The final game of the NFL's 2024 regular season on Sunday night decided the No. 1 seed in the NFC playoffs, with the winner getting a week off for a first-round bye and the loser going on the road to open the postseason.
Jahmyr Gibbs made sure the Detroit Lions will be rested when they start the playoffs in Round 2 with a home game.
Gibbs ran for 139 yards and three touchdowns on 23 carries and caught five passes for 31 yards and one touchdown in the Lions' 31-9 victory over the Minnesota Vikings.
By reaching the end zone four times on Sunday night, Gibbs finished as the NFL leader for touchdowns in the 2024 season with 20. He had 16 rushing touchdowns and four receiving touchdowns this season.
Gibbs became the third Alabama alumnus to lead the NFL in touchdowns. Don Hutson led the league in touchdowns in 1935, 1937, 1938, 1941, 1942 and 1944, and Shaun Alexander led the league in touchdowns in 2004 and 2005.
On Sunday night, Gibbs opened the scoring with a 25-yard run with 1:43 left in the first quarter.
Gibbs caught a 10-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Jared Goff with 2:30 left in the third quarter and ran 13 yards with 13:06 to play and 4 yards with 5:14 to play for fourth-quarter touchdowns.
Gibbs' second touchdown broke the franchise single-season record. Barry Sanders scored 17 touchdowns for the Lions in 1991, and Jamaal Williams matched that total in 2022.
Six other former Alabama players were involved in the Minnesota-Detroit game:
Terrion Arnold started at cornerback for the Lions. Arnold made two tackles and broke up one pass. Arnold left the game in the third quarter with a foot. Injury. He was carted to the locker room and did not return.
Brian Branch started at safety for the Lions. Branch made six tackles and broke up one pass.
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Vikings kicker Will Reichard (Hoover) scored all of Minnesota's points with field goals of 25, 31 and 51 yards. He also was wide right on a 51-yard field-goal attempt.
Cam Robinson started at left offensive tackle for the Vikings.
Vikings outside linebacker Dallas Turner made one tackle.
Jameson Williams started at wide receiver for the Lions. Williams had six receptions for 34 yards. Williams' 4-yard catch with 2:41 to play for a first down allowed him to record the first 1,000-yard receiving season of his career. In 2024, Williams had 58 receptions for 1,001 yards and seven touchdowns.
Falcons linebacker Rashaan Evans (Auburn High) is on the practice squad and not eligible to play.
Falcons safety DeMarcco Hellams is on injured reserve and not eligible to play.
Falcons running back Jase McClellan is on injured reserve and not eligible to play.
LaBryan Ray (James Clemens) started at defensive end for the Panthers. Ray did not record any stats.
A'Shawn Robinson started at defensive end for the Panthers. Robinson made five tackles.
Bryce Young started at quarterback for the Panthers. Young completed 25-of-34 passes for 251 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions and ran five times for 24 yards and two touchdowns. Young had three passing touchdowns for the second time in his career (with the first coming in a 42-24 loss to the Detroit Lions on Oct. 8, 2024) and had his first game with two rushing TDs.
Jonathan Allen started at defensive tackle for the Commanders. Allen made three tackles and recorded one sack in his second game back from a nine-week stay on injured reserve because of a pectoral injury. Allen's third sack of the season was his first since Oct. 6.
Cowboys cornerback Trevon Diggs is on injured reserve and not eligible to play.
Daron Payne (Shades Valley) started at defensive end for the Commanders. Payne made two tackles and broke up one pass. Payne made his first start at defensive end instead of defensive tackle. With Jonathan Allen re-entering the starting lineup in his second game back from injured reserve, Washington kept rookie Johnny Newton at defensive tackle and shifted Payne to end.
Brian Robinson Jr. (Hillcrest-Tuscaloosa) started at running back for the Commanders. Robinson gained 10 yards on five rushing attempts and caught a 6-yard pass before Washington removed some of its starters in preparation for next week's playoff game.
Chicago Bears 24, Green Bay Packers 22
Josh Jacobs started at running back for the Packers. Jacobs had 44 yards and one touchdown on six carries and a 2-yard reception before leaving early with Green Bay already assured of a playoff spot. Jacobs scored from 9 yards out with 11:12 left in the first half to extend his streak of games with a rushing touchdown to eight. Jacobs has the 13th streak of at least eight games with a rushing TD in the same season during the NFL's AFC/NFC era. The only longer streak for a former Alabama player was posted by Shaun Alexander, who ran for a touchdown in nine consecutive games in 2005.
Xavier McKinney started at safety for the Packers. McKinney made four tackles and intercepted one pass. McKinney had eight interceptions in 2024, the second-most in the NFL. McKinney intercepted Chicago running back DeAndre Swift and returned it 17 yards to the Green Bay 43, where he fumbled, but the Packers recovered the football. McKinney has 17 career interceptions.
Indianapolis Colts 26, Jacksonville Jaguars 23 (OT)
Colts defensive tackle Raekwon Davis did not record any stats.
Colts safety Ronnie Harrison did not record any stats.
