NFL Game Recaps: Week 18, 2024

NFL Game Recaps of previous weeks and seasons can be found via links at the bottom of the page.

Ravens 35, Browns 10

One of the highlights of this game for Cleveland was when Bailey Zappe, starting in favor of the woefully inept Dorian Thompson-Robinson, completed a 21-yard pass to Jordan Akins down the seam. This began the afternoon for the Browns, and it was all downhill from there. The Browns proceeded to punt four plays later and then saw their second possession end more disastrously when Zappe telegraphed a pass to the outside. Rookie cornerback Nate Wiggins snatched the ball and took it back for six.

The Ravens went up 7-0 rather quickly and only extended their lead after that. Lamar Jackson had some impressive gains on the ground and proceeded to throw touchdowns to Mark Andrews and Rashod Bateman. Derrick Henry was bottled up for the most part, but occassionally generated some big gains. The only true negative moment occurred when Zay Flowers grabbed his knee after a catch. Flowers left the game and never returned.

The only drama in this game occurred when the Ravens were up 28-10 with three minutes remaining. They obviously had already sealed the victory, but it wasn’t clear if they’d cover the 20-point spread. That’s when Henry broke free for a 43-yard touchdown to put Baltimore up 25. It’s unclear why the Baltimore starters were even playing at that point, and the only logical explanation would be to cover the spread.

The Ravens clinched the AFC South with this victory, but the greater concern is for Flowers, whose absence would severely limit Baltimore’s passing attack.

The Browns did well to maintain their draft status. They’re locked into a top-three pick, and they could have the top choice if the Patriots and Titans win on Sunday. Check out my 2025 NFL Mock Draft for more.

Bengals 19, Steelers 17

The Bengals were well in control of this game for most of the evening. They scored a touchdown on the opening drive when Joe Burrow hit Ja’Marr Chase and then added a field goal to go up 10-0. The Steelers struck back with a Najee Harris touchdown, but it was all Bengals otherwise. By “all,” however, I mean all field goals. Cincinnati stalled far too often in the red zone, including once when it gained a ton of momentum after stopping the Steelers on a second-, third-, and fourth-and-1 right before halftime.

Cincinnati had one more eventful field goal in the red zone. Burrow was hurt on the play, and a kick made the score 16-7. The Bengals eventually led 19-7 when this game finally began to turn in Pittsburgh’s favor. The Steelers, who had issues moving the chains all evening, thanks to protection problems, penalties, and three George Pickens drops, finally engineered a touchdown drive with Wilson hitting Pat Freiermuth with a touchdown to make the score 19-14. The Steelers retained possession on a muffed punt, but Pickens’ third drop of the night forced the Steelers into settling for a 54-yard field goal.

Now up just 19-17 with 2:39 remaining, the Bengals had a chance to end the game, but Keanu Benton sacked Burrow on third down to give the Steelers one more drive. However, Trey Hendrickson sacked Wilson, and then Freiermuth made a rare drop to ensure Cincinnati’s victory.

The Bengals had to win to have a chance to make the playoffs, but they still need the Broncos and Dolphins to lose on Sunday.

The Steelers may fall to the No. 6 seed if the Chargers beat the Raiders on Sunday. This would mean another trip to Baltimore.

Buccaneers 27, Saints 19

All the Buccaneers needed to do in order to clinch playoff berth was beat the horrible Saints at home. They were 11-point favorites, so this seemed like an easy task, especially considering that Tampa Bay nuked New Orleans in the prior meeting, 51-27.

No one gave the Saints the memo that they were supposed to lose. They took the opening drive down the field and scored a field goal. The Buccaneers answered with their own field goal, but in the second quarter, New Orleans engineered a touchdown drive to go up 13-3. Suddenly, the Buccaneers looked like they would suffer one of the most humiliating losses in recent history.

