There are only 16 games remaining in the 2024 regular season, and there are still a few things to be settled. The AFC North will crown a champion on Saturday. On Sunday, either the Tampa Bay Buccaneers or Atlanta Falcons will win the NFC South. The final game of the regular season takes place in the Motor City, and either the Vikings or Lions will be the NFC’s No. 1 seed (as well as a division champion).
Along with those key bits of information, here are five statistics that may open an eye…or both.
25
As usual, the final week of the NFL regular season features 16 divisional contests. Obviously, all are rematches from earlier in the year. We have already seen 32 of those two-game sets play out in 2024, and so far, exactly two-thirds of those series (24-of-32) have resulted in two-game sweeps. In the previous 10 seasons (2014-23), there were more sweeps than splits in nine of those years.
The lone exception was 2022, with 24 splits and 22 sweeps (2 divisional series featured a tie). A season ago, there were more sweeps (25) than splits (23). It will be interesting to see what the final number for 2024 turns out to be.
8
Here's an NFL milestone you don’t hear a lot about, and it is on the verge of being tied by a somewhat unlikely source. Quarterback Josh Allen has piled up impressive numbers for the Buffalo Bills, both good and bad in recent years. In 2023, Sean McDermott’s club turned over the football 28 times in 17 contests, 22 of those miscues by Allen.
This season, the 2024 Pro Bowler is the only player on his team to give up the ball this season, via six interceptions and two lost fumbles. The Bills can tie the NFL record for fewest turnovers in a season (8), and achieve that feat playing one more game than the Saints did in 2019.
4
The Kansas City Chiefs are headed to the playoffs for the 10th straight year, one short of the league record held by the New England Patriots (11 from 2009-19). The Buffalo Bills will be making their sixth consecutive postseason appearance dating back to 2019.
The Philadelphia Eagles are headed to the playoffs for the fourth straight year, but they could be leapfrogged for third on the active list if the team comes up with a win on Sunday. The Buccaneers have been in the postseason four consecutive years. With a victory over the Saints on Sunday, they would reach the playoffs for the fifth straight season.
533
There’s been a lot made about NFL records and length of seasons in recent days in regards to Philadelphia running back Saquon Barkley (2,005) threatening Eric Dickerson’s NFL mark of 2,105 rushing yards in 1984 in a 16-game season. The bottom line is that the league recognizes the number, regardless of how many games a season lasts.
Let’s look at a different situation regarding the defensively-challenged Carolina Panthers. The club has allowed a league-high 496 points. The NFL record for points allowed in a season is 533 by the 1981 Baltimore Colts. If the Falcons score 38 points on Sunday, Carolina set a new record.
1
Bengals’ quarterback Joe Burrow leads the NFL with 4,641 yards through the air. Sitting in second place is Detroit’s Jared Goff (4,398), so Burrow is ahead of the Lions’ signal-caller by 243 yards. The Bengals need a win over the Steelers, and losses by the Broncos and Dolphins to grab a playoff spot. What’s the point?
If Cincinnati fails to reach the postseason and Burrow hangs on to lead the league in passing yards, it will add to an incredible number. It means only once in 59 seasons has a player led pro football in passing yards and won the Super Bowl the same season. That would be the Chiefs’ Patrick Mahomes in 2022.