NFL Sunday Night Football Betting – Season Recap
Originally implemented to showcase the best game of the betting week, Sunday Night Football has been around on NBC since 2006 bringing an end to a usually busy day. In order to guarantee the popularity and success of SNF, flex-scheduling was introduced by the NFL for later weeks of the season in order to make sure that happens. The league took full advantage of its authority over the schedule flexing games in Weeks 9, 11 and 17. It was a big change from the previous season when no games were flexed.
NFL Betting Odds
One thing the network and the NFL have done in recent years is leave the time slot open for the final weekend of the regular season to ensure the most compelling matchup is aired. In Week 18 of the 2024 season the NFC North contest between the Minnesota Vikings and Detroit Lions was given the primetime slot. This was a no-brainer since the outcome not only decided the division winner but also the No. 1 seed in the conference. So, yes, it was an important game that the Lions won 31-9 in one of four games on the slate decided by more than 20 points.
All but one of the 14 teams that qualified for the postseason appeared at least once on SNF with the Lions and Dallas Cowboys each playing three times. The only playoff team not to appear was the Denver Broncos. The two best teams in the NFL during the regular season combined to go 5-0 with the Lions opening and closing the SNF slate with home wins. They beat the Rams in overtime in Week 1 and blasted Minnesota in the finale. They also overcame a 5-interception game from Jared Goff to beat Houston, 26-23, in Week 10.
Dallas was a part of the 11 one-score games on the SNF schedule with their three contests decided by a total of 11 points. They beat Pittsburgh, 20-17, in Week 5 and Tampa Bay, 26-24, in Week 16. The Boys fell to San Francisco, 30-24, in Week 8. The Buffalo Bills were involved in the two most lopsided games, which ironically had the same 35-10 score. The Bills lost at Baltimore in Week 4 and beat San Francisco in Week 13.
During the course of the regular season there were 16 overtime games with two of them taking place on SNF and both were decided by a touchdown. Detroit won the season opener and in their only appearance Washington got a magnificent game from rookie sensation Jayden Daniels to beat Atlanta, 30-24. Daniels threw three touchdown passes, including the game-winner, and rushed for 127 yards.
That was one of many outstanding performances over the course of the season that also included a 4-touchdown game from Detroit’s Jahmyr Gibbs in Week 18 and a 199-yard rushing game from Baltimore’s Derrick Henry in Week 4. However, the best showing was Saquon Barkley rushing for 255 yards with a pair of touchdowns of at least 70-yards in Philadelphia’s 37-20 win over the Rams in Week 12.
Joe Burrow led the NFL in passing yards and touchdowns with one of his better games coming in Week 11 against the Chargers in what was one of the best games of the season. Burrow threw for 356 yards and three TDs engineering a second half comeback from a 27-6 deficit to tie the game at 27-27. The Bolts got the win, though, when J.K. Dobbins scored with less than 30 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter.
It was also a good season for the home team on SNF. Hosts won the first two games and starting in Week 7 they went 9-3. The four games that had a margin of more than 20 points were all won by the home team and they won 12 of the 18 games.
Sunday Night Football Betting Schedule
In Week 2, the Houston Texans will host the Chicago Bears in a matchup of two of the emerging quarterback stars of the NFL. Last year, CJ Stroud, who was taken 2nd overall in the 2023 NFL Draft, led the Houston Texans to the AFC South Championship and a playoff win over the Cleveland Browns. Stroud shot down the adage about rookie NFL QBs not being able to deliver. Instead, Stroud threw for 4108 yards and a 23/5 TD/INT ratio. DeMeco Ryans had a spectacular debut as Houston’s coach, but now Ryans and Stroud face higher expectations, and the scrutiny of proving their success was not a fluke.
Of course, the Bears took Caleb Williams first overall in the 2024 NFL Draft. Williams does not have the supporting cast that Stroud had last year. Williams also arrives with what many believe to be a quirky personality that may not be best for leading an NFL locker room. The Bears gave up on Justin Fields, who they took in the first round of the 2021 NFL Draft, after just three seasons on a team with little support. Chicago remains a team that generates a lot of ambiguity and little in the way of optimism from gamblers.
One of the best Sunday night matchups in the early going is a Week 4 affair between the visiting Buffalo Bills and the Baltimore Ravens. Both teams won their respective divisions last year. The QB matchup of Josh Allen of the Bills and Lamar Jackson of the Ravens is one of the best possible. The Ravens and Bills could easily meet in the 2024 NFL Playoffs.
Week 8 is certain to bring ratings and scrutiny when the San Francisco 49ers host the Dallas Cowboys. Dallas head coach Mike McCarthy and QB Dak Prescott are under intense pressure to deliver a Super Bowl berth after flopping in the playoffs. Owner Jerry Jones, age 81, is eager to gain one last Lombardi Trophy but, as always, has a team that is never quite complete. The Dallas track record of falling short since the 1994 departure of head coach Jimmy Johnson offers no comfort or reason to believe that anything will ultimately change with America’s team.
Meanwhile, the San Francisco 49ers are the defending NFC champions and are coming off their second heartbreaking loss in five years to the Kansas City Chiefs in the Super Bowl. San Francisco is certainly the team to beat in the NFC West. General manager John Lynch and head coach Kyle Shanahan have proven to be a highly effective leadership tandem.
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