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The impressive feats from the 2024 rookie quarterback class will carry over into the postseason.
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Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin, right, on the sideline during the first half of an NFL football game against the Cincinnati Bengals in Pittsburgh, Saturday, Jan. 4, 2025. The Bengals won 19-17.(AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
Seattle Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith (7) walks off the field after a win over the Los Angeles Rams in an NFL football game Sunday, Jan. 5, 2025, in Inglewood, Calif. (AP Photo/Eric Thayer)
Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase (1) celebrates a touchdown during the first half of an NFL football game against the Pittsburgh Steelers in Pittsburgh, Saturday, Jan. 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Matt Freed)
Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow (9) throws a pass during the first half of an NFL football against the Pittsburgh Steelers game in Pittsburgh, Saturday, Jan. 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Matt Freed)
Los Angeles Chargers linebacker Troy Dye (43) celebrates after an NFL football game against the Las Vegas Raiders in Las Vegas, Sunday, Jan. 5, 2025. (AP Photo/John Locher)
Fans congratulate Denver Broncos quarterback Bo Nix after an NFL football game against the Kansas City Chiefs, Sunday, Jan. 5, 2025, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels looks to pass against the Dallas Cowboys during the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Jan. 5, 2025, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Gareth Patterson)
Washington's Jayden Daniels and Denver's Bo Nix are expected to make their playoff debuts on Sunday in a rare case of two rookie starting quarterbacks in the same postseason.
While there are a few examples of fill-in rookies getting the nod in the playoffs, this will be just the fourth time that two rookie quarterbacks start in the same postseason after making at least six starts during the regular season.
It last happened in 2012 when Andrew Luck, Robert Griffin III and Russell Wilson all got playoff starts. The other times came in 2008 with Matt Ryan and Joe Flacco, and 1983 with Hall of Famers John Elway and Dan Marino.
Only seven rookie quarterbacks have won playoff starts, and there's never been a year when more than one did it. A rookie quarterback has never started in the Super Bowl, with Brock Purdy (2022), Mark Sanchez (2009), Flacco (2008), Ben Roethlisberger (2004) and Shaun King (1999) all losing in the conference title game.
Daniels and Nix already have had barrier-breaking seasons, with both QBs winning at least 10 starts, producing at least 30 touchdowns rushing and passing, and accounting for at least 4,000 yards of offense on the ground and through the air.
Before this season, no rookie QB had ever hit all those marks in a season.
Daniels and Nix have some company when it comes to young quarterbacks, with a record-tying 11 of the 14 projected starters in the postseason in their 20s.
That includes four members of the 2018 draft class: Baker Mayfield, Sam Darnold, Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson. This is the fifth time that four QBs from the same draft class started in the same postseason, with the 2018 class also doing it last season, when Mason Rudolph got the nod instead of Darnold.
This year’s version of the playoffs will have a familiar look.
Ten of the teams that made the postseason are back after getting there last season, with only Denver, Minnesota, Washington and the Chargers breaking through after missing out in 2023.
The four newcomers are tied for the fewest since the NFL expanded to 12 playoff teams in 1990, with that last happening in 2015. The four previous seasons with 14 playoff teams featured at least six newcomers each season, with seven new teams qualifying in 2022 and eight in 2020.
All four division winners in the AFC are repeat champions, with Kansas City (nine straight), Buffalo (five), Baltimore (two) and Houston (two) all going back to back. The only other times since the 2002 realignment that all four division winners in a conference repeated came in the 2019 AFC and the 2012 AFC.
Tampa Bay won its fourth straight NFC South title and Detroit won its second straight in the NFC North, marking the third time there were six repeat division winners. It previously happened in 2012 and 2014.
When it came to individual accomplishments, few teams fared better than the Cincinnati Bengals. It just didn't lead to success on the field.
Ja'Marr Chase became the fifth player since the 1970 merger to win a receiving Triple Crown, leading the NFL in catches, yards receiving and TD receptions.
Joe Burrow led the league in yards passing and TD passes, while Trey Hendrickson had the most sacks.
No team had ever had the individual leaders in all of those categories, but it didn't help the Bengals, who finished 9-8 and missed the playoffs.
Posting a winning record again wasn't good enough for the Seattle Seahawks to make the playoffs.
A year after going 9-8 but missing out on the final wild-card spot to Green Bay on the strength of victory tiebreaker, the Seahawks were done in again by that seldom used tiebreaker.
Seattle tied the Rams for first in the NFC West at 10-7 after splitting the season series. The teams also had identical records in the division, against common opponents and in conference games. The Rams came out ahead because the teams they beat combined for two more wins than the teams the Seahawks beat.
Seattle became just the second 10-win team to miss the playoffs since the seventh team was added in each conference in 2020, with Miami also falling short after going 10-6 in 2020. Twelve other teams that won at least 10 games missed the postseason from 1990-2019, when there were six playoff teams per conference.
The Seahawks became the fourth team to miss the playoffs in back-to-back seasons with winning records since 2000, with Cincinnati also falling short after going 9-8 for the second straight season. Miami came up short twice in back-to-back winning seasons, missing out on the postseason in 2002-03 and 2020-21.
The Pittsburgh Steelers are stumbling into the postseason.
The Steelers lost their final four games to go from being a team fighting for the top seed to a team that is the second wild-card and a heavy underdog Saturday night at AFC North champion Baltimore.
Pittsburgh is just the third team to enter the playoffs on a losing streak of at least four games and the first to do it since Detroit in 1999. The Lions sneaked in as a wild-card team at 8-8 that season and then lost 27-13 to Washington.
The 1986 New York Jets were more similar to the Steelers, getting off to a 10-1 start before losing their final five games. New York recovered to beat Kansas City in the wild-card game before losing in double overtime at Cleveland in the divisional round.
Pittsburgh has another losing streak to worry about, having lost five straight playoff games starting with the 2016 AFC title game at New England. A loss to the Ravens would leave the Steelers tied with the fourth-longest playoff losing streak ever, trailing Detroit (nine), Cincinnati (eight) and Kansas City (eight).
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Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin, right, on the sideline during the first half of an NFL football game against the Cincinnati Bengals in Pittsburgh, Saturday, Jan. 4, 2025. The Bengals won 19-17.(AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
Seattle Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith (7) walks off the field after a win over the Los Angeles Rams in an NFL football game Sunday, Jan. 5, 2025, in Inglewood, Calif. (AP Photo/Eric Thayer)
Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase (1) celebrates a touchdown during the first half of an NFL football game against the Pittsburgh Steelers in Pittsburgh, Saturday, Jan. 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Matt Freed)
Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow (9) throws a pass during the first half of an NFL football against the Pittsburgh Steelers game in Pittsburgh, Saturday, Jan. 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Matt Freed)
Los Angeles Chargers linebacker Troy Dye (43) celebrates after an NFL football game against the Las Vegas Raiders in Las Vegas, Sunday, Jan. 5, 2025. (AP Photo/John Locher)
Fans congratulate Denver Broncos quarterback Bo Nix after an NFL football game against the Kansas City Chiefs, Sunday, Jan. 5, 2025, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels looks to pass against the Dallas Cowboys during the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Jan. 5, 2025, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Gareth Patterson)
