The 32 things we learned from Week 17 of the 2024 NFL season:
1. The number of TD receptions by Arizona Cardinals TE Trey McBride, who scored on his 98th catch of the season. Had he not found the end zone via reception, McBride would – by far – have had the most snags in a single campaign without a receiving touchdown in the history of the league.
2. The number of times Tampa Bay Buccaneers QB Baker Mayfield has thrown five touchdown passes in a game, though Sunday was the first time he’d done it for the Bucs. He needs one more to become the 12th player to ever post 40 in a season.
2a. Cincinnati Bengals star Joe Burrow became the 11th on Saturday.
3. The number of kicks blocked this season by Los Angeles Rams LB Michael Hoecht. Costing the Cardinals an extra point Saturday night was a huge assist in a game LA won 13-9.
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4. The number of consecutive seasons the Buccaneers have made the playoffs, the longest active streak in the NFC. Sunday’s 48-14 rout of the Carolina Panthers keeps the Bucs alive and kicking for both the NFC South crown and the conference’s final wild-card berth – and they’ll get help one way or another when the Atlanta Falcons and Washington Commanders meet Sunday night.
5. The number of consecutive seasons in which Buffalo Bills QB Josh Allen has accounted for at least 40 touchdowns, an NFL record.
6. Allen passed for two more TDs in Sunday’s shellacking of the New York Jets and ran for another, pushing him past 40 combined for 2024. Will it be enough to earn him his first MVP award even though he’s had more impressive statistical seasons?
7. The jersey number of Philadelphia Eagles backup QB Kenny Pickett. Unclear why the team is letting a digit made famous by the likes of QBs Ron Jaworski and Michael Vick remain in circulation … aside from special circumstances. Maybe.
8. The number of consecutive games that Burrow has thrown for at least 250 yards and three TDs, an extension of his own NFL record after his huge performance in Saturday’s win over the Denver Broncos. Maybe Burrow should be the MVP.
9. The number of NFL players – ever – to eclipse 2,000 rushing yards after Eagles RB Saquon Barkley joined their ranks Sunday. (And it should be noted that Barkley only needed 16 games to reach the hallowed benchmark.)
10. Now with a league-high 2,005 yards, Barkley needs 101 to overtake Eric Dickerson’s single-season record, which was set by the Hall of Famer with the Rams in 1984. And maybe Barkley should be the MVP given he piled up 167 yards on the ground Sunday despite playing with Pickett and QB3 Tanner McKee all day.
11. The number of consecutive seasons Hall of Famer Jerry Rice posted 1,000 receiving yards, an NFL record.
12. Bucs WR Mike Evans needs 85 yards in Week 18 to match Rice’s mark. Notable this year given Evans missed three games with a bad hamstring.
13. Unlucky No. 13? Eh, anyone becoming an interim coach is, by definition, behind the power curve. This year’s trio is now a collective 5-17 after getting swept in Week 17. The Jets’ Jeff Ulbrich is 2-9, the Saints’ Darren Rizzi 3-4, and the Bears’ Thomas Brown is 0-4.
14. The number of sacks Cleveland Browns DE Myles Garrett has had in each of the past four seasons, the first player in league history with such a run ever since sacks became an official statistic in 1982.
15. Speaking of sacks, Jets QB Aaron Rodgers has now been bagged 568 times in his career, overtaking Tom Brady (565) on Sunday for the most times any quarterback has gone down since 1982. ‘I got Tom in that,’ Rodgers said with a wry smile after New York’s 40-14 loss at Buffalo.
16. While Rodgers set that dubious mark Sunday, he didn’t manage to throw a TD pass, keeping him stuck on 499 during the regular season over the course of his 20-year career.
17. The Las Vegas Raiders’ Brock Bowers set two records Sunday, breaking the rookie record for receiving yards by a tight end – he now has 1,144, surpassing Mike Ditka’s 1,076 (in 14 games in 1961) – and the overall rookie record for receptions (108).
18. But look out for the New York Giants’ Malik Nabers, who’s up to 104 catches (in 14 games) and could certainly overtake 2024 first-round draftmate Bowers in Week 18.
19. The rookie receptions record has now changed hands three times in the past four seasons, the Miami Dolphins’ Jaylen Waddle (2021) and Rams’ Puka Nacua (2023) briefly holding it as well. Anquan Boldin is the only other player to hit the century mark, which he did way back in 2003.
20. Back to the Giants, it’s suddenly less clear who will be throwing passes to Nabers in 2025 after New York won its first home game of 2024 … but dropped from the projected first overall spot in next year’s draft to No. 4.
21. Now in the catbird seat for the 2025 draft? How about the New England Patriots, who picked QB Drake Maye third overall earlier this year. That should allow the Pats to incite a bidding war between the Giants, Browns and Tennessee Titans, who would all seemingly be in the market to take Colorado QB Shedeur Sanders or Cam Ward of Miami (Fla.) at the top of the board four months from now.
22. Also paying the price for the Giants’ one-day revival were the Indianapolis Colts, who were eliminated from the playoff race due to their loss at MetLife Stadium.
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23. Who had undrafted Cowboys RB Rico Dowdle, who’d never started before this season, rushing for 1,000 yards?
23a. Who had Bucs rookie RB Bucky Irving, who started twice this season, rushing for 1,000 yards?
24. So, if you’re the Baltimore Ravens and Pittsburgh Steelers, would you rather win the AFC North and likely host the surging Los Angeles Chargers, or get a wild card and visit the AFC South ‘champion’ Houston Texans in the opening round of the postseason?
25. The Minnesota Vikings’ Sam Darnold is the first NFL quarterback to notch 14 wins in his first season with a team after Sunday’s defeat of the Green Bay Packers.
26. The Vikes are one win shy of the franchise regular-season record of 15 wins – which occurred in a 16-game season back in 1998 … when they also lost a heartbreaking NFC championship game to Atlanta.
27. The Packers seemed to sleepwalk through most of their game in the Twin Cities … but don’t forget, they had nothing to play for but seeding.
28. The Detroit Lions could be forgiven for sleepwalking through Monday night’s game against the San Francisco 49ers, given it will have no impact on what’s become a winner-take-all game for the NFC’s No. 1 seed between the Lions and Vikings in Week 18.
29. The best NFL-related video we’ve since Christmas involved Darnold.
30. The second-best NFL-related video we’ve since Christmas involved, well, focus on Bolts DB Derwin James.
31. The second-best NFL-related video we saw on Christmas? Andy Reid, y’all.
32. But the best NFL-related video we saw on Christmas? Leave it to Beyoncé to salvage a near-unwatchable day of pro football. Sorry you missed the show, Lamar.
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Follow USA TODAY Sports’ Nate Davis on X, formerly Twitter, @ByNateDavis.