Alright, we’re halfway through the 2024 season, and you know what that means—it’s time to check in on the highs and lows across the NFL landscape.
As NFL fans, we have learned to expect the unexpected, but this year has hit unprecedented levels.
How about we run through the 5 Biggest Disappointments and 5 Biggest Surprises of the season so far and break down their impacts?
What are the biggest disappointments and surprises this 2024 NFL season?
Disappointment: Aaron Rodgers and the Jets
Let’s kick things off with what has to be the most painful disappointment of the 2024 NFL season—the New York Jets and Aaron Rodgers. Despite all the hype, all the signings, and all the trades—now including Davante Adams—the Jets have somehow crashed and burned coming out of the gates.
You thought the Super Bowl dreams were crushed last year when he tore his Achilles on the first drive? That was nothing compared to this season’s fiasco. The Jets fired Saleh, demoted Nathaniel Hackett, and lost to the Patriots—a team that’s headed straight for a top-five draft pick.
Rodgers is putting up career-worst numbers in every major category: completion percentage, yards per attempt, and passer rating.
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Most people suspected he wouldn’t be prime Rodgers at this age… especially coming off the Achilles tear… but it is still shocking to see him struggle like this.
I guess even the legendary Aaron Rodgers can’t seem to fix this mess in New York.
Surprise: Malik Willis can Play Football
The 2024 NFL season has been full of surprises for Green Bay this year, good and bad, but none on the positive side more so than Malik Willis, who has masterfully stepped in for stretches in place of an injured Jordan Love and played exceptionally competent football…
The Packers came into the season with Super Bowl aspirations, but nobody expected they’d be in striking distance of the Detroit Lions in the NFC North with Love missing multiple games and Willis as their back up…
Will was cast off by Tennessee after a brief and tumultuous stint as their starting quarterback, and Green Bay scooped for former Liberty standout up late in August, and now he is proving everyone wrong. Not only is he holding down the fort, but he’s also playing with poise and confidence.
Of course, it helps that the Packers’ defense has been one of the better units in the league. LaFleur is coaching at an extremely high level, but still! No one would have suspected this coming into the year!
Disappointment: Cincinnati Bengals
Though the tides are slowly starting to turn… the fact of the matter is that the Cincinnati Bengals are still in a bad way and their fans are on high alert.
After starting the season 1-4, with each loss coming by six points or fewer, fans are torn between feeling snakebit and just plain frustrated. Cincinnati’s been close, but close isn’t enough.
What makes it all particularly puzzling is that Joe Burrow’s been solid, and Ja’Marr Chase is near the top of the ranking for league leaders in receiving yards, but something just isn’t clicking.
Whether it’s bad luck or poor execution, the Bengals are one misstep away from throwing away a season that should’ve had them in the playoff hunt. For a team that’s come so close in recent years, it’s tough to watch them struggle to close out games, and now they’re teetering on the edge of another season of Joe Burrow’s prime slipping away.
Surprise: Russell Wilson is Back?
Who would’ve thought we’d be talking about Russell Wilson’s resurgence with the Pittsburgh Steelers after how finished he looked during his stint in Denver?
Especially after last year when the arrange marriage with Sean Payton snowballed into just about as big of a disaster as one could imagine…
In any case… When the Steelers picked up both Wilson and Justin Fields—two quarterbacks coming off disappointing stints elsewhere—it looked like a rebuild waiting to happen.
In the very best-case scenario, the retread QBs were viewed as a bridge.
Instead, Mike Tomlin’s quarterback shuffle has worked like a charm. Fields went 4-2 before Wilson returned from a calf injury, and now Wilson has since won two straight as the starter—and looks like he is capable of taking this offense and this team to the next level—and into serious postseason contention.
Now, the Steelers are sitting pretty, defying expectations in the 2024 NFL season where most wrote them off.
Also Read: What Can We Expect In The Second Half Of The 2024 NFL Season?
Disappointment: Mahomes Leading the League in Interceptions
Now, here’s a head-scratcher for y’all… Patrick Mahomes, the reigning Super Bowl MVP, is leading the NFL in interceptions and on track for his worst touchdown total yet, but the Chiefs are undefeated!
It’s not the kind of stat line we’re used to seeing from a guy many consider the most talented quarterback in the game, especially not with his team looking unbeatable through nine weeks of action.
Needless to say, it has been a strange 2024 NFL season watching Mahomes struggle statistically yet somehow pull off wins when it matters most. He’s not playing his best football, but he’s finding ways to get the job done, and the Chiefs keep rolling. It’s one of the most perplexing, but it is what the great ones do—find a way to win!
Surprise: Sam Darnold is looking Legit
Sam Darnold’s comeback story is one of the best in the league this season.
