The San Francisco 49ers and the Kansas City Chiefs triumphed over a multitude of teams in their respective division, reaching the coveted Super Bowl. Graphic by: Christian Montecino

A look back at the highs and lows of a few of the NFL teams that made the playoffs

Over the course of 18 weeks, three playoff games and one superbowl, the NFL season has finally come to an end. The defending champions Kansas City Chiefs come out on top for a back-to-back Super Bowl win, and their third in only five years, bringing them to four total Super Bowls in the team’s history.

I can say with absolute certainty it was one of the more underwhelming football seasons of all time. There was massive instability on a majority of teams, inconsistency on both offense and defense, injuries plaguing the league and by some miracle and the Steelers making the playoffs with arguably one of the worst offenses in recent years. With fans clamoring for the firing of the head coach Matt Canada, the offensive coordinator, even fans of the Steelers knew they didn’t deserve to even think about making the playoffs without a deus ex machina saving them game after game with their defense.

Rhett Paul ‘25 said, “I didn’t like [the NFL season] but the Vikings are going to the Super Bowl next year.”

And then you have teams like the Miami Dolphins, with one of the flashiest offenses this year, dropping 70 points against the Broncos in the regular season. This team eventually flatlined due to crazy amounts of injuries and a questionable-at-best defense. At times, they were firing on all cylinders but mostly they were firing blanks, costing huge plays and eventually costing them hopes at a Super Bowl.

On a more positive note, the Cleveland Browns came out of nowhere this season, completely encapsulating the essence of the 2023-24 football season with one of the most shocking moments: a comeback from Joe Flacco. The once-franchise quarterback for the Baltimore Ravens was back for revenge on his former team and hungry for a Super Bowl. Granted the team may have come up short, it was a valiant season nonetheless. No one, including myself, expected them to have a winning record let alone make the playoffs, but Joe Flacco proved us wrong. They may have been knocked out of the playoffs in the first round, but they still made it nonetheless, beating out 18 other teams in the NFL.

Moving to the NFC, the Green Bay Packers found themselves as playoff contenders yet again while somehow managing to get their third franchise QB in a row in the likes of Jordan Love. He struggled mid-season, but with a battered offensive line and injured receivers, it was more than impressive that they made it to the playoffs, let alone make a deep run and almost knock out the 49ers. This was supposed to be a rebuilding year for the Packers and they backdoored their way into a seventh seed position that shouldn’t have even existed for them. 

Their neighbors in the north, the Detroit Lions, finally broke their curse and became a relevant team. They were fan favorites during the playoffs and garnered a lot of attention due to their unique personality and aggressive playstyle.

Kai Schmidt ‘24 said, “I was rooting for the Lions, they were the team I liked the most”

Quarterback Jared Goff, as solid as he is, isn’t without his flaws. He can turn into a turnover machine on a dime but living by head coach Dan Campbell’s staple plan of over-aggression worked out for most of the season.  The turn came with that brutal NFC Championship game against the 49ers, where their defense showed how porous and malleable they really were. Giving up 27 points in the second half is nothing unusual for the defense of the Lions, but blowing that 17 point lead was a combination of both sides of the ball failing to show up.

Moving east, NFL fans might’ve felt like they were suffering in the worst timeline, except for fans of the Dallas Cowboys. Dallas ended their regular season top of their division with a 12-5 record and second seed in the NFC. They are a well-oiled offensive machine with Dak Prescott, playing arguably one of his best seasons of football in his career, and a relentless defense that massacres any team in their path, even without the help of Trevon Diggs. But those dreams of moving on in the playoffs were put to rest when their team collapsed at the hands of Jordan Love and the Packers. That loss to the Packers makes it 25 years since the Cowboys have made it past the divisional round of the playoffs. Maybe next season will be different. 

With many big moves already being made in the off-season, the 2024-25 season is shaping up to be a real interesting one. Here’s to hoping that it’ll be at least a little more watchable than it was this past year because if it isn’t, it’s gonna be hard to watch more football.