For the Miami Dolphins to make the AFC playoff field on the final Sunday of the NFL’s 2024 regular season, they needed to beat the New York Jets while the Denver Broncos lost to the Kansas City Chiefs.

Jets linebacker Quincy Williams helped make sure the former didn’t happen as New York defeated the Dolphins 32-20. (The latter didn’t happen either as the Broncos beat Kansas City 38-0.)

Williams tied for the team lead with nine tackles, recorded five tackles for loss, broke up one pass, forced one fumble and recovered one fumble.

The former Wenonah High School standout became the third player this season to make five tackles behind the line of scrimmage in one game, joining Houston Texans defensive end Danielle Hunter and New York Giants linebacker Micah McFadden. No player made more than five tackles for loss in a game this season.

Since tackles for loss became an official stat in the 1999 season, John Abraham was the only player with five in a game for the Jets until Sunday. Abraham had five tackles for loss in a 16-14 victory over the Buffalo Bills on Oct. 10, 2004.

Williams recovered a fumble at the Miami 43-yard line and returned it 4 yards to set up a second-quarter touchdown as New York took a 15-6 lead with 59 seconds left in the first half.

Williams caused a fumble in the third quarter that the Jets recovered at the Miami 49-yard line, which led to a field goal.

Williams was among the 28 players from Alabama high schools and colleges (excluding Alabama and Auburn) who got on the field on the 18th Sunday of the NFL’s 105th season.

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Four other former state players were involved in the Miami-New York game:

• Dolphins defensive tackle Shakel Brown (Troy) is on the practice squad and not eligible to play.
• Dolphins wide receiver Grant DuBose (Park Crossing, Miles) is on injured reserve and not eligible to play. 
• Dolphins defensive tackle Neil Farrell Jr. (Murphy) is on the practice squad and not eligible to play.
• Tyreek Hill (West Alabama) started at wide receiver for the Dolphins. Hill had two receptions for 20 yards and returned a punt 2 yards.
• Dolphins cornerback Siran Neal (Eufaula, Jacksonville State) made one tackle on special teams.

In the other Sunday games:

Carolina Panthers 44, Atlanta Falcons 38 (OT)

• Michael Jackson (Spain Park) started at cornerback for the Panthers. Jackson made four tackles, intercepted one pass and broke up another pass. Jackson picked off Atlanta quarterback Michael Penix Jr. and returned the interception 19 yards to the Atlanta 21-yard line with 12:04 left in the third quarter. Carolina turned the turnover into a touchdown to tie the score at 24-24. Jackson’s second interception of the season was the third of his career.

• Panthers wide receiver Velus Jones Jr. (Saraland) was designated at a game-day inactive.
• Panthers tight end Jordan Matthews is on the practice squad and not eligible to play.
• Falcons wide receiver Darnell Mooney (Gadsden City) was designated as a game-day inactive. A shoulder injury kept Mooney out of the lineup, and he finished the 2024 campaign 8 yards shorts of his second 1,000-yard receiving season.

Washington Commanders 23, Dallas Cowboys 19

• Commanders safety Jeremy Reaves (South Alabama) did not record any stats.
• Commanders offensive tackle Trent Scott (Lee-Huntsville) did not record any stats.
• Jalen Tolbert (McGill-Toolen, South Alabama) started at wide receiver for the Cowboys. Tolbert had four receptions for 98 yards. Tolbert reached a career high in receiving yards in the final game of his third NFL season. His previous best had been 87 yards on seven receptions in a 20-17 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers on Oct. 6.
• Cowboys defensive end Sam Williams (Lee-Montgomery) is on injured reserve and not eligible to play.

Chicago Bears 24, Green Bay Packers 22

• Bears tight end Gerald Everett (UAB/South Alabama) did not record any stats.
• Bears cornerback Reddy Steward (Austin, Troy) is on the practice squad and not eligible to play.
• Packers offensive tackle Kadeem Telfort (UAB) did not record any stats.

Indianapolis Colts 26, Jacksonville Jaguars 23 (OT)

• Jaguars defensive end Josh Hines-Allen (Abbeville) was designated as a game-day inactive.

New England Patriots 23, Buffalo Bills 16

• Patriots center Jake Andrews (Stanhope Elmore, Troy) is on injured reserve and not eligible to play.
• Tylan Grable (Jacksonville State) started at left offensive tackle for the Bills. The sixth-round rookie made his first start in his fourth NFL game.
• Patriots cornerback Marcus Jones (Enterprise, Troy) is on injured reserve and not eligible to play.
• Patriots safety Dell Pettus (Sparkman, Troy) made two tackles and broke up one pass.
• Monty Rice (James Clemens) started at outside linebacker for the Patriots. Rice did not record any stats. New England signed Rice from its practice squad on Saturday.
• Bills defensive end Javon Solomon (Troy) made seven tackles, recorded one tackle for loss and recovered a fumble in his first NFL start. The fifth-round rookie entered the game with five career tackles. Solomon’s first fumble recovery came at the New England 16-yard line and set up a touchdown as Buffalo took a 16-14 lead with 7:56 left in the third quarter.

