The Philadelphia Eagles were one of the league’s most storied franchises. They produced consistent contenders and had one of the most passionate fan bases in all of sports. Yet the city of Philadelphia had never won a Super Bowl, their last title being all the way back in 1960. The 2017 NFL season saw the Eagles finally break the drought and bring home the Lombardi Trophy.
Strength on both lines was what defined the ’17 Eagles. They had a pair of All-Pros on the offensive line, with Jason Kelce and Lane Johnson. A deep and balanced defensive front was led by tackle Brandon Graham and his 9 ½ sacks. The best skill position player was tight end Zach Ertz. That physicality enabled Philadelphia to effectively transition when starting quarterback Carson Wentz got hurt down the stretch and backup Nick Foles had to take over for the playoffs.
Overall, the Eagles were in the NFL’s top four for both points scored and points allowed. They knocked off playoff-bound Carolina 28-23 on a Thursday Night in October. In November, Philly went on the Sunday Night stage and hammered their primary NFC East competition from Dallas, 37-9. In December, the Eagles won a 43-35 shootout over a Los Angeles Rams team that would make the postseason. When all was said and done, Philadelphia went 13-3, cleared the field in the NFC East by four games and were the #1 seed on their side of the playoff bracket.
The defending Super Bowl champion New England Patriots were setting the tone in the AFC. Tom Brady won his third MVP award, as he threw for almost 4,600 yards with a TD-INT ratio of 32/8. Rob Gronkowski had an All-Pro year at tight end, catching 69 balls for over 1,000 yards. Brandin Cooks was a 1,000-yard receiver. The Patriots scored the second-most points in the league. The defense, without having star talent, came together as a unit and finished fifth in the league.
After an opening night loss to the Kansas City Chiefs, New England bounced back and beat a good New Orleans Saints team 36-20. The Patriots won a Sunday Night Super Bowl rematch with the Atlanta Falcons 23-7 in October. They got a controversial 27-24 win at Pittsburgh in December, a game that ultimately swung homefield advantage in the playoffs. And the Patriots swept the Buffalo Bills, en route to a 13-3 record and the #1 seed.
Even though Buffalo couldn’t keep pace with the Pats, this was still a good year for the Bills. LeSean McCoy ran for over 1,100 yards and made the Pro Bowl. Safeties Jordan Poyer and Micah Hyde each intercepted five passes. Tyrod Taylor played mistake-free football at quarterback. Buffalo got a clutch 16-10 win over Kansas City on the Sunday after Thanksgiving, the highlight of a year that saw the Bills go 9-7 and get what was then the final playoff spot at the 6-seed.
The Steelers, with veteran Ben Roethlisbergerat the helm, also got an All-Pro year from Le’Veon Bell. Both physical and versatile, Bell ran for almost 1,300 yards behind an offensive line that included All-Pro David DeCastro. Bell caught 85 passes, augmenting a passing game that already had one of the game’s best receivers in Antonio Brown, who exceeded the 1,500-yard mark. The defense had more star power in All-Pro defensive end Cameron Heyward, with his 12 sacks.
Pittsburgh’s balance, both offensively and defensively, was quickly apparent when they dismantled a good Minnesota Vikings team 26-9, and then beat their archival, the Baltimore Ravens by the same score. The Steelers went on to beat Kansas City in October, and took a 39-38 thriller in a Sunday Night rematch with the Ravens down the stretch. At 13-3, Pittsburgh got the 2-seed and the first-round bye that then came with it, while Baltimore was edged out by Buffalo for that last wild-card spot.
Jacksonville and Tennessee fought it out in the AFC South. The Jaguars, even with mediocre play at quarterback from Blake Bortles, scored the fifth-most points in the league behind 1,000-yard rusher Leonard Fournette. The Jacksonville defense was even better. They had All-Pros in corner Jalen Ramsey and end Calais Campbell, who recorded 14 ½ sacks. The latter was one part of a deep defensive line that included Yannick Ngakoue, Malik Jackson, and Dante Fowler, who combined for 28 ½ more sacks. Ramsey was joined in the secondary by ballhawking corner A.J. Bouye and his six interceptions.
The Titans also had mediocre quarterback play. But Marcus Mariota got support from a good two-pronged rushing attack that included veteran DeMarco Murray and up-and-comer Derrick Henry. Kevin Byrd had an All-Pro year at safety, intercepting eight passes. Tennessee struck first in the AFC South when they hammered Jacksonville 37-16 in Week 2.
