Week 17 of the 2024 NFL season was the busiest yet, with the action beginning with Christmas Day games on Wednesday. In the Christmas lineup, the Kansas City Chiefs defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Baltimore Ravens beat the Houston Texans in a blowout, and an entertaining halftime show from Beyonce rounded out an exciting day of Christmas football.
The week continued with a low-scoring “Thursday Night Football” game between the Seattle Seahawks and the Chicago Bears and we also had a tripleheader on Saturday. The fight between the Denver Broncos and the Cincinnati Bengals had a lot at stake. They lose and the Bengals are eliminated, but quarterback Joe Burrow wasn’t going to let that happen, even if it took almost all of the overtime.
The stakes are high for the teams still competing for a playoff spot, as those eliminated play for pride.
It’s been an action-packed week in the NFL; If you missed anything, don’t worry, because we’ve got you covered with some of the biggest moments and plays you may have missed:
1. The Bengals live to see another day.
The Bengals have struggled all season, but under Joe Burrow they are somehow still in playoff contention. With 1:29 left in the game, the Bengals were at the 1-yard line with the score 17-17. Run out the clock, kick a field goal and the game was probably theirs. Burrow ran for the score himself, giving Bo Nix and the Broncos offense enough time to lead an impressive drive to his own touchdown.
It took nearly nine minutes of overtime and a missed field goal by Cincinnati, but Burrow and the Bengals kept their playoff hopes alive by driving down the field for the victory. With 1:01 left in overtime, Burrow found wide receiver Tee Higgins for the final score of the game to win 30-24. The Bengals still need some help to extend their season, but this wild-ending game was the first step in making that happen. This marked the first time in Bengals history scored an offensive touchdown in overtime.
Here’s a look at the biggest plays from the winning campaign:
2. Games with tricks and great dance moves.
This section is about fun. From coming up with unique plays to unique dance moves, the teams got creative this week.
The Saints got creative for their first touchdown pass of the day. Quarterback Spencer Rattler threw the ball to running back Kendre Miller, who returned the ball to Rattler, who then found Foster Moreau for 30 yards and the score.
The Vikings dance team never disappoints and this week was no different. They did the “We’re all in this together” dance from “High School Musical” and I think Troy Bolton would be proud.
3. The best surprise performances of the week.
This week, there were some impressive performances that we perhaps didn’t expect to come.
Giants fans were probably rooting for a loss so they could keep their No. 1 overall pick for the upcoming draft, but quarterback Drew Lock had other plans. Lock had a 73.9 completion percentage, 309 passing yards, four touchdown passes and a rushing touchdown in a 45-33 win over the Colts.
Here’s a look at some of its highlights:
Joe Flacco hasn’t played a game since Nov. 10, but he replaced an injured Anthony Richardson and, despite the loss, put up some decent numbers. While he had two interceptions, he also had 330 passing yards, fourth most in the league in Week 17.
Here are some of Flacco’s best shots of the day:
Trey McBride Fantasy owners were certainly happy with the Cardinals tight end’s performance this week. He had 123 yards, his third most this season, but the most important thing is that finally got a long-awaited receiving touchdown. It took him 128 targets and 98 receptions to reach the end zone as a receiver, marking the most receptions in a single season by a player without scoring a touchdown in NFL history.
Watch the big moment:
4. The best holds in the league
As is tradition, we will highlight some of the best catches of the week. Players impressed with their toe kicks, one-handed catches and managed to complete passes in tight coverage.
Here’s a roundup of some of the best:
5. Off-field antics
There were some off-the-field moments this week that you don’t see very often.
The first was from Chiefs head coach Andy Reid, who brought the Christmas spirit to the locker room. After clinching the AFC’s No. 1 seed, a first-round bye and home-field advantage, Reid came in to celebrate and dressed accordingly. The Chiefs better not cry, they better not pout, because they are destined for the playoffs.
“Merry Christmas,” Reid said. “At the moment, you have the home field advantage!”
Another fun moment this week was a surprise guest showing up at the Buccaneers game against the Panthers. The duck had to be escorted off the field.
Should they change their name to the Tampa Bay Duck-aneers?
