The final week of the 2024 National Football League season took place on Sunday. Here are the five teams that were victorious that were not expected to win.
Carolina Panthers
The Panthers were an 8.5 point underdog and beat the Atlanta Falcons 44-38 in overtime. Here we saw the excellence of Panthers starting quarterback Bryce Young of Wynnewood, Pennsylvania, who contributed with five touchdown passes. The Falcons would have qualified for the playoffs with a victory and a Tampa Bay loss. However, Atlanta knew they had been eliminated from the postseason at the time of the overtime coin toss.
Chicago Bears
The Bears beat the Green Bay Packers 24-22 at Lambeau Field as a 9.5 point underdog. Chicago won on a last second 51 yard field goal by Cairo Santos of Limeira, Brazil. The Packers had already made the playoffs prior to the contest, but decided to dress its starters because they were battling for the sixth seed in the NFC with the Washington Commanders. The Packers ran into injury troubles as quarterback Jordan Love injured his elbow and wide receiver Christian Watson injured his knee.
Houston Texans
The Texans benched starting quarterback Chris Stroud and still beat the Tennessee Titans 23-14 as a one point underdog. The Titans played in the Houston Oilers jerseys during the contest. The Texans star was running back Dameon Pierce of Bainbridge, Georgia. Pierce had 19 carries for 176 rushing yards and one touchdown. The major score was a 92 yard run early in the second quarter that put the Texans up 13-0 at the time.
New England Patriots
This was a game where both teams were not trying to win. The Bills had benched quarterback Josh Allen, while the Patriots secured the number one pick in the 2025 NFL Draft with a loss. However, it was the Patriots that won the game 23-16 as a three point underdog. New England was led by wide receiver Kayshon Boutte of New Iberia, Louisiana, who had seven catches for 117 receiving yards and one touchdown.
New York Jets
The Jets won their fifth game of the season by beating the Miami Dolphins 32-20 as 1.5 point underdog. Here we saw the greatness of Aaron Rodgers, who completed 23 of 36 passes for 274 passing yards and four touchdowns. The Dolphins knew their postseason fate during the game. They were eliminated from the postseason when the Denver Broncos clobbered the Kansas City Chiefs 38-0.
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