It all comes down to next week.
Week 17 of the NFL season was frontloaded with games on Christmas and Saturday, but Sunday’s slate carried plenty of playoff implications.
And the clear winners were the Minnesota Vikings, who controlled their NFC North rivals, the Green Bay Packers, for most of the game, setting up a massive, winner-take-all showdown against the Detroit Lions for first place in the NFC.
And then, in the AFC, the Indianapolis Colts sputtered out of the field with a disappointing loss against a New York Giants team that entered Sunday with the worst record in the league.
Here are the winners and losers from the penultimate Sunday of the 2024 NFL regular season.
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WINNERS
Vikings outlast Packers, set up huge season finale
The Vikings have answered test after test this season. Sunday was no different, when Minnesota (14-2) outlasted the Packers (11-5) 27-25 to set up a massive regular-season finale against the Lions (13-2). The winner of that game – even if Detroit loses Monday to the San Francisco 49ers – claims the No. 1 seed in the NFC, a first-round bye and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs.
On Sunday, the spark was again Sam Darnold, who has fully resurrected his career. Three weeks ago, in a win against the Atlanta Falcons, Darnold set a career high with 347 passing yards. Against Green Bay, Darnold bested himself once more, throwing for 377, including a game-icing third-down conversion. And again, it was also the defense under coordinator Brian Flores, which frustrated Green Bay until late in the game. Minnesota is now 9-1 this season in one-score games. The culture is there, and coach Kevin O’Connell is a good bet to win the Associated Press Coach of the Year award.
Culture-changing wins turn the tide in Washington
A ton of credit should go to coach Dan Quinn, rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels, offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury – all in their first seasons with the Washington Commanders (11-5) – for turning around the culture of the franchise. New owner Josh Harris should also get praise.
The Commanders have won four consecutive games, with the last two against the Eagles and Falcons, to clinch their first postseason berth since 2020. Against Atlanta, Washington erased a 10-point deficit at the start of the second half and fended off a late comeback attempt with a dominant 12-play, 75-yard drive in overtime that ended with a Zach Ertz touchdown grab. Daniels appears to be a rising star. The Commanders appear to be on the verge of relevance – maybe even for years to come.
Dolphins stay alive, still need some help
Pretty much everything that the Miami Dolphins needed to happen in order to sneak into the final AFC wild-card slot happened. The Denver Broncos lost Saturday, the Colts – almost unfathomably – lost to the Giants and Miami (8-8) did its part, defeating the Cleveland Browns 20-3.
That slid the Dolphins into the No. 8 seed in the AFC. Backup quarterback Tyler Huntley played reasonably well, though the Dolphins still have massive flaws. Against the Browns, they converted just two of 11 (18%) third-down attempts. They committed 11 penalties for 94 yards, many of them senseless. Their execution in short-yardage situations remains poor. Yet, if they beat the New York Jets (4-12), and if the Kansas City Chiefs (15-1) beat Denver (9-7), Miami will clinch its third consecutive postseason berth.
Buccaneers do their part, get huge assist from the Commanders
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers (9-7) entered Week 17 needing some help to reclaim first place in the NFC South, and everything broke right. The Buccaneers throttled the Carolina Panthers, and the Falcons, who were in first place in the division entering Sunday, couldn’t complete their comeback try against the Commanders.
That moved the Bucs into a position of control, where winning next week against the New Orleans Saints pushes them through to the postseason as host of a wild-card game. Baker Mayfield went off for 359 passing yards and five touchdowns against the Panthers, and he has been confirming the team’s decision to install him as the starting quarterback. The other good news for the Bucs in all this? New Orleans is a team Tampa Bay beat 51-27 in Week 6.
LOSERS
Colts stumble in epic fashion, eliminated from playoff contention
When the Broncos lost Saturday, it opened a window for the Colts to make up ground in the AFC wild-card picture. All Indy needed to do was beat the Giants, the team that entered Week 17 that hadn’t won a home game all season long and was the front-runner for the No. 1 pick in the 2025 NFL draft.
The Colts (7-9) lost by 12. They struggled in the red zone. Their defense was atrocious, particularly on third downs, during which Giants backup Drew Lock completed eight of nine passes (88.9%) for 130 yards and three touchdowns; Lock also ran for a 5-yard score that sealed New York’s victory on a third down late in the fourth quarter. While the Colts had backup Joe Flacco at quarterback, this is the type of loss that forces a franchise to question everything about its culture.
Eric Dickerson’s single-season rushing record
Eagles running back Saquon Barkley became just the ninth player in NFL history to eclipse 2,000 rushing yards in a single season. And now, with his 167 rushing yards Sunday in a 41-7 rout of the the Dallas Cowboys, Barkley is 101 shy of breaking former Los Angeles Rams star Eric Dickerson’s 40-year old record of 2,105 rushing yards.
Behind Philadelphia’s stellar offensive line, Barkley has been the unquestioned top offseason addition in the NFL. He also deserves MVP consideration. Though he will play one more game than Dickerson did in 1984 – assuming the Eagles don’t rest Barkley in the season finale against the Giants – Barkley’s year (2,283 yards from scrimmage, 15 total touchdowns) is one of the all-time great statistical seasons. Still, with Philadelphia out of the running for the top seed in the NFC, coach Nick Sirianni may opt to rest his players.
Seahawks fall from field (even though they didn’t play)
With Washington’s win against the Falcons, the Seattle Seahawks (9-7) were officially eliminated Sunday night, even though they won their game Thursday against the Bears. The outcome sealed a strength-of-victory tiebreaker for the Rams, who clinched the NFC West title.
Surely, Seattle will regret certain losses it had this season, none more debilitating than a Week 5 defeat at home against the Giants.