The Lions roar into the playoffs
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Once again, it’s that time of year again.
The NFL regular season ended on Sunday, leading to the playoffs beginning with the wild-card round this upcoming weekend.
And no team benefited more than the Detroit Lions, who earned the NFC’s No. 1 seed after defeating the division-rival Minnesota Vikings, who fell to the conference’s fifth seed after a loss in the regular season finale. This means Detroit will join the Kansas City Chiefs, who already claimed the AFC’s top seed, as the two teams with a first-round bye and home-field advantage throughout the postseason.
Elsewhere, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (narrowly) took care of business, while the Denver Broncos left no doubt.
Here are the winners and losers from the final NFL Sunday of the 2024 regular season.
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winners
Lions make (more) history, reach top of NFC
After a close first half, Detroit (15–2) overcame the Vikings (14–3) in the second half to clinch the No. 1 seed in the NFC for the first time in team history. The win also extended the team record for most wins in franchise history. It was a typical Lions masterclass: the attack – which took some time to get going – led to explosive plays that created and then took the lead.
More impressive, however, was the defensive game plan coordinator Aaron Glenn deployed, which applied consistent pressure to upset Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold, who posted a season-low completion percentage (43.9%). What’s even more impressive is that the Lions dismantled Minnesota so well despite losing the turnover battle 2-0.
One reason the bye was necessary: Detroit is one of the most banged-up teams, especially on defense, and the extra time will help them get a little more healthy.
Broncos prove they’re no fluke, confirm likes of Sean Payton, Bo Nix
A season ago, Sean Payton praised the work done by his predecessor Nathaniel Hackett in an interview with Jarrett Bell of USA TODAY Sports, before coaching a game with the Broncos. Payton was widely criticized. Now, a year and a half later, though the distribution was probably obviously blunt and would have been better off being blocked from public consumption, Payton has been proven right.
The Broncos (10-7) have ended an eight-season playoff drought, and Payton’s tutelage of rookie quarterback Bo Nix is a big reason why. While the Chiefs rested their starters, the Broncos took care of business perfectly in a 38-point shutout. Nix had three incompletions and four passing touchdowns, going 26 of 29 for 321 yards. This, coupled with Denver’s decision to eat the largest dead cap hit in NFL history by releasing Russell Wilson, shows how efficient the Knicks and Broncos have been under Payton.
By slimmest of margins, Buccaneers come in
Tampa Bay has won the NFC South for the fourth consecutive season. It didn’t come without drama, as the Saints led by 10 at halftime and by six early in the fourth, but the Buccaneers (10-7), as they had for most of the season, relied on grit and competitiveness, Clutch and flexibility to make plays at the right time.
And no player has embraced the Buccaneers’ resiliency more than quarterback Baker Mayfield, who finished the regular season ranked third in passing yards (4,500), second in passing touchdowns (41) and fourth in QB rating (106.8). Stay on. However, at times, the Buccaneers become stagnant on offense and can be inconsistent from play-to-play. They can be careless with the ball. To make a run at the playoffs, they can’t afford any of this.
Commander stay in 6th seed, avoid tough competition – for now
Commanders coach Dan Quinn said Washington (12-5) will “fight extremely hard” to take the No. 6 seed. They removed quarterback Jayden Daniels from the game, so maybe it was a little fraudulent, but a game-winning touchdown pass to Terry McLaurin with three seconds remaining kept the Commanders from facing the Eagles (14-3) in the wild-card round. Gave. ,
Instead, Washington will face the Buccaneers, a team whose defense the Commander can take advantage of. Tampa Bay sets up bodies in the box to stop the run and does a good job of it. But the Buccaneers are a bit troubled in the secondary and are struggling to stop the pass.
bryce young
When he was ruled out after Week 2, it seemed as if Bryce Young’s future with the Panthers – despite being selected No. 1 overall in the 2023 draft – was in doubt. Yet Carolina (5-12) was forced to turn to Young, and he rewarded the Panthers with the best game of his career.
Over the last eight games of the season, Young has completed 62.1% of his throws for 1,709 yards and a total of 17 touchdowns against three interceptions. The offensive line is still an issue, but Young has developed more confidence and is moving faster. He’s earned a future in Carolina; Now it is the responsibility of the team to surround him with talent.
lost
Vikings drop to 5-seed, but still lurk as dangerous team
Minnesota (14-3) certainly lost more than any playoff team, missing out on the potential top seed in the NFC and settling for No. 5 instead. The concern for the Vikings is whether Detroit’s relentless pressure provides a blueprint for other teams to replicate. That said, not many teams have the athleticism and discipline that the Lions have.
Detroit held the Vikings to three fourth-down attempts, four red-zone attempts and three goal-and-goal scenarios without a single conversion. But there’s still a chance for the Vikings to earn ultimate bragging rights; If they defeat the Rams in the wild-card round, they will get a rematch against the Lions in the divisional round in two weeks, once again at Ford Field in Detroit.
It doesn’t matter, but Atlanta’s defense lets the Falcons down again
Given the optimism with which the Falcons (8-9) entered this season, signing Kirk Cousins and a new coaching staff, this year cannot be considered anything but a failure. For Atlanta to make the postseason, it needs to beat the Panthers and rely on the Saints beating the Buccaneers. That didn’t happen either.
Patriots, long the paragon of stability, opt for chaos
Perhaps they were so worn out by the relentlessness of 24 seasons of the Bill Belichick era, perhaps they unrealistically thought the first year of a rebuild would be better than it was, but the Patriots (4-13) opted for instability by making Jerrod Mayo , who was appointed as Belichick’s successor.
There may be more to come in the coming days about internal friction, and Mayo’s operation was far from perfect, but New England should know better than most teams that coaching instability is the quickest path to underperformance and irrelevance. is the way. The roster has massive flaws and the offense lacks elite playmaking ability, especially at receiver. Rookie quarterback Drake Mays will now almost certainly have three different offensive coordinators in as many seasons, going back to his final season with the Tar Heels. Perhaps the Patriots feel pretty good about their chances of replacing Mayo with someone they feel is a clear upgrade. That’s the only way it can be justified.
Dolphins, Bengals learn pitfalls of relying on help
Both of these teams needed help and both missed the playoffs. Cincy (9-8) got off to a disastrously slow start, going 1-4, including a season-opening loss to the rebuilding Patriots, a team that finished with four wins. Miami couldn’t overcome its early season struggles, and its scheme at backup quarterback ruined its chances. The Dolphins couldn’t even get past the struggling Jets on Sunday, allowing Aaron Rodgers to throw four touchdowns, the first time he’s done so since Week 13 of 2021…