The clock reached 00:00 in Pittsburgh early Monday morning, marking the end of a historic, marathon day in the National Football League.
According to Senior NFL Researcher Tony Holzman-Escareno, Sunday's football slate lasted 15 hours and 27 minutes. This was the longest day of NFL action "since at least the 1970 merger."
The day's action began with an NFL International game. The Minnesota Vikings "hosted" the New York Jets in London. Kickoff time was 9:32 a.m. ET. The action then continued with the normal game times of 1:00 p.m. ET and 4:00 p.m. ET.
The final game of the night, which featured the Pittsburgh Steelers hosting the Dallas Cowboys, saw a late start due to a weather delay. As a result, the final seconds clicked off the game clock at 12:59 a.m. ET on Monday.
Not that fans complained about having more than 15 hours of football to watch.
"And we loved every second of it," one person posted on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter. "I would just like to thank the 330pm nap. That's the true MVP."
Of course, it's important to have quality as well as quantity. The NFL delivered in that aspect.
Sunday's slate featured rivalry games, unexpected upsets, nonstop scoring, and numerous defensive touchdowns. Football fans had no shortage of wild storylines.
Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers topped 60,000 passing yards during the international game, and he overcame a low ankle sprain to put his team within reach of a game-winning touchdown. However, he could not complete a comeback from a 17-point deficit as Brian Flores' defense delivered an interception in the final minute.
Rodgers lost to the Vikings for only the 12th time in 30 career starts.
Over in Cincinnati, the Bengals and Ravens traded touchdowns as Joe Burrow and Lamar Jackson put on an offensive clinic. Burrow threw five touchdowns, Jackson threw four, and Ravens running back Derrick Henry topped 10,000 career rushing yards.
It's always must-watch TV whenever the Ravens and Bengals play pic.twitter.com/kDAvanX3Kt
— NFL (@NFL) October 6, 2024
However, special teams made the difference during the overtime game. A botched snap by the Bengals led to a missed field goal by Evan McPherson. The Ravens then drove down the field to set up Justin Tucker's game-winning kick. The veteran has struggled statistically this season, but he nailed the final kick to defeat the Bengals.
The day of action continued with rookie quarterbacks Bo Nix (Denver), Caleb Williams (Chicago), and Jayden Daniels (Washington) all accounting for multiple touchdowns while leading their teams to wins.
Over in Arizona, the Cardinals upset the 49ers despite giving up a touchdown on a blocked field goal. The Giants also scored a touchdown against the Seahawks after blocking a field goal. This followed a 101-yard fumble recovery touchdown by the Seahawks.
The big plays continued with the Broncos returning an interception 100 yards for a score and the Rams returning an interception three yards for a score.
The longest pick 6 of the day - @Seahawks: 101 yards 😲
The shortest pick 6 of the day - @RamsNFL: 3 yards 😳 pic.twitter.com/QCeHapxqyn
— NFL (@NFL) October 6, 2024
Of course, the longest day in football couldn't be complete without some standout moments. Pittsburgh defender TJ Watt became the second-fastest player in NFL history to top 100 career sacks, doing so in 106 games. Only Reggie White was faster as he hit 100 sacks in 96 games.
Ultimately, however, Watt's historic efforts did not lead to a Steelers win. Instead, it was Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott who led a game-winning drive. He threw a touchdown to Jalen Tolbert with 20 seconds remaining in the game to deliver the win in enemy territory.
