Admin December 30, 2024
NFL Overreactions Week 17
Sports Seriously’s Mackenzie Salmon breaks down this weeks NFL matchups.
Sports Seriously
When the ball dropped in 2024, the San Francisco 49ers were amongst the NFL’s elite and primed for a deep postseason run. A month later, they blew a second-half lead to the Chiefs in the Super Bowl, watching as their opponents from Kansas City celebrated another championship.
By the end of 2024, the Niners were the ones that dropped the ball.
Sporting one of the league’s most talented rosters, San Francisco couldn’t overcome a deck that was stacked against them after their February failure in Las Vegas.
To call it a nightmare would be underselling it. There was Brandon Aiyuk’s contract and injury, Christian McCaffrey’s injury, Deebo Samuel’s inefficiency, Ricky Pearsall being shot, a depleted running back room and so much more that the Niners were forced to navigate all season long.
Now, San Francisco is ready for a much-needed extended vacation.
Are the 49ers in the playoffs?
The 49ers were officially eliminated from the playoff picture ahead of their Week 16 game against the Dolphins. They failed to qualify for the postseason for the first time since 2020.
San Francisco faced an uphill climb all season, dealing with countless injuries and ultimately succumbing to the Super Bowl hangover.
NFL playoff picture
AFC
- Kansas City Chiefs (15-1, AFC West winners, No. 1 seed)*
- Buffalo Bills (13-3, AFC East winners)*
- Baltimore Ravens (11-5, AFC North leaders)*
- Houston Texans (9-7, AFC South winners)*
- Pittsburgh Steelers (10-6, wild card No. 1)*
- Los Angeles Chargers (10-6, wild card No. 2)*
- Denver Broncos (9-7, wild card No. 3)
In the hunt: Miami Dolphins (8-8), Cincinnati Bengals (8-8).
NFC
- Minnesota Vikings (14-2, NFC North leaders)*
- Philadelphia Eagles (13-3, NFC East winners)*
- Los Angeles Rams (10-6, NFC West winners)*
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers (9-7, NFC South leaders)
- Detroit Lions (13-2, wild card No. 1)*
- Washington Commanders (11-5, wild card No. 2)*
- Green Bay Packers (11-5, wild card No. 3)*
In the hunt: Atlanta Falcons (8-8)
An asterisk (*) denotes teams that have clinched a playoff spot. Teams that have clinched division titles are noted accordingly.
When do the NFL playoffs start?
The 2024 NFL playoffs begin on Saturday, Jan. 11, during Super Wild Card Weekend. They will conclude on Feb. 9, when a champion is crowned at Super Bowl 59 in New Orleans.