Beginner's guide to the 2024 NFL season

3 months ago 15

New to the NFL? Here is your quick guide as the 2024 season gets under way on the road to Super Bowl LIX...

Who won the Super Bowl last time?

The Kansas City Chiefs enter the new season as reigning back-to-back Super Bowl champions after February's 25-22 overtime victory against the San Francisco 49ers, having beaten the Philadelphia Eagles 38-35 the previous season.

Andy Reid's side have now played in four of the last five Super Bowls as they look to become the first team in history to win three in a row.

Where is the Super Bowl being held?

Super Bowl LIX will take place at the Superdome in New Orleans on Sunday February 9, 2025. It will mark the 11th time the Super Bowl has taken place in New Orleans, the most recent being in 2013.

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Take a look back at the lead-up and best bits from the 2024 Superbowl, where the Kansas City Chiefs came out victorious

Who has won the most Super Bowl titles?

The New England Patriots and Pittsburgh Steelers have each won the Super Bowl six times, tied for first in NFL history ahead of the San Francisco 49ers and Dallas Cowboys with five apiece.

Eight teams have appeared in the Super Bowl without yet winning one, including the Minnesota Vikings, Buffalo Bills, Cincinnati Bengals, Carolina Panthers, Atlanta Falcons, Los Angeles Chargers, Tennessee Titans and Arizona Cardinals.

The Cleveland Browns, Detroit Lions, Jacksonville Jaguars and Houston Texans, meanwhile, have never reached the Super Bowl.

Are there games in the UK this season?

London has hosted 36 regular-season games since international games began in 2007, with all 32 teams having visited at least once.

The league returns for three more games in 2024, with the Jacksonville Jaguars set to play in the UK for two consecutive weeks for the second season in a row while Aaron Rodgers leads the New York Jets out against the Minnesota Vikings and No 1 Draft pick Caleb Williams comes to town with the Chicago Bears.

Week One will also see the NFL stage a regular-season game in Brazil for the first time when the Green Bay Packers meet the Philadelphia Eagles, before playing in Germany for the third successive year as the Carolina Panthers host the New York Giants.

2024 International Games:

Green Bay Packers @ Philadelphia Eagles, Corinthians Arena, September 6
New York Jets @ Minnesota Vikings, Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, October 6
Jacksonville Jaguars @ Chicago Bears, Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, October 13
New England Patriots @ Jacksonville Jaguars, Wembley Stadium, October 20
New York Giants @ Carolina Panthers, Allianz Arena, November 10

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Are there NFL games at Christmas?

As is tradition, the NFL will play three games on November 28 to mark Thanksgiving when the Bears visit the Detroit Lions followed by the Giants at the Dallas Cowboys and the Miami Dolphins at the Green Bay Packers.

There will then be two games on Christmas Day as Patrick Mahomes and the champion Chiefs hit the road to face the Pittsburgh Steelers before Lamar Jackson's Baltimore Ravens meet CJ Stroud's Houston Texans.

All Thanksgiving and Christmas Day games will be live on Sky Sports.

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How is the NFL divided into teams?

The 32 teams are divided into two conferences: the National Football Conference (NFC) and the American Football Conference (AFC).

The NFC and AFC are then further divided by regions to comprise four divisions with four teams each:

NFC North - Chicago Bears, Detroit Lions, Green Bay Packers, Minnesota Vikings
NFC East - Dallas Cowboys, New York Giants, Philadelphia Eagles, Washington Commanders
NFC South - Atlanta Falcons, Carolina Panthers, New Orleans Saints, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
NFC West - Arizona Cardinals, Los Angeles Rams, San Francisco 49ers, Seattle Seahawks

AFC North - Baltimore Ravens, Cincinnati Bengals, Cleveland Browns, Pittsburgh Steelers
AFC East - Buffalo Bills, Miami Dolphins, New England Patriots, New York Jets
AFC South - Houston Texans, Indianapolis Colts, Jacksonville Jaguars, Tennessee Titans
AFC West - Denver Broncos, Kansas City Chiefs, Las Vegas Raiders, Los Angeles Chargers

Which players starred last year?

Here are the individual award winners in the 2023 season:

MVP: Lamar Jackson, QB, Baltimore Ravens
Offensive Player of the Year: Christian McCaffrey, RB, San Francisco 49ers
Defensive Player of the Year: Myles Garrett, EDGE, Cleveland Browns
Coach of the Year: Kevin Stefanski, Cleveland Browns
Offensive Rookie of the Year: CJ Stroud, QB, Houston Texans
Defensive Rookie of the Year: Will Anderson Jr, EDGE, Houston Texans
Comeback Player of the Year: Joe Flacco, QB, Cleveland Browns
Rookie of the Year: CJ Stroud, QB, Houston Texans
Super Bowl MVP: Patrick Mahomes, QB, Kansas City Chiefs

Here are the individual stats leaders in the 2023 season:

