The 2024 NFL season is coming to a close and some teams can’t wait for the season to end while other teams seasons are just getting started. There’s been countless things that have happened over the first few months of the year – like Davante Adams being reunited with Aaron Rodgers, or like Bryce Young being benched only to come back and look a lot better, or like the NFC North having 3 teams win double digit games by the middle of December. It’s been an eventful season so far and in today’s video we are going to break down what we learned from the 2024 season. This is going to be relative to pre season expectations from what we thought back in August – to where franchises are currently. We will also discuss the long term impact and how teams will try and implement what some of the more successful franchises did in 2024. I don’t think anybody would have thought the Bengals would have the offensive success they did while having a losing record, and I don’t think anybody would have thought there would be a generational competition for the number one overall pick with only a few games left in the 2024 season. But there is a lot to dive into and break down in today’s video and without further ado – let’s begin
And we are starting today’s video with how much coaching matters. Every player has expectations entering the season – as the expectations for a prime Josh Allen are not the same for a rookie Caleb Williams – nor should they be – but for what the expectations were entering Caleb Williams rookie season – I think he’s failed to live up to those lofty expectations. Now on the other side of the coin – you don’t have to look very far to see someone who has passed every expectation entering the 2024 season and that’s fellow NFC North quarterback Sam Darnold. It’s been a really tough year for Caleb and the Bears especially for how high expectations were entering the season. And I don’t think it’s fair to solely blame coaching for the reason the Bears have struggled as much as they have – but it certainly plays a big part. We often talk about the NFL being cyclical and I even made a video on a change think that will be coming in the near future with quarterbacks about a month ago – but Caleb Williams being as highly touted as a prospect as he was – and struggling as much as he has – is an example as to why quarterbacks need time to develop in today’s NFL. And I think the same also applies to somebody like Anthony Richardson who we will discuss later in the video. Sam Darnold on the other hand was by every definition a draft disappointment heading into the 2024 season. From 2018 through 2023 he had a career record of just 21-35, and had just 63 passing touchdowns to 56 interceptions across 6 seasons. He was joining his 4th team in 7 years and I’ll be honest – heading into the 2024 season – I was actually more excited for around the week 7 or 8 area – presumably when it would be clear to everyone that Sam Darnold was not the answer – and I was eager for the JJ McCarthy era to begin.
Now unfortunately JJ had season ending knee surgery in the preseason – but the part of Sam Darnold being consistently bad never happened and it’s due in large part to both – coaching – and his supporting cast. There’s obviously been low moments like the Jets game in which Sam missed several throws, or the Jags game in which Sam threw 3 brutal interceptions, but he has 29 touchdowns to 11 interceptions on the season and is in the top 10 for the most valuable player award. I would have never believed that in a million years heading into the season that the Bears would be 4-10 and that the Vikings would be 12-2 with a legitimate chance to get the number one seed. The Bears also fired their offensive coordinator and head coach and there’s a lot of concern within the Windy City on whether they’ve already ruined Caleb Williams. I think he will be fine in the long run, but it’s been an incredibly long season in Chicago for a variety of reasons – and coaching is certainly one of them. Or lack of developing their number one overall pick. It also doesn’t help he’s been sacked over 55 times – some due to himself of course – but also some due to the offensive line. Now I really didn’t like the situation Bo Nix was entering in his rookie year especially after the Broncos decided to release veteran Tim Patrick. I thought there was a chance he could put up decent numbers – but I didn’t think Bo Nix would be great in his rookie year. He of course started the year with back to back 2 interception games and it didn’t look good. But over the next 10 games Bo threw 16 touchdowns to 2 interceptions and the Broncos looked like a different team. Unfortunately Nix has thrown 5 interceptions in his last two games but I do think that will gradually go down and he will be fine. Sean Payton has played a tremendous part in Bo developing as the season progressed and the Broncos have secured a winning season – and will probably go to the playoffs. All with the 6th quarterback taken in the 2024 draft. And the big thing to remember heading into 2025 – is to never – underestimate the power of a good coaching staff.
Next up is running backs matter a lot more than previously thought. The NFL is cyclical and for a couple of year span – running backs were not prioritized in the draft probably as much as they should have. There is a caveat with this and we’ll get to that in a minute, but the Philadelphia Eagles are a 12-2 team and it’s due in large part to their run game. Now the Eagles are one of the most complete teams in the NFL, but I personally think there is a big difference between the 2022 Eagles – you know a team that nearly won the Super Bowl – and the 2024 Eagles and it’s due in large part to Saquon Barkley. Saquon has nearly 1,700 rushing yards on the year and nobody would bat an eye if he ran for 2,000 this year and the difference between the birds having D’Andre Swift in 2023, or even Miles Sanders in 2022 – and Saquon Barkley in 2024 – is noticeable huge. And it’s because running backs matter a lot more than the media discusses. Within reason of course. Derrick Henry is another good example and my point isn’t that two good running backs in Saquon Barkley and Derrick Henry are very good at what they do. My point is – a good running back can help take a team over the top if put in the correct situation. For as good of a year as Saquon Barkley is having – I will be honest – if he was still a Giant in 2024 – I really don’t think their record would be all that different. And while the Eagles were already a good team entering 2024 – there is a very real chance Saquon Barkley is the piece that pushes them over the top to give them their second Super Bowl in a span of 8 years. Little spoiler – we will be doing an entire video on the Eagles soon – but this concept also applies to Derrick Henry of the Ravens, and Josh Jacobs of the Packers. If you think of a teams offensive line as a nice big steak think of the running back as the side of garlic mashed potatoes. The garlic mashed potatoes are good – but you’re not going to make a meal strictly off the mashed potatoes and compare it to other world class meals – meaning other dominant NFL teams that are competing for a Super Bowl. But if you have an offensive line like the Eagles do, or you have a quarterback who can change the game on any given play like the Ravens do and can perfectly compliment him with a hall of fame back, or if you have a good offensive line and play caller in Matt LaFleur like the Packers do – the difference in adding a great running back is a substantial difference maker. This is also why I think the Panthers were fine with extending Chuba Hubbard despite drafting Jonathan Brooks in the second round. Now the unfortunate part is Brooks tearing his ACL a second time, but the plan seemed to be to used both Hubbard and Brooks behind their big offensive line. I have been wrong about countless things before and will be wrong about plenty of things in the future – but I personally loved when the Lions selected Jahmyr Gibbs in the first round because of what that pick meant for Detroit. They could use both David Montgomery and Gibbs together and they have – and in year one they went to the NFC championship game and they’re off to a 12-2 start in Gibbs second season. Now unfortunately the Lions had countless injuries including David Montgomery and that will be an extremely tough hill to climb – but the point is – running backs matter. A lot. They’re not a position you can toss anybody out there and hope for the best and completely discard the position the way the media once made it out to be. I think we are in the middle of a big NFL transition and teams are going to start prioritizing NFL backs again because more often than not – they know they need two solid backs to get them through the regular season. Guys like Saquon and Derrick Henry are outliers, but there’s a reason the Lions have been successful, and there’s also a reason I think the Cardinals will be successful in 2025 and the Seahawks for that matter too – and it’s due to their prioritization of the running back position and getting big in the trenches and – as simple as it sounds – running the damn ball.
Trenches also matter in a big way and we break all of this down and more with the video below! I hope you enjoyed today’s article and hope you have a great day! Thanks for reading!