Philadelphia Eagles 20, New York Giants 13

• Eagles safety Reed Blankenship (West Limestone) dressed for the game but did not play.
• Eagles fullback Khari Blasingame (Buckhorn) is on the practice squad and not eligible to play.
• Eagles defensive back James Bradberry (Pleasant Grove, Samford) is on injured reserve and not eligible to play.
• Cor’Dale Flott (Saraland) started at cornerback for the Giants. Flott made two tackles.
• Giants offensive tackle Chris Hubbard (UAB) did not record any stats.
• Bryce Huff (St. Paul’s Episcopal) started at defensive end for the Eagles. Huff made three tackles.
• Rakeem Nunez-Roches (Central-Phenix City) started at defensive tackle for the Giants. Nunez-Roches made four tackles.

Houston Texans 23, Tennessee Titans 14

• Titans offensive tackle Chandler Brewer (Florence) is on the practice squad and not eligible to play.
• Nico Collins (Clay-Chalkville) started at wide receiver for the Texans. Collins had five receptions for 38 yards and one touchdown. Collins scored on a 2-yard toss from quarterback C.J. Stroud to open the scoring with 7:43 left in the first quarter. Collins’ Sunday numbers pushed his 2024 stats to 68 receptions for 1,006 yards and seven touchdowns. Collins went over 1,000 receiving yards for the second season in a row even though he missed five games with injuries.

• Texans wide receiver Tank Dell (Alabama A&M) is on injured reserve and not eligible to play.
• Tytus Howard (Monroe County, Alabama State) started at left guard for the Texans.
• Kamari Lassiter (American Christian) started at cornerback for the Texans. Lassiter made one tackle.
• Texans safety Jimmie Ward (Davidson) is on injured reserve and not eligible to play.

Arizona Cardinals 47, San Francisco 49ers 24

• Forty-Niners cornerback Darrell Luter Jr. (South Alabama) is on injured reserve and not eligible to play.
• Cardinals wide receiver Tejhaun Palmer (UAB) is on the practice squad and not eligible to play.
• Cardinals cornerback Starling Thomas V (Ramsay, UAB) made four tackles.

Denver Broncos 38, Kansas City Chiefs 0

• Broncos cornerback Kris Abrams-Draine (Spanish Fort) did not record any stats.
• Broncos inside linebacker Zach Cunningham (Pinson Valley) made one tackle on special teams.
• Chiefs quarterback Chris Oladokun (Samford) gained 5 yards on a scramble and was sacked once as he handled the Kansas City offense on its final five snaps in his NFL debut. Kansas City elevated Oladokun from its practice squad to make him eligible to play.
• Chiefs wide receiver Justyn Ross (Central-Phenix City) is on the practice squad and not eligible to play.
• Broncos cornerback Tremon Smith (Saks) did not record any stats.

Seattle Seahawks 30, Los Angeles Rams 25

• Seahawks safety AJ Finley (St. Paul’s Episcopal) made one tackle on special teams.
• Seahawks outside linebacker Jamie Sheriff (South Alabama) is on the practice squad and not eligible to play.
• Rams cornerback Darious Williams (UAB) dressed for the game but did not play. 

Los Angeles Chargers 34, Las Vegas Raiders 20

• Raiders running back Ameer Abdullah (Homewood) was designated as a game-day inactive.
• Raiders cornerback Jakorian Bennett (McGill-Toolen) is on injured reserve and not eligible to play.
• Raiders quarterback Carter Bradley (South Alabama) was designated as a game-day inactive, although he served as Las Vegas’ emergency third quarterback.  
• Raiders cornerback Keenan Isaac (Midfield, Alabama State) is on the practice squad and not eligible to play.
• Chargers running back Kimani Vidal (Troy) did not record any stats.

Detroit Lions 31, Minnesota Vikings 9

• Vikings defensive tackle Travis Bell (Jeff Davis) is on the practice squad and not eligible to play.
• Lions defensive tackle Brodric Martin (Northridge, North Alabama) was designated as a game-day inactive.
• Vikings defensive back Bobby McCain (Oxford) is on the practice squad and not eligible to play.
• Vikings quarterback Nick Mullens (Spain Park