Things only got worse for the Buccaneers in the early stages of the second half. There was a sequence where Baker Mayfield missed a wide-open Mike Evans and then the special teams were guilty of a 14-yard punt. Mayfield also lost his cool, where it appeared as though there was one instance where he nearly stopped on a player on the ground, sparking a fight between the two teams. However, Mayfield eventually redeemed himself by converting a fourth-and-8 to Jalen McMillan. Two plays later, Mayfield fired a touchdown to McMillan to go up 20-19.

The Buccaneers needed an insurance score the next time they had possession. They took over on their own 6-yard line, but were able to pound the ball successfully against the Saints, ultimately reaching the end zone on an 11-yard Bucky Irving run. The Saints had one more chance to tie, but stalled after crossing midfield.

Thanks to fourth-quarter heroics, the Buccaneers were able to clinch the NFC South. Evans also hit a $3 million bonus by catching an otherwise meaningless 9-yard pass at the end of the game.

The Saints fought hard even though they didn’t have their regular players. Rattler played relatively well, so it was nice that he was able to put on some good tape after some poor showings.

Patriots 23, Bills 16

Everyone knew the Bills would rest their starters, save for Von Miller, who needed a sack to earn $1.5 million in incentives. He recorded the sack early, prompting a quick exit. James Cook also played enough to carry the ball 10 times for some reason, but it was all Mitchell Trubisky and Ray Davis in the Buffalo backfield for the majority of the afternoon.

The Patriots, meanwhile, started Drake Maye, but he lasted just one throw. He then was inexplicably pulled for fellow rookie Joe Milton. The Tennessee product was stellar in this game, albeit against backups. Milton began the afternoon 10-of-10, including a 48-yard touchdown where Milton zipped the ball late across his body over the middle of the field to Kayshon Boutte. This pass likely would have gotten pick-sixed against real players, but this was effectively an exhibition game.

The Bills scored a touchdown in the second half to take the lead for the first time, but the Patriots struck back with three field goals. The Bills, meanwhile, showed no desire to reestablish the lead, as they even benched Mitchell Trubisky in favor of Mike White, who was 3-of-11 for 28 yards at the end.

The Patriots are foolish for winning this game. They had the No. 1 overall pick fall into their laps, but they squandered it. They didn’t need a quarterback, but they could have traded the selection away to a desperate team. That is no longer possible.

Bears 24, Packers 22

The Packers didn’t have to play their starters in this game. They perhaps had their sights on moving up to the No. 6 seed, but that would have required the Redskins to lose to the Cowboys. Thus, no one would have faulted them for resting their key players.

Green Bay decided to go for it, and things couldn’t have gone more disastrously for them. The Packers allowed an early touchdown on a punt return, and then Jayden Reed lost a fumble on an end-around, which set up a D’Andre Swift touchdown to put the Bears up 14-3.

And then, the injuries occurred. Christian Watson was carted off with a leg injury – I won’t say “of course” this time because I didn’t bet on him – and then “No Cookie” Jordan Love was knocked out with an elbow injury after he began shaking his hand in some pain.

As this was occurring, the Bears were able to have some rare offensive success. D.J. Moore scored a touchdown, though Moore eventually lost a fumble with two minutes remaining. The Packers were able to turn the take-away into a 55-yard field goal to take the lead.

Chicago had one final chance with 48 seconds remaining. The team lucked into a first down because of a horse collar tackle. Caleb Williams was able to hit Rome Odunze and Moore for gains of 15 and 18 yards, respectively. This set up another potential game-winning field goal against the Packers. This time, the kick wasn’t blocked, as Cairo Santos hit the 51-yard attempt to exorcise the old demons.

The Packers were foolish for playing their starters. They had no desire to try hard, so they should have rested everyone. It ended up costing them with a couple of injuries.

The Bears didn’t need to win, but they sort of needed to win this way. Given how many close games they lost at the wire, it should help them mentally to prevail once in such a manner.

