Jan 12, 2025; Tampa, Florida, USA; Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield (6) during the second quarter of a NFC wild card playoff against the Washington Commanders at Raymond James Stadium.

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Shocking 2024 NFL Season Stats No One Saw Coming

The 2024 season threw up some surprises along the way

Jan 12, 2025; Tampa, Florida, USA; Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield (6) during the second quarter of a NFC wild card playoff against the Washington Commanders at Raymond James Stadium.

The 2024 NFL season is nearly over with just one game left before we bid it adieu. This season was another great one with many good and bad surprises along the journey. Starting out with the draft, there were quite a few players from whom we expected a great rookie campaign. And while most of them fared really well, there were some disappointments as well. The NFL is a unique sports league where the fortunes of a team can change instantaneously with injuries, trades, draft selections, coaching changes, and more.

Nevertheless, each season has its own fair share of expectations, and when it is all said and done, a look back reveals quite a few intriguing stats and facts. In this article, we will explore some of these stats worthy of a raised eyebrow.

7 shocking stats no one saw coming in the 2024 Season

Below is a list of 7 stats that we did not see coming at the start of the 2024 NFL season.

Baker Mayfield’s 4,500 Passing Yards

Baker Mayfield’s career has been resurrected after his second season in Tampa. He once again led the Buccaneers to the playoffs and had great numbers throughout the season. Mayfield threw for 4,500 yards which was just behind Joe Burrow and Jared Goff. In fact, Mayfield’s numbers were better than Josh Allen (3,731), Patrick Mahomes (3,928), and Lamar Jackson (4,172).

Bo Nix’s 29 Passing Touchdowns

After the 2024 NFL Draft came to an end, we saw a record-tying six quarterbacks being selected in the first round. All eyes were on top pick Caleb Williams and number 2 overall Jayden Daniels. But nobody would have predicted that Denver Broncos’ rookie under center Bo Nix would throw 29 touchdowns, which would be better than Josh Allen (28), Jayden Daniels (25), Justin Herbert (23), and even Patrick Mahomes (26).

Also Read: Pete Prisco on Jalen Hurts vs. NFL’s best quarterbacks

Brian Thomas Jr.’s 1,282 Receiving Yards

Rookie sensation Brian Thomas Jr.’s solid production of 1,282 receiving yards was still not good enough for the Jacksonville Jaguars to make the most out of it. Thomas’ stats were the third-best amongst all pass catchers as he finished behind only Ja’Marr Chase and Justin Jefferson. That means he beat out the likes of Amon-Ra St. Brown (1,263), fellow rookie wideout Malik Nabers (1,204), and Terry McLaurin (1,096).

Brock Bower’s 112 Receptions

Brock Bowers, the first-round draft pick for the Las Vegas Raiders in the 2024 NFL Draft exploded onto the scene becoming a tremendous force to deal with for the AFC West franchise. It is shocking to know that the rookie tight end’s 112 receptions were third-best in the league. He had more receptions than the likes of Justin Jefferson (103), Ceedee Lamb (101), and Travis Kelce (97).

Rashod Batemans 9 Receiving Touchdowns

Baltimore Ravens wideout Rashod Bateman had the best season of his career yet. He finished the year with 45 receptions for 756 receiving yards and 9 touchdowns. If someone told us at the start of the season that he would have more receiving touchdowns than some of the greats of the modern game it would have been difficult to believe. However, that is the case and Bateman’s 9 touchdowns were better than Davante Adams (8), George Kittle (8), and Tyreek Hill (6).

James Cook’s 18 Touchdowns

Buffalo Bills running back James Cook had an extraordinary year finishing with his second consecutive 1,000-yard rushing season. Where he shined though was finishing off drives by reaching the end zone on 18 occasions, 16 on the ground and 2 through the air. His 18 total touchdowns were more than Josh Jacobs (16), Bijan Robinson (15), and even Saquon Barkley (15).

Chuba Hubbard’s 1,195 Rushing Yards

Chuba Hubbard, the Carolina Panthers RB1 finished with 1,195 rushing yards which was good for eighth in the league this season. This stat on its own may not look too significant, but when we factor in that he outrushed the likes of James Conner, Joe Mixon, and James Cook, then that is saying something. Cardinal’s running back Conner finished with 1,094 rushing yards, while the Texans’ Mixon and Bills’ Cook finished with 1,016 and 1,009 respectively. All the more impressive is that Hubbard only played in 13 games.

Baker Mayfield

Bo Nix

James Cook

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Devavrat Kulkarni

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I am a content writer for the NFL team, and joined The Playoffs after working with Sportskeeda and NFL Analysis as an NFL writer. After starting my professional career as a French-to-English translator, working as a content writer is a new adventure for me. I started out in the sports media field for two main reasons: my love for sports in general, especially the NFL, NBA, and Tennis, as well as my passion for writing. The best part of this job is that I get to write a variety of pieces with the freedom to explore content from various angles. It also enables me to stay up to date with the sporting world, which otherwise can be difficult to do in the day-to-day grind. In a world full of chaos, sports unite and entertain like nothing else!