But the Jaguars bounced back. They went to London and hammered the Ravens 44-7. In October, their 30-9 blowout of the Steelers would prove foreshadowing. They got key wins over contenders in San Diego and Seattle. By the time the season finale with the Titans arrived, Jacksonville was 10-5, while Tennessee was 8-7.
As for the Titans, they had secured an important 23-20 win over the Ravens back in November. That gave Tennessee the leg up as they beat Jacksonville in the finale. The Titans had both the tiebreaker over Baltimore to get in, and the tiebreaker on Buffalo to get to the 5-seed. Jacksonville, sitting in the 3-spot, got set to host the Bills for the playoffs.
The AFC West was fought for by the Kansas City Chiefs, along with the Chargers, who moved from San Diego to Los Angeles. The K.C. offense was led by running back Kareem Hunt, who made the Pro Bowl with over 1,300 yards rushing and 53 receptions. Travis Kelce was another Pro Bowler at tight end. Tyreek Hill racked up 1,000 yards receiving as a big-play threat.
Quarterback Alex Smith was cool and efficient, posting a 26/5 TD-INT ratio, distributing the ball among the playmakers and Kansas City ranked sixth in the NFL for points scored. It covered for an average defense. The Chiefs struck early, with a 42-27 win over the Patriots on the opening Thursday Night. Ten days later, K.C. knocked off Philadelphia 27-20. The Chiefs closed September with a 24-10 win over the Chargers.
Los Angeles was able to get in the race behind the league’s third-best defense, a Pro Bowl year from veteran quarterback Phillip Rivers and a 1,000-yard season from Melvin Gordon. On a Saturday night in mid-December, the Chiefs and Chargers waged a decisive battle. Kansas City won 30-13 and was able to have the AFC West and the 4-seed clinched by the season’s final week. That allowed a rookie named Patrick Mahomes to get his first career start as Smith rested for the upcoming playoff game with Tennessee. Los Angeles saw the tiebreakers fall against them and stayed home.
In the NFC, Minnesota had a big year behind the league’s stingiest defense. The Viking D was anchored by a pair of All-Pro defensive backs, safety Harrison Smith and corner Xavier Rhodes. Eversen Griffen was a disruptive force at defensive end, with 13 sacks. Offensively, Minnesota overcame a terrible preseason injury to starting quarterback Teddy Bridgewater that knocked him out for the season and permanently altered his career. Case Keenum stepped in. Keenum played mistake-free football as he distributed the ball to Pro Bowlers in wide receiver Adam Thielen and tight end Kyle Rudolph, along with big-play threat Stefon Diggs.
The Vikes knocked off the Saints 29-19 in the season’s opening Monday Night game. The added wins over Baltimore and the L.A. Rams later in the year. The NFC North race was drastically reshaped when Green Bay Packer quarterback Aaron Rodgers was injured, and the Packers fell off the radar. Detroit was the only real challenger to the Vikings. Minnesota went on the road and beat the Lions 30-23 on Thanksgiving Day. A 14-9 win over Atlanta followed. The Vikings closed out a 13-3 season, easily won the North and got the 2-seed.
Pro football’s best offense was in the NFC West. The Los Angeles Rams got a dynamic year from All-Pro running back Todd Gurley, who ran for 1,300 yards and caught 64 passes. Andrew Whitworth was an All-Pro at tackle. The Ram defense ranked 12th as a unit, and they had the Defensive Player of the Year in tackle Aaron Donald. Jared Goff played well at quarterback, with a 28/7 TD-INT ratio and 8.0 yards-per attempt. And the special teams? Los Angeles had the All-Pro selection at kicker (Greg Zuerlein), punter (Johnny Hekker) and return man (Pharoah Cooper).
The Rams would get big wins over Dallas and Jacksonville in the season’s first two months. Los Angeles lost to their primary division competition in the Seattle Seahawks on October 8. But the Rams would keep pace, knock off the Saints in November and then get a big 42-7 blowout win over the Seahawks in the revenge game in December. On Christmas Eve, L.A. beat Tennessee 27-23. It was all enough to get the Rams to 11-5 and the 3-seed, while Seattle’s 9-7 year wasn’t quite good enough.
No division in the NFL was better than the NFC South, where New Orleans, Carolina, and Atlanta all made the playoffs. Drew Brees kept the potent Saints’ offense humming, throwing for over 4,300 yards. Michael Thomas caught 104 balls for over 1,200 yards. New Orleans had a perfect running back combo—Mark Ingram was tough and physical, rushing for over 1,100 yards. Alvin Kamara was versatile, adding over 700 yards on the ground, catching 81 balls and winning Offensive Rookie of the Year. A pretty good defense was led by All-Pro defensive end Cameron Jordan and his 13 sacks.
