The Top Surprises of the 2023-2024 NFL Season

And a Few Shockers

The 2023/24 NFL season was packed with incident, excitement, and surprises and culminated in a consecutive Super Bowl victory for the Kansas City Chiefs, with Patrick Mahomes winning back-to-back MVP awards.

The 272 regular season games saw some things go exactly to plan, while some shocks were in store. Here is our look back at the biggest surprises of the season.

Baker Mayfield’s Tampa Dream

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have been looking for a quarterback to fill the gap left by the legendary Tom Brady who retired in 2022. While Brady was getting on in years, he was still a huge presence, and the announcement of Baker Mayfield’s one-year deal was met with minimal fanfare.

Not only has Mayfield impressed, but he managed to outperform Brady’s final Buccaneers season and Derek Carr whose $37.5 million per season contract is more than 9 times that of Mayfield’s $4 million deal.

Following his 4,044 yards and 28 TD passes, Buccaneers fans might feel a little more comfortable about backing their team next season.

Sports editor and betting expert Sergio Zammit explains that sports betting has finally been given the nod following the decision by the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals to overturn legislation that prohibited sports betting in the state. (Source: https://sportslens.com/florida/betting-apps/) While there are no platforms up and running yet, sports fans will be hopeful this will be resolved so they can back the Buccaneers in season 2024/25.

Stone’s Impressive Ravens Campaign

What better way to continue our rundown than with the Ravens, in particular, Geno Stone? The 24-year-old safety joined the Ravens in the 2020 draft as the 219th pick, 19 of which were safeties.

Just four years later, Stone made everyone question their choices by leading the way in interceptions for a large portion of the season. He even came close to a franchise record, securing the second-longest interception streak in the Ravens’ history at four games.

While fellow 24-year-old Dallas Cowboys cornerback DaRon Bland went on to surpass him with 9 interceptions for the season, Geno Stone’s 7 interceptions were enough to secure second place and should give him the confidence to continue his development.

The Philadelphia Eagles’ Defensive Capitulation

After a narrow Super Bowl defeat to an impressive Kansas City Chiefs in 2023, Philadelphia fans must have been hopeful that they could go one better in 2023/24.

An impressive pre-season saw them add Nolan Smith and Jalen Carter to their roster, and then in-season, the experience of Kevin Byard. This impressive recruitment built confidence even further but that soon came to an end.

Poor defensive performances saw the Eagles slump from sixth in defensive EPA per play, to a dismal 30th.

Everyone in football knows that regression can happen, especially as a team ages. However, this dramatic change surprised everyone.

The Buffalo Bills Say Goodbye to Ken Dorsey

A good coaching staff can make a big difference to a team, building confidence and transforming sloppy play. With the Buffalo Bills boasting a 3rd-ranked offense, things seemed to be going to plan.

However, just ten weeks into the season they decided to fire offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey.

An improved running game and four wins from their following five games seemed to justify their decision to some degree.

The Los Angeles Rams’ Offensive Qualities

Sean McVay’s Los Angeles Rams have one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL in Matthew Stafford, but few could have predicted that Kyren Williams and Puka Nacua would produce anywhere near that of Todd Gurley and Brandin Cooks — performances the guided the Rams to the Super Bowl during the 2018 season. 

Williams and Nacua’s combined scrimmage yards per game average of 207 was just short of the 210 achieved in 2018.

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