Panthers 44, Falcons 38

The Falcons needed to win this game and see the Buccaneers lose to the Saints to clinch playoff berth. Though beating a four-win team seemed like a simple requirement, the Falcons had trouble containing Carolina’s offense. The Panthers were able to engineer multiple touchdown drives in the second quarter, as Bryce Young was able to deliver multiple deep passes to Adam Thielen and Miles Sanders. Carolina went up 10-3 and 17-10 upon scoring these touchdowns.

Atlanta had to respond each time, which would have been a difficult task with Kirk Cousins. Michael Penix Jr. has been an upgrade, however. He beat Young in second-quarter touchdowns with three. He scrambled in one and then saw Bijan Robinson reach the end zone. Penix’s final touchdown drive was most impressive. He hit a couple of deep passes, including a 42-yard dart to Ray-Ray McCloud with limited time left. He had enough time to take two shots into the end zone. The first was nearly a touchdown to Drake London, but the receiver was able to get in only one foot inbounds. Penix went back to London, who scored on a back-shoulder catch the second time to give the Falcons a 24-17 advantage at halftime.

The Falcons didn’t do any scoring in the third quarter, thanks to a missed field goal. Meanwhile, the Panthers continued to roll. They took a touchdown lead entering the final quarter, but the Falcons stormed back to tie the game twice, including once on Robinson’s second touchdown of the evening.

This game went into overtime, but by then, the Buccaneers-Saints game was already decided. It looked like the Falcons ran out of energy in overtime because they knew the ordeal as meaningless. The Panthers consequently marched down the field and scored the decisive touchdown on a Sanders run.

Raheem Morris made a huge mistake earlier in the year when he waited way too long to switch to Penix. Had this decision been made earlier, the Falcons may have won the division.

The Panthers did well to rally late in the year. Thanks to tie-breakers, they were able to escape last place in the division.

Redskins 23, Cowboys 19

All the Redskins needed to do to maintain the No. 6 seed and avoid a trip to Philadelphia was beat the Trey Lance-led Cowboys. Apparently, the Redskins were completely indifferent as far as their seeding is concerned, and it was evident in the early stages of this game. The Redskins showed no resistance defensively, allowing Lance to constantly move the chains. The Cowboys would have scored plenty of points had they not stalled in the red zone. Lance had a dropped interception in the red zone and missed an open receiver for a potential touchdown.

Washington’s offense didn’t do much either. Jayden Daniels took some sacks from Micah Parsons and couldn’t sustain any drives. Before long, Daniels was pulled in favor of Marcus Mariota, as the Redskins simply waved the white flag, showing no desire to keep the No. 6 seed.

Mariota was able to take over the lead, but Rico Dowdle scored for the Cowboys to put Dallas up 19-16. Mariota had one final chance at the end, sparked by a 33-yard run of his on fourth-and-1. Mariota then moved to the 5-yard line on a pass to Zach Ertz. Two plays later, he located Terry McLaurin in the end zone for a touchdown with six seconds remaining.

It’s unclear why the Redskins showed no desire to avoid the Eagles in the opening round. They ended up doing so, but they nearly suffered a senseless defeat.

It’s also unclear why the Cowboys didn’t turn to Trey Lance earlier in the season, given that they traded a fourth-round pick for him.

Texans 23, Titans 14

It was unclear how long Houston’s starters would play in this meaningless game. We quickly learned the answer, as C.J. Stroud, Joe Mixon, and Nico Collins disappeared following the opening possession. That initial drive was a successful one, with Stroud completing all six passes for 50 yards, capped off with a touchdown to Collins.

Davis Mills entered the game after that and immediately saw the lead expand with Dameon Pierce ripping off a 92-yard touchdown. All went right for the Texans, save for a Robert Woods lost fumble when they led 13-0.

Meanwhile, the Titans embarrassed themselves one final time this year. Will Levis was charged with a lost fumble on a botched pitch to a teammate. The Texans grabbed the loose ball and returned it for a defensive touchdown. The only success the Titans had was a fluky deep bomb that Levis completed to someone named Tay Martin for a 49-yard score.