Scoring leader: Brandon Aubrey, K, Dallas Cowboys - 157 points
Touchdowns: Raheem Mostert, RB, Miami Dolphins/Christian McCaffrey, RB, San Francisco 49ers - 21
Sacks: TJ Watt, EDGE, Pittsburgh Steelers - 19
Rushing yards: Christian McCaffrey, RB, San Francisco 49ers - 1,459 yards
Passing yards: Tua Tagovailoa, QB, Miami Dolphins - 4,624 yards
Passing touchdowns: Dak Prescott, QB, Dallas Cowboys - 36
Passer rating: Brock Purdy, QB, San Francisco 49ers - 113.0
Catches: CeeDee Lamb, WR, Dallas Cowboys - 135
Receiving yards: Tyreek Hill, WR, Miami Dolphins - 1,799 yards
Tackles: Bobby Wagner, LB, Seattle Seahawks - 183
Interceptions: DaRon Bland, CB, Dallas Cowboys - 9

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Everything you need to know about the NFL's new drastic rule change to kick-offs

How do you score points?

Teams have to travel a minimum of 10 yards with the ball every time their offense has position, getting four attempts to do so, otherwise the ball automatically turns over to the opposition.

If they are successful in running or passing their way down the field to score a touchdown, they score six points, with the option to extend that to seven or eight with either an 'extra point' kick through the goalposts or a 'two-point conversion', which is essentially an attempt to score another touchdown from two yards out of the endzone.

If a team fails to make it to the endzone, they can look to add three points to their score by attempting a 'field goal', which is another attempt at kicking the ball between the goalposts.

If a field goal is not possible, the team will often the punt the ball back to the opposition deep in their own half.

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How do the playoffs work?

At the end of the season, the teams with the best record in each of the four divisions per conference, along with the three teams with the next-best records in each conference ('wildcard' teams), qualify for the playoffs.

This means a total of 14 teams - seven from each conference - progress from the regular season on the road to the Super Bowl, with each seeded accordingly based on their win-loss records to determine who they face in the playoffs.

Wild Card weekend: The wildcard teams which qualify are automatically seeded 5th, 6th and 7th in each conference and are drawn to play on the road against the 4th, 3rd and 2nd-seeded teams, respectively, while the No 1-ranked sides receive byes.

Divisional round: The No 1 seed in each conference then hosts the lowest-ranked team left after Wild Card weekend, with the remaining two teams in each conference facing off - the highest other seed left hosting the contest.

Conference Championship: Next up, the two remaining teams in each conference play against each other - the higher-ranked seed having home advantage - to determine the respective champions of the NFC and the AFC and, therefore, the two teams who will compete in the Super Bowl.

How to watch the 2024 NFL season?

Make sure you tune in to Sky Sports NFL every Sunday at 6pm for the first game of our triple-header of live action. The evening's entertainment also includes NFL Redzone action hosted by Scott Hanson, as well as Sunday Night Football to round off the night.

Sky Sports will broadcast two exclusive live games every Sunday throughout the regular season in the 6pm and 9pm slots, while also showing every Thursday Night, Sunday Night and Monday Night match-up as well as the Thanksgiving and Christmas Day fixtures.

The Sky Sports NFL channel will continue to show the usual NFL Network favourites, including Good Morning Football, Pro Football Talk and Total Access.

Here is what to look forward to in Week One and Two live on Sky:

Week 1:

Thursday September 5 - Baltimore Ravens @ Kansas City Chiefs - live from 1.20am Friday morning

Friday September 6 - Green Bay Packers @ Philadelphia Eagles - live from 1.15am Saturday morning

Sunday September 8 - Pittsburgh Steelers @ Atlanta Falcons - live from 6pm

Sunday September 8 - Dallas Cowboys @ Cleveland Browns - live from 9.25pm

Sunday September 8 - Los Angeles Rams @ Detroit Lions - live from 1.20am Monday morning

Monday September 9 - New York Jets @ San Francisco 49ers - live from 1.15am Tuesday morning

Week 2:

Thursday September 12 - Buffalo Bills @ Miami Dolphins - live from 1.15am Friday morning

Sunday September 15 - San Francisco 49ers @ Minnesota Vikings - live from 6pm

Sunday September 15 - Cincinnati Bengals @ Kansas City Chiefs - live from 9.25pm

Sunday September 15 - Chicago Bears @ Houston Texans - live from 1.20am Monday morning

Monday September 16 - Atlanta Falcons @ Philadelphia Eagles - live from 1.15am Tuesday morning

Inside the Huddle - Listen to all episodes

Join Neil Reynolds, Jeff Reinebold and Phoebe Schecter throughout the season as they break down the latest news from around the league on Inside the Huddle.

Hear from Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers as he speaks to Neil Reynolds in one of multiple exclusive interviews with some of the biggest names across the NFL...

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Watch the new NFL season live on Sky Sports, starting with reigning Super Bowl champions the Kansas City Chiefs hosting the Baltimore Ravens from midnight on Friday September 6. Also stream with NOW.

Sky Sports+ has officially launched and will be integrated into Sky TV, streaming service NOW and the Sky Sports app - giving Sky Sports customers access to over 50 per cent more live sport this year at no extra cost. Stream The new EFL season, Test cricket and more top sport with NOW.

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