Mac Jones started at quarterback for the Jaguars. Jones completed 20-of-32 passes for 225 yards with one touchdown and one interception and ran five times for 17 yards. Jones' 9-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Parker Washington tied the score at 20-20 with 7:50 remaining in the fourth quarter. His 12-yard scramble helped Jacksonville move into position for Chad Little's 53-yard field goal with 1:44 left in the fourth quarter that sent the game into overtime. After Indianapolis got a field goal on its overtime possession, Jones got sacked for a 16-yard loss and the game ended on a fourth-down failure even though Jones completed a 20-yard pass to wide receiver Brian Thomas Jr. on the play.
Ryan Kelly started at center for the Colts.
Jaguars running back Keilan Robinson did not record any stats.
New England Patriots 23, Buffalo Bills 16
Patriots wide receiver Javon Baker was thrown to for the first this season, and the rookie caught the football for a 12-yard gain on his first NFL reception.
Patriots defensive tackle Christian Barmore is on reserve/non-football illness and not eligible to play.
Bills wide receiver Amari Cooper was designated as a game-day inactive.
Patriots guard Lester Cotton (Central-Tuscaloosa) was designated as a game-day inactive.
Bills safety Kareem Jackson is on the practice squad and not eligible to play.
Anfernee Jennings (Dadeville) started at outside linebacker for the Patriots. Jennings made six tackles, recorded one tackle for loss, registered one quarterback hit and broke up one pass.
Bills wide receiver Tyrell Shavers in on the practice squad and not eligible to play.
Philadelphia Eagles 20, New York Giants 13
Eagles guard Landon Dickerson was designated as a game-day inactive.
Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts was designated as a game-day inactive.
Giants offensive tackle Evan Neal was designated as a game-day inactive.
Eagles cornerback Eli Ricks made one tackle.
Eagles wide receiver DeVonta Smith was designated as a game-day inactive.
Tyler Steen started at left guard for the Eagles.
Eagles defensive tackle Byron Young is on injured reserve and not eligible to play.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 27, New Orleans Saints 19
Buccaneers safety Marcus Banks is on the practice squad and not eligible to play.
Buccaneers outside linebacker Chris Braswell did not record any stats.
Ga'Quincy "Kool-Aid" McKinstry (Pinson Valley) started at right cornerback for the Saints. McKinstry made three tackles and broke up one pass.
Houston Texans 23, Tennessee Titans 14
Texans defensive end Will Anderson Jr. was designated as a game-day inactive.
Texans linebacker Christian Harris was designated as a game-day inactive.
J.C. Latham started at left offensive tackle for the Titans. Latham joined cornerback Roger McCreary as the only rookies in franchise history to start 17 games. McCreary did so in 2022.
John Metchie III started at wide receiver for the Texans. Metchie had two receptions for 24 yards. He left the game to be evaluated for a concussion but returned to the field.
Calvin Ridley started at wide receiver for the Titans. Ridley had three receptions for 76 yards and two rushing attempts that netted minus-3 yards. By boosting his 2024 totals to 64 receptions for 1,017 yards and four touchdowns, Ridley became the ninth player in NFL history to record 1,000-yard receiving seasons for three franchises. Ridley had 1,374 receiving yards for the Atlanta Falcons in 2020 and 1,016 receiving yards for the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2023.
Texans tight end Irv Smith Jr. did not record any stats.
Henry To'oTo'o started at linebacker for the Texans. To'oTo'o made three tackles.
Arizona Cardinals 47, San Francisco 49ers 24
Cardinals offensive tackle Jonah Williams is on injured reserve and not eligible to play.
Mack Wilson (Carver-Montgomery) started at inside linebacker. Wilson made two tackles and broke up one pass.
Denver Broncos 38, Kansas City Chiefs 0
Broncos linebacker Drew Sanders made two tackles.
Patrick Surtain II started at cornerback for the Broncos. Surtain made three tackles, which tied for the team lead.
Seattle Seahawks 30, Los Angeles Rams 25
Seahawks cornerback Josh Jobe is on injured reserve and not eligible to play.
Seahawks nose tackle Jarran Reed registered one quarterback hit.
Los Angeles Chargers 34, Las Vegas Raiders 20
Bradley Bozeman (Handley) started at center the Chargers.
Chargers defensive lineman Justin Eboigbe was designated as a game-day inactive.
Chargers safety Eddie Jackson did not record any stats. Los Angeles elevated Jackson from its practice squad to make him eligible to play.
Chargers punter JK Scott had a 47-yard punt for a fair catch at the Las Vegas 24-yard line.
New York Jets 32, Miami Dolphins 20
Dolphins defensive tackle Da'Shawn Hand did not record any stats.
Jets defensive tackle Phidarian Mathis was designated as a game-day inactive.
Jets linebacker C.J. Mosley (Theodore) is on injured reserve and not eligible to play.
Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa was designated as a game-day inactive.
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Jaylen Waddle started at wide receiver for the Dolphins. Waddle had four receptions for 44 yards and a 6-yard rushing attempt.
Quinnen Williams (Wenonah) started at defensive tackle for the Jets. Williams registered one quarterback hit.
Week 18 started on Saturday, when the Baltimore Ravens defeated the Cleveland Browns 35-10 and the Cincinnati Bengals defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers 19-17.