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NFL midseason: Top 5 games of the first half, and top 5 matchups yet to come

frank schwab
Senior writer
·5 min read
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Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels (5) celebrates after a memorable win over the Bears. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)
Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels (5) celebrates after a memorable win over the Bears. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

What will we remember from this 2024 NFL regular season? If the Kansas City Chiefs chase an undefeated season, that's the answer. But that's unlikely.

That leaves Jayden Daniels.

Daniels is having a truly special rookie year for the Washington Commanders, the type of debut season that we'll be able to recall 25 years from now. His immediate impact has turned around the Commanders after decades of suffering, and he has already made one special game-winning play that will go down in NFL lore. It's rare to see a rookie define an entire season, but through half of this season that appears to be the case.

(Hayden Hodge/Yahoo Sports)
(Hayden Hodge/Yahoo Sports)

In that regard, here's a look back at the best games of the first half of the season, and the best matchups yet to come.

This Monday night game is when Jayden Daniels announced himself as a star. Daniels was 21 of 23 for 254 yards and two touchdowns, added 39 yards and a touchdown on the ground and the Commanders scored on every possession except when they took a knee to end a half. Daniels' 27-yard touchdown pass to Terry McLaurin to put the game away looked like it would be the signature moment of his rookie season. He would top that play in October.

This was a weird back-and-forth Thursday night game with plenty of twists and turns and a walk-off overtime touchdown by the Falcons. The Falcons needed a wild rally just to force overtime on a Younghoe Koo field goal as time expired. Cousins had a career-high 509 yards in this win, which shifted the power of the NFC South.

Joe Burrow threw for 392 yards and five touchdowns and was the losing quarterback. That's how fun this game was. Lamar Jackson had 403 total yards and threw for four touchdowns. The Bengals lined up for the game-winning field goal in overtime, but a botched snap led to a miss. Derrick Henry broke a long run to set up the Ravens' game winner after that. You won't see many games quarterbacked at a higher level.

Disclaimer: For the entirety of 60 minutes, this was an ugly game. That doesn't matter. This game is the one from the first half of the season that will be remembered 25 years from now, and it's for the last play. Jayden Daniels scrambled around (while Bears cornerback Tyrique Stevenson taunted fans from the field) and bought just enough time to heave a 52-yard Hail Mary touchdown to Noah Brown for the win. It was the rare moment in which everyone knew immediately they'd just seen something historic.

This game was wild. Geno Smith threw two interceptions inside the Rams' 10-yard line in the fourth quarter, including one returned more than 100 yards for a touchdown, but rallied to throw a game-tying touchdown with less than a minute left. In overtime, the Seahawks were in field-goal range but went for it on fourth-and-1 and the Rams got a great stop. Then Matthew Stafford completed some big-time passes, including a 39-yarder for the win that was hauled in by Demarcus Robinson with one hand. Thoroughly entertaining.

The Commanders are in first place of the NFC East, which wasn't expected. To stay there, they'll need to hold off the Eagles. This seemed like an odd choice for a Thursday night game when the schedule was released, but now it might go a long way in determining if an upstart Commanders team can win the NFC East. The rematch in Washington is Week 16, by the way.

This one will conjure up some bad memories for Bills fans. The Bills have had some rough losses to Kansas City in the playoffs, including last postseason when the Chiefs came to Buffalo and stunned the Bills. Buffalo is good once again, the Chiefs are too, and if the Bills have any hopes of having home-field advantage again for a playoff showdown, this is a must-win for them.

It's possible we see this matchup again in the Super Bowl. Both teams are on the short list of contenders midway through the season. Josh Allen is having an MVP level season, and the Lions offense looks unstoppable. Whether or not there's a rematch coming in February, this is a fun game between two excellent teams.

The NFL seemed to do pretty well with its Christmas games. All four of the teams playing on Dec. 25 would be in the playoffs if the season ended today, including the surprising Steelers. It's not completely out of the question the Steelers might still be in play for a No. 1 seed when it hosts Kansas City. It's also not completely unreasonable to wonder if the Chiefs are still chasing the 1972 Dolphins and 2007 Patriots by being undefeated by Week 17. Then Baltimore vs. Houston will feature Lamar Jackson vs. C.J. Stroud. Not a bad Christmas doubleheader.

San Francisco hasn't been great yet, but we all know the 49ers can still make a run. The Lions have been perhaps the most impressive team of the first half, and they remember what happened in last season's NFC championship game loss at San Francisco. It's possible this game determines if the Lions get the No. 1 seed, which would be huge for their Super Bowl hopes.