This game meant nothing for the Texans, aside from perhaps being an opportunity to regain some confidence. It’s unclear if that one drive did that, but it can’t hurt.

The Titans lost, but they were the true winners in this game because they were able to secure the No. 1 pick in the 2025 NFL Draft.

Eagles 20, Giants 13

This game was completely irrelevant for the Eagles, who were stuck in the No. 2 seed. They barely played any starters, with Tanner McKee handling all of the reps for Philadelphia. McKee did well, throwing for two touchdowns.

The Giants didn’t have that many highlights. Drew Lock took a major step back from last week’s ridiculous performance. He managed to throw a touchdown to Malik Nabers, who set the Giants all-time single-season receptions record. He also temporarily passed Brock Bowers for the all-time rookie receptions record.

Colts 26, Jaguars 23
By Charlie Campbell – @draftcampbell

EDITOR’S NOTE: I can’t believe the Colts didn’t cover. They pushed the -3 we found on Saturday night, but they were up seven for most of the second half and never pushed the lead even though Jonathan Taylor ran all over Jacksonville.

The Colts and Jaguars had nothing to play for except pride. Jacksonville (4-13) lost in overtime which should help its draft positioning. Indianapolis (8-9) has staff on the hot seat, so it wanted a win to secure a return for next season. The Colts were without quarterback Anthony Richardson, so Joe Flacco started with the Jaguars’ Mac Jones playing for the injured Trevor Lawrence.

On the opening drive, Flacco ripped through the Jaguars secondary with three completions, including a 40-yard touchdown to Alec Pierce. Jacksonville quickly responded with some gains on the ground and a 17-yard pass to Brian Thomas that set up a 1-yard plunge for Tank Bigsby. The Jaguars benefited from a questionable spot as Flacco looked to have run for a first down on a fourth down play, but the Jaguars were awarded the ball and turned it into a field goal. The lead didn’t last long before the Colts went down the field, with Jonathan Taylor scoring. Indianapolis added a field goal, and late in the first half, Thomas got open for a 41-yard completion that set up a field goal for the Jaguars. Flacco led the Colts to a field goal in the final minute to take a 20-13 lead into the locker room.

In the third quarter, Jacksonville moved into Colts territory before Jones threw a poor pass that Julian Blackmon intercepted. Indianapolis moved across midfield, but Matt Gay missed a 51-yard field goal. After trading punts, the Jaguars put together a 94-yard drive with a touchdown pass to Parker Washington to tie the game at 20 midway through the fourth quarter. Flacco responded with a field goal drive to give the Colts a 23-20 lead with four minutes remaining. The Jaguars tied it at 23 with just under two minutes remaining. A Travon Walker sack was the key stop needed for Jacksonville to stop the Colts’ final possession and force overtime.

In overtime, Flacco led a field goal drive on the opening possession, and the Colts defense slammed the door on the Jaguars to secure the win for Indianapolis.

Seahawks 30, Rams 25
By Charlie Campbell – @draftcampbell

EDITOR’S NOTE: Of course, the Seahawks didn’t get the two-point conversion at the end to salvage a push for us. We should’ve had a much better spread than -7, but I had the flu early in the week, so I was never able to lock in a more favorable line.

The Rams had already clinched the NFC West, so they rested some veterans like Matthew Stafford. Seattle was eliminated, but they wanted their 10th win of the season, and they were able to prevail with Los Angeles playing backup quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo.

