard line. This is where the drive would stall, setting up a 35-yard field goal attempt from kicker Blake Gruppe, which was successful.
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In response, the Buccaneers would score a field goal of their own. The Tampa Bay offense, led by quarterback Baker Mayfield, would make its way down to the Saints’ 34-yard line, but no further. Chris McLaughlin was given a 52-yard field goal attempt, which he made to tie the game.
New Orleans could retake their lead on the next drive through another field goal. This time, Gruppe made it from 39 yards out.
On their next drive the Saints would extend their lead on the next drive. Rattler and company could make it down to the Bucaneers’ five-yard line. From here, Rattler found Dante Pettis for the touchdown pass. In response, Tampa Bay would make a field goal from 25 yards out, and then Gruppe would make one from 39 yards out to end the half.
This meant that the Saints had a 16-6 lead over the Buccaneers at halftime.
Tampa Bay had the opening drive of the second half and would be able to get themselves back into the game. Mayfield and company led the offense down to the Saints’ six-yard line. Here, Mayfield found Payne Durham for the touchdown pass.
However, on their next drive, the Buccaneers made a mistake. Mayfield’s pass was intercepted by the Saints defense on the Tampa Bay 40-yard line. This would be somewhat costly, as New Orleans extended their lead with a 49-yard field goal from Gruppe on the following drive.
But, at the beginning of the fourth quarter, the Buccaneers would take the lead for the first time. On a drive that started on their 18-yard line, the Tampa Bay offense would slowly move down to the Saints’ 32-yard line. From here, Mayfield found Jalen McMillan for the touchdown pass. This gave the Buccaneers a one-point lead.
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This lead would be extended on their next drive, which took much time off the clock. Mayfield helped to move the offense down to the Saints’ 11-yard line. Here, Bucky Irving found the endzone for the rushing touchdown to seal the win and the division championship.
This meant that the Tampa Bay Buccaneers defeated the New Orleans Saints 27-19 at the end of the game.
This win gave the Buccaneers their seventh NFC South title and fourth consecutive title. It also means that no matter what the Atlanta Falcons did in their game against the Carolina Panthers, they would not make the playoffs. As for the Saints, a season that started incredibly strong faded in the end, and they finished with a 5-12 record.
That was all of the games that had a divisional title at stake. A lot of the other games were meaningless in the grand scheme of things or had a small impact on the NFL Draft standings.
What Happened in The Other Games?
The Cincinnati Bengals faced the Pittsburgh Steelers in their regular season-ending game. This game happened after the Ravens won, so the Steelers had sealed a wildcard spot. For the Bengals, a win would keep them in the running for an AFC Wildcard spot. Despite a late comeback from the Steelers, it would not be enough, as the Bengals held on for a 19-17 win.
The hopes of the Bengals would be in the hands of the Kansas City Chiefs. The Chiefs had already sealed the number one seed in the AFC, so their game against the Denver Broncos had no impact on them. The game would impact the Broncos, who knew a win would give them a playoff spot. The Chiefs rested all their starters and looked like they did not even show up. Bo Nix would easily throw for four touchdowns in a 38-0 win. The Broncos made the playoffs for the first time since 2015, while the Chiefs did all that to deny the Bengals a spot in the playoffs.
Returning to the NFC South battle from earlier, the Atlanta Falcons faced the Carolina Panthers in what would then be a title-deciding game. However, the Tampa Bay win denied the Falcons the conference. This would be a very close game, with Bryce Young and Michael Penix Jr performing well. The game went overtime, and the Panthers would win 44-38.
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The Washington Commanders faced the Dallas Cowboys in the final game in a disappointing season for Dallas. This was another less-than-stellar showing from the Cowboys, defeated by the playoff-bound Commanders 23-19.
History was made at Lambeau Field as the Green Bay Packers faced rivals, the Chicago Bears. The Bears had not defeated the Packers in Wisconsin for many years, and it looked like it would be the same story here. Then, a last-second field goal from Cairo Santos gave the Bears a 24-22 win over the Packers. It didn’t do much for their season, but sometimes pride is more important.
The Houston Texans faced the Tennessee Titans at the bottom of the standings in an important game. The Texans were able to defeat the Titans 23-14. This defeat gives the Titans the number-one pick in the 2025 NFL Draft.
In another meaningless game, the Indianapolis Colts faced the Jacksonville Jaguars. While no one may have cared about the game, it went down to the wire. A late field goal from the Jaguars would send the game to overtime. In overtime, Matt Gay would kick a 38-yard field goal to give the Colts a 26-23 win.
The New England Patriots faced the Buffalo Bills in a game where a defeat for the Patriots would give them the number one pick. Patriots backup QB and former Tennessee Volunteer Joe Milton had a strong game, throwing for 241 yards and leading his team to a 23-16 win against the Josh Allen-less Bills. This denied the Patriots the number one pick and coach Jerod Mayo employment, as he was fired after the game.
On the subject of fired coaches, the Las Vegas Raiders were defeated by the Los Angeles Chargers 34-20. This game sealed the Chargers’ fifth seed in the AFC and was the last game of Antonio Pierce’s tenure as Raiders coach.
In what may be his final game, Aaron Rodgers and his New York Jets faced the Miami Dolphins. If this is to be his final game, Rodgers played very well. He threw for four touchdowns in the Jets 32-20 win. However, they did not save their season and ended the year with a 5-12 record.
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The poor season for the San Francisco 49ers ended this week in their game with the Arizona Cardinals. The 49ers were easily defeated 47-24, which led to the firing of their offensive coordinator.
The Los Angeles Rams have already sealed the NFC West title. They ended their regular season against the Seattle Seahawks in a game where most of the Rams starters were rested. This was a close game, but Geno Smith found Noah Fant for a late touchdown pass to give the Seahawks a 30-25 win.
And finally, for the last time this season, how did the New York Giants ruin my weekend? In the final week of a poor and disappointing season for the Giants, they faced the Philadelphia Eagles, who rested all their starters, including Saquon Barkley, who could have set a regular season record if he had played. Still, even without the starters, the Eagles could win the game 20-13. After the game, it was announced that Giants’ coach Brian Daboll would stay on for another season. It has been a transformational year for the team, and more changes are coming.
The regular season is over, and we have the 12 teams who have made the playoffs. That starts next week with Super Wildcard Weekend.
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