Cam Newton had something of an erratic year for the Panthers, but he still ran for 750 yards. Christian McCaffrey caught 80 passes and contributed to the running game. The defense had a pass-rushing tandem of Mario Addison and Julius Peppers, who each got 11 sacks coming off opposite edges. And Carolina got All-Pro years from guard Andrew Norwell and linebacker Luke Kuechly.
Atlanta’s offense slipped from the best in the league in 2016 to middle-of-the-pack this time around. Matt Ryan threw for 4,000 yards, but was a little more mistake-prone than in his MVP year of ’16. Ryan still had the great Julio Jones to throw to, as the big receiver caught 88 balls for over 1,400 yards. It was the Falcon defense who made up for any offensive slippage, as they ranked eighth in the league. Defensive end Adrian Clayborn’s 9 ½ sacks led the way.
It was a tight three-team race, but New Orleans owned the head-to-head competition. They beat the Panthers 34-13 in September and 31-21 in December. While the Saints lost a 20-17 decision to the Falcons on a Thursday Night in early December, New Orleans turned around and won the rematch on Christmas Eve, 23-13. The Saints finished 11-5, won the division and were the 4-seed.
Carolina got a big 33-30 win over New England to start October, the highlight of a year where they also went 11-5 and got the 5-seed. Atlanta’s biggest win was a 34-31 decision over Seattle on a Monday Night in November. With the Falcons finishing 10-6, that game was decisive in getting them the final playoff spot and the 6-seed.
Wild-Card Weekend started with the road teams asserting themselves. Tennessee went into Kansas City, fell behind 21-3 and then stormed back to pull a 22-21 upset. That night, the Falcon defense went to the Los Angeles Coliseum and kept the explosive Ram attack under control. Atlanta won 26-13.
Sunday afternoon opened with Jacksonville beating Buffalo 10-3. The Jags got the go-ahead touchdown late in the third quarter and then shut the Bills down the rest of the way. The late game in New Orleans saw the Saints get a big game from Brees, as they took a 21-6 lead and then held off the Panthers to win 31-26.
Philadelphia and Atlanta staged a tough physical battle to open the Divisional Round. The Eagles led 15-10, and then made a big defensive stop in the red zone late in the fourth quarter to preserve the win. Saturday night’s prime-time event was a little less dramatic—New England rolled Tennessee 35-14.
Jacksonville was a seven-point underdog in Pittsburgh, but the Jaguars jumped out to a 28-7 lead late in the second quarter. Combined with the regular season result, the Jags had outscored the Steelers 58-16 in nearly six quarters. Pittsburgh scored just before the half and kept scoring. But Jacksonville kept answering. It was still 45-35 Jags in the closing seconds before a meaningless Steeler touchdown with a second to go ended the 45-42 shootout.
Minnesota has something of a star-crossed history in the playoffs and their fan base can be forgiven if they expect the worst. Thus, when the Vikings jumped out to a 17-0 lead, only to see that lead gradually disappear and eventually trail 24-23 with 0:25 to go, it seemed par for the course. On their own 39-yard line, with time for one or two plays, Minnesota looked done.
Then Keenum found Diggs down the sideline. The receiver made a great play to keep his feet in bounds. Rather than step out to preserve time for a long field goal try, Diggs made a pivot and had wide-open space in front of him. He raced for a stunning touchdown. The 29-24 final went into the history books as the Minneapolis Miracle.
Jacksonville was again a solid underdog when they went to New England. And again, the Jaguars were unintimidated. They had a 20-10 lead early in the fourth quarter. But the Patriots rallied. Buoyed by a shaky call on a fumble, New England took full advantage of the break and Brady threw two touchdown passes down the stretch. The Pats returned to the Super Bowl with a 24-20 win.
There was no drama that night in Philadelphia. Any thought of the Vikings being a team of destiny after the prior week was quickly put to rest. The Eagles spotted the Vikes a touchdown, and then took over, winning 38-7. The city of Minneapolis would host the Super Bowl, but the home team would not be there.
The two #1 seeds would be there. And both offenses put on a show. Brady was on fire and threw for a Super Bowl-record 505 yards. But the Eagles were more balanced. Foles threw for 374 yards of his own, and even caught a touchdown pass on a trick play to end the first half. Philadelphia led 38-33. But Brady had one more chance.
With America waiting for Brady to author another comeback, it was Graham who made the decisive play. The defensive tackle got pressure up the middle, got his hand in there, and poked the ball loose. The Eagles recovered, kicked a field goal and then stopped one last desperation drive. With the 41-33 win, Philadelphia was finally a Super Bowl champ.