After trading some punts, Seattle moved into Rams territory, and a 32-yard completion to Noah Fant set up a first-and-goal. Smith threw a strike to Jake Bobo for a touchdown to get a 7-0 lead. The Rams answered with a field goal, but Seattle quickly expanded their lead as Smith led them down the field before throwing a strike to D.K. Metcalf for a touchdown. Los Angeles responded with a drive down the field that ended with Garoppolo connecting on a short touchdown pass to Tyler Higbee. Seattle responded with a field drive to go back up by a touchdown. On the ensuing possession, Garoppolo threw a terrible pass that Julian Love easily intercepted. Just before halftime, Garoppolo connected with Demarcus Robinson for a 31-yard gain to set up a 58-yard field goal that made it 17-13 Seattle at halftime.

In the third quarter, the Rams added another field goal to cut the Seattle lead to one. But Smith made it an eight-point lead with a short touchdown strike to A.J. Barner. Early in the fourth quarter, Tyler Johnson ran a great route against Devon Witherspoon to get a short touchdown catch, but Witherspoon caused a two-point conversion incompletion to keep Seattle up 24-22. The Rams got the ball back, and after a cornerback fell down in coverage, that left Jordan Whittington wide open for a 50-yard gain. They turned that into a field goal to go up 25-24 midway through the fourth quarter. Seattle went down the field led by Smith before Noah Fant made a leaping touchdown grab; the two-point conversion failed, so Seattle took a 30-25 lead with only a few minutes remaining. Los Angeles went down the field, but Garoppolo had a poor pass on a fourth down to fall incomplete and secure the win for Seattle.

Jets 32, Dolphins 20

This looked like yet another long afternoon for Aaron Rodgers. He walked off the field in frustration in the early stages because he was intercepted on a deflection while trying to throw to Davante Adams. The turnover set up a field goal for the Dolphins, who went up 3-0.

Rodgers continuously tried to establish a connection with Adams, but it wasn’t working. Rodgers, however, suddenly caught fire targeting other players. In the second quarter, he connected with Tyler Conklin for the 500th touchdown of his career. Soon after, Rodgers fired his 501st score to Allen Lazard.

It wasn’t until the third quarter when Rodgers and Adams finally hooked up for a significant gain, as Adams snatched a terrific back-shoulder throw along the sideline. This opened the floodgates, as Rodgers eventually threw his 502nd touchdown to Adams.

As this was happening, the Dolphins were doing nothing. They converted just three third downs on the entire afternoon, as Tyler Huntley’s short tosses were very ineffective. Tyreek Hill was a complete ghost, catching only two passes. Only De’Von Achane and Jonnu Smith stood out for Miami.

The Dolphins had yet another Week 18 without Tua Tagovailoa. They have to begin searching for alternatives because they can’t count on him staying healthy.

It’s unclear what will happen with Rodgers, but this had the feel of a final NFL game for a future Hall of Famer. Rodgers can probably play well in 2025, given that he’ll be another year removed from his torn Achilles, but he’ll never perform on an elite level again.

Broncos 38, Chiefs 0

The Broncos were very lucky in several of their victories this year. Their great fortune continued in the final week of the season because they were set to take on the resting Chiefs, who clinched the No. 1 seed the prior week. Denver had an easy time navigating through this game versus the completely uninterested Chiefs.

There was little doubt that the Broncos would win this lopsided affair. They scored two touchdowns in the opening quarter alone, one of which was a Marvin Mims 32-yard touchdown that he made after hauling in a short toss. Later, Bo nix fired another one of his four touchdowns that as a double ricochet in the end zone.

Nix was nearly flawless in this game. He misfired on just three occasions. The only mistake he made was when he lateraled forward from the opposing 32 to the 30, but it looked backward in real time. He ended up leading a scoring drive anyway, so there was no harm, no foul.

Denver clinched the No. 7 seed in the playoffs with this victory. Buffalo will not be resting its starters next week.

Chargers 34, Raiders 20

This game wouldn’t have meant anything to the Chargers had the Steelers prevailed on Saturday night. Pittsburgh lost, however, which opened the door for the Chargers to obtain the No. 5 seed, which would allow them to play at Houston instead of Baltimore in the opening round.