He was signed by the Vikings to a low-profile one-year deal this offseason and was expected to be nothing more than a bridge to rookie J.J. McCarthy. But once McCarthy got injured during camp, it became clear that Darnold was going to be the guy in Minnesota—at least for now.
At the time, no one thought the Vikings would amount to much this 2024 NFL season… but here we are, and Darnold has led the Vikings to a perfect 5-0 start. He’s currently ranked in the top five in passer rating, which nobody saw coming.
General Manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah and Head Coach Kevin O’Connell deserve huge props for seeing something in Darnold when most thought his career was over.
Darnold’s proven he’s got the ability, and the Vikings are reaping the benefits. Minnesota’s a serious playoff threat now, thanks to one of the most unlikely QB success stories we’ve seen in years.
Disappointment: Bears Offense
The 2024 NFL season was supposed to be different for Chicago. After years of searching, the Bears seemed to have found their answer at quarterback in Caleb Williams, and they added some big names on offense, like rookie Rome Odunze and veteran Keenan Allen, to go along with last year’s big pick-up at wide receiver, DJ Moore.
Coming in… the pieces were there, but so far, this offense has been anything but electric.
They’ve dropped from second in the league in rushing last season all the way down to 23rd. That’s a massive fall for a team that’s always prided itself on ground-and-pound football. And the passing game? Don’t even get started. They’re ranked amongst the worst in the league, and it has actually regressed since Justin Fields was at the helm with less firepower on the field.
Head coach Matt Eberflus and the offensive staff need to get back to the drawing board, or they risk wasting a year of development for Williams and a prime season for their top playmakers. This offense was built to compete, but right now, it’s struggling just to stay afloat.
The Bears brought in a new QB, added Rome Odunze and Keenan Allen, and they sit 29th in passing, four spots worse than they finished in 2023 with Fields at quarterback and Darnell Mooney and Equanimeous St. Brown at receiver instead of Allen and Odunze.
Surprise: Derrick Henry is looking Prime
Derrick Henry is not just defying age and expectations—he’s rewriting the narrative for running backs in the NFL. In a time when teams are letting go of big-name backs and opting for younger, cheaper options, Henry has reminded everyone that some players are simply built differently.
After joining the Baltimore Ravens, Henry has not only found his form but is dominating the league once again and proving that it is always Tractor-cito season!
Henry’s impact goes far beyond the stat sheet. And that is saying something!
By carrying the load in the run game, he’s taken a ton of pressure off Lamar Jackson, allowing Baltimore’s star quarterback to avoid unnecessary hits and focus on making plays through the air. This balanced approach has made the Ravens a nightmare for opposing defenses, who now have to respect Henry’s power and Jackson’s speed.
This is vintage Derrick Henry, and the Ravens are reaping the rewards of one of the best signings of the offseason.
Disappointment: Houston Texans are Falling Apart
The Houston Texans were supposed to be a team on the rise with serious Super Bowl aspirations…
After all, last season, C.J. Stroud arrived in a big way, and he was almost immediately anointed as the franchise’s hopeful savior. But so far, this season has been a brutal reminder of how quickly things can fall apart in the NFL.
The injury bug has only made things worse. Star receiver Stefon Diggs went down with a season-ending knee injury, and Nico Collins is on injured reserve with a lingering hamstring strain.
Without his top targets, Stroud has been left to work with a depleted receiving corps, forcing him to rely on less experienced players who aren’t quite ready to step up.
The Texans had hoped the 2024 NFL season would be a stepping stone, a chance to show that they’re building something sustainable around Stroud. But with all the setbacks, it’s looking like this might just be another season of disappointment.
Surprise: Washington Commanders are Legit
All in the course of one season, the Washington Commanders have gone from an underdog story to a legitimate contender, all thanks to their rookie quarterback, Jayden Daniels, who is the driving force behind it all.
Daniels is putting up MVP-caliber performances week in and week out, showing poise, accuracy, and the dual-threat ability that’s keeping defensive coordinators up at night.
He’s on track to post over 4,000 passing yards and could be up over 700 rushing yards by the end of the season, despite only leaning on his legs when he absolutely as to…
And if that wasn’t enough, he’s already delivered some of the most electrifying moments of the season, including a game-winning Hail Mary against the Bears that had fans going wild.
But it’s not just Daniels; the Commanders’ defense has undergone a complete transformation. Early in the season, this unit looked vulnerable, giving up nearly 30 points per game. But they’ve flipped the switch, allowing under 20 points on average in their last six games.
And now with the addition of Marshon Lattimore, they might be positioned to take the next step!
But right now, the Commanders are riding a wave of momentum that makes them a true force in the conference. Not bad for a team that many thought would be fighting just to stay relevant…
The Commanders have turned into one of the season’s biggest surprises, and they’re not done yet!
Also Read: Who Will Be The Difference-Makers In The Second Half Of The 2024 NFL Season?
