The 2024 NFL Regular Season Part 2 Quiz

Answer:

The Philadelphia Eagles played consistently all season after dropping two of their first four (Atlanta 22-23, Buccs 16-33) the winning ten straight before the Washington Commanders (33-36) gave them their only divisional loss for the season. It was that loss to the Commanders that made the football world take notice that maybe the Commanders were contenders. No one expected much from a team that had not been successful in recent seasons but Heisman-winning rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels led his charges around the park going 5-2 in the division and only dropping five games, four by one score or less. The Cowboys had won 12-5 for the previous three seasons (but only won one playoff game in that time) so this season with only seven wins was considered a failure. The Giants had only had one winning season in the last five (2022: 9-7-1) which was the main reason they released Daniel Jones, their franchise QB soon after benching him this season.

Big things were expected from the Atlanta Hawks this season as they offered Kirk Cousins a multi-million dollar over four years to be their QB. They also acquired Michael Penix Jr. in the first round of the NFL draft. Their season did not go to plan. The Hawks could have made the playoffs with a win in their last game and a Tampa Bay loss but the opposite occurred. Cousins had been benched late into the season. Tampa Bay won their division for the fourth season in a row with 2024 one win better than their 9-7 last season. The Panthers' 5-12 was a big improvement on 2023's 2-15 but it was still their seventh consecutive losing season. The Saints scored 91 points and two wins in their first two wins of the season but they came last in their division for the first time since 2008.

Los Angeles Rams' 10-7 matched last season's but this season it clinched the division and fourth seed whereas last season was only enough to earn a wild card spot where they were defeated by the third seed Detroit 23-22. The Seahawks defeated the Rams 30-25 in the last game of the season but their 10-7 was not enough to make the playoffs. The head-to-head (1-1) and division (4-2) record tiebreakers were even so it was only the Strength of Victory tiebreaker that produced a winner. The Cardinals (8-9) improved from 4-13 in 2022 & 2023 but were eliminated from the playoffs in week 16 and their week 17 loss to the Rams ensured they would have a losing record for the third consecutive season. The 49ers went from 12-5 Super Bowl finalists in 2023 to a fourth divisional place (6-11). A massive injury toll was blamed for this decline but they lost seven of their last eight games. This was their first absence from the playoffs since 2020.

The Lions had a wonderful regular season. Their two losses were less than one score each (Tampa Bay week 2 16-20, Buffalo week 15 42-48). They defended their NFC North title and improved from 12-5 in 2023 to 15-2 this season. Their number-one seed in the playoffs was the first time they had reached this milestone but even more impressive was they were the first team in franchise history to go undefeated on the road. The Vikings' 14-3 was surprising as they had a new QB in Sam Darnold and this was Kevin O'Connell's first time he held a head coaching position (He was the youngest head coach in the 2024 season) Their only losses were to the Lions twice, and the Rams. The Packers flew under the radar for most of 2024 quietly earning enough wins (11-6, an improvement over 9-7 in 2023) to make the playoffs (Their fifth in six seasons). With three strong teams in their division, the fourth team was only ever going to struggle. This did not seem to be the case with a 4-2 start but then they lost ten straight finishing with 5-12, which was less than their 7-10 in 2023.