It didn’t look like the Chargers were interested in this fifth seed in the early stages of this game because the Raiders got off to a nice start. Aidan O’Connell led a touchdown drive in the second quarter, ultimately finding Jakobi Meyers for a 25-yard score. The Chargers found themselves down 10-3, but they stormed back with some impressive drives. They didn’t run all that well on the Raiders, except when Justin Herbert scrambled for a 41-yard gain to set up a touchdown. Instead, if was mostly Herbert through the air. Herbert aggressively attacked the Raider secondary, throwing touchdowns to Will Dissly and D.J. Chark.

It wasn’t Dissly or Chark who did most of the damage for the Chargers, and it wasn’t Ladd McConkey either. Instead, Quentin Johnston came alive to have a massive game. Johnston is known for his drops, but he made 13 receptions in this contest, one of which was a ridiculous circus catch. The Raiders couldn’t keep pace with this, and it eventually came at the cost of O’Connell’s health, as the second-year quarterback too a hard hit and was replaced by Desmond Ridder.

The Chargers are in fact the No. 5 seed. They will be considered the favorite in Houston.

Brock Bowers, who scored a touchdown, continued to extend his rookie receptions record with four more catches.

Cardinals 47, 49ers 24

This game carried no playoff implications, so it was all about some young players being able to make a name for themselves. Unfortunately, two of them didn’t get much of a chance. Isaac Guerendo was lost to injury after just two carries, while Jauan Jennings, aiming to reach 1,000 receiving yards on the season as San Francisco’s No. 1 wideout in this contest, was ejected for fighting with Sean Murphy-Bunting.

With Jennings removed from the game, it was Ricky Pearsall’s turn to become the No. 1 wideout. Pearsall had a nice game for the 49ers, leading the team in receiving. Joshua Dobbs, playing for the injured Brock Purdy, delivered those passes to him. Dobbs moved the chains well most of the time, but was picked twice in the process.

The Cardinals, meanwhile, had the most offensive success. Kyler Murray threw a quartet of touchdowns, one of which was to Trey McBride. The athletic tight end needed 17 weeks to score his first touchdown, and only one more week to get his second. Murray also found Marvin Harrison Jr. in the end zone. Harrison had an underwhelming rookie campaign, but at least finished it with a positive outcome.

Lions 31, Vikings 9

The final score says that the Lions won in a lopsided affair, but this was a tight battle for three quarters. The Lions got out to a 7-0 lead to start this game after Jared Goff hit Jameson Williams on a fourth-and-5, but the Vikings had a chance to respond with their own touchdown on the ensuing possession. Instead, the Lions had a goal-line stand for four downs to completely turn away Minnesota. Little did everyone know that this wouldn’t just be a great sequence; it would be the start of a trend for the entire game.

The Vikings made multiple trips inside the Detroit 5-yard line, but failed every time. Soon after the initial trip, the Vikings found themselves back there again after a Goff pass was deflected and intercepted. However, the Vikings had to settle for a field goal because Justin Jefferson dropped a touchdown, and then Sam Darnold overthrew Jefferson for another potential score.

Minnesota was forced into a couple of field goals in the opening half and eventually trailed 10-6 heading into intermission. The Vikings opened the third quarter with an explosive run by Cam Akers, but the Vikings stalled at the goal line again. And if that wasn’t enough, Goff gave Minnesota a free possession on a punt-like interception, but the Vikings had to settle for yet another field goal.

It took a while, but one team awakened from its offensive stupor. That was the Lions, who saw Jahmyr Gibbs rip off some huge gains. Gibbs eventually scored a quartet of touchdowns, opening up a huge lead for Detroit.

The Lions wrapped up the No. 1 seed with this victory. They were the frontrunners all year, so it only seems natural that they’d hold on to the top spot in the playoffs.

The Vikings, in addition to their red zone incompetence, had pass protection issues against the Lions. They hadn’t been properly tested since losing Christian Darrisaw by a focused Group A team until this game.