Super Bowl LIX is finally upon us, with the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles advancing to the championship matchup of the 2024 NFL season. Which means there’s never been a better time to reflect on all that’s come before, reviewing the top storylines that brought us to this final showdown.
Here are 24 things we’ll remember about the 2024 season when it’s all said and done:
1. Saquon Barkley leaves the New York Giants and runs wild: The star running back got big bucks to join the rival Eagles, then proceeded to rip off one of the best seasons of all time, eclipsing 2,000 rushing yards while helping propel the Birds to a Super Bowl appearance.
2. The New York Jets fire everyone: First went coach Robert Saleh after a 2-3 start. General manager Joe Douglas got his own pink slip about a month later, after the team sunk to 3-8. The last man standing: quarterback Aaron Rodgers, whose age finally showed in a second straight year of disappointment.
3. The NFL finds its footing in Brazil: Well, sort of. The Eagles and Green Bay Packers met in São Paulo for a Friday night battle to help kick off the Week 1 slate, but they also fought against slippery field conditions to produce a sloppy but splashy international shootout.
4. The “Dynamic Kickoff” makes its debut: New rules required all players except for the kicker and return men to remain still until the ball was actually fielded. “Dynamic” proved too lofty a term for the tweaked format, as the kickoff remains a somewhat stagnant operation.
5. Tua Tagovailoa goes down again: The Miami Dolphins quarterback became a widespread topic of debate upon his scary exit from a Week 2 loss, in which he suffered his second documented concussion in three years. Some former NFL greats called for him to retire, but he returned in late October.
6. The Washington Commanders turn over a new leaf: Under new owner Josh Harris, they completed their leadership overhaul by adding Adam Peters at general manager, Dan Quinn at head coach and, best of all, the unrattled Jayden Daniels at quarterback, riding his flair all the way to the NFC title game.
7. The Deshaun Watson saga gets worse: The embattled Cleveland Browns quarterback returned from an injury-riddled 2023 season only to get shredded behind a porous offensive line, suffer a season-ending Achilles tear in October, then retear the Achilles in January. His NFL future is entirely up in the air.
8. San Francisco can’t stay healthy: A year after going blow for blow with the Chiefs in the Super Bowl, the 49ers lost basically every premier player, from Christian McCaffrey to Brandon Aiyuk, to extended injury absences. In the end, neither Brock Purdy nor Kyle Shanahan could overcome the losses.
9. Diontae Johnson gets traded all over the place: Dealt from the Pittsburgh Steelers to the Carolina Panthers prior to the season, the once-promising deep threat lasted half a season before being shipped to the Baltimore Ravens. Before long, he was cut and signed by the Houston Texans, then cut again.
10. Joe Burrow plays like a madman, but it’s all for naught: The Cincinnati Bengals star roared back to life following an injury-plagued 2023, leading the NFL with 43 touchdown passes, but his team’s defense failed to back him up, and the one-time AFC champion watched the playoffs from home.
11. The Dallas Cowboys crumble into irrelevance: Jerry Jones watched as another Dak Prescott injury ruined playoff hopes, then let Mike McCarthy walk as a lame-duck head coach, only to promote in-house offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer. The team hasn’t made an NFC title game since the 1995 season.
12. Anthony Richardson taps out: The young Indianapolis Colts quarterback didn’t always get adequate help from his beleaguered supporting cast, but he drew sharp critique for taking himself off the field for a third-down snap in a loss to the rival Texans, telling reporters afterward that he was “tired.”
13. The Steelers swap quarterbacks midseason: Despite starting 4-2 with Justin Fields under center, Mike Tomlin turned to veteran Russell Wilson, and at first, the change paid dividends, expanding the Steelers’ deep passing game. Things got more sluggish late as Steel City dropped its final five.
14. Kirk Cousins flashes, then flames out: Paid top dollar as the missing piece for the playoff-hungry Atlanta Falcons, the former Minnesota Vikings quarterback delivered some early-season treats, including a couple prime-time comebacks, before his aging arm appeared to run out of gas, prompting a benching.
15. The Vikings revive Sam Darnold … until the end: With Cousins gone, Kevin O’Connell coaxed MVP-caliber gunslinging from Darnold, who excelled with rookie J.J. McCarthy sidelined due to injury. The quarterback’s rejuvenation stalled in horrific fashion during Minnesota’s two losses to end a 14-3 season.
16. The Detroit Lions roll, but can’t finish: A nationwide darling following their inspiring march to 2023’s NFC title game, Dan Campbell’s powerhouse looked like a near-lock for Super Bowl contention after securing the No. 1 seed. Then the underdog Commanders outgunned them on their own turf.
17. Bryce Young hits rock bottom, then roars back to life: Benched early in his first year under new coach Dave Canales, the 2023 No. 1 overall draft pick rediscovered his confidence after returning to the lineup out of necessity, making the Panthers a truly scrappy bunch down the stretch.
18. The AFC plays host to another MVP race: Lamar Jackson with the Ravens and Josh Allen with the Buffalo Bills, two dual-threat studs looking to get over the hump in the playoffs, took turns making highlight-reel plays for their respective contenders. Jackson could soon make it official with his third career MVP.
19. Rookies make a historic impact: Besides Daniels in Washington, Bo Nix casually tossed 29 scores as the Denver Broncos’ new quarterback, Brock Bowers topped 110 catches for the Las Vegas Raiders, and Quinyon Mitchell became an instant star cover man for the title-hunting Philadelphia Eagles.
20. Trusty kickers go haywire all at once: Veteran special teamers like Justin Tucker, Jake Elliott and Younghoe Koo all endured career-worst stretches as field goal kickers, with the Ravens’ Tucker even briefly losing his place atop the NFL’s all-time leaderboard for field goal conversion rate.
21. Tom Brady starts broadcasting (and influencing the Raiders): The seven-time Super Bowl champ began his run as a Fox color commentator, all while shepherding Las Vegas into a new era, using his role as minority owner to help install a new coach and general manager moving into 2025.
22. Snowfall makes a spectacle: Jameis Winston and the Browns endured the elements to upset the rival Steelers in a Thursday night snowstorm during the regular season. Then Saquon Barkley and the Eagles ran through a coated Lincoln Financial Field to edge the Los Angeles Rams in the playoffs.
23. The Chiefs enjoy a ho-hum march to 15 wins: Despite rarely exploding as an offense, Patrick Mahomes and Co. dominated on the margins, going 11-0 in one-score matchups before carrying their tight-game calmness into the playoffs as the AFC’s No. 1 seed. Same old, same old in K.C.
24. The Chiefs and Eagles meet again: Two years after gifting NFL fans a high-octane championship shootout, these well-oiled machines returned to the big stage for a rematch of Super Bowl LVII, the Chiefs seeking a record third straight Lombardi Trophy, and Jalen Hurts and Co. looking to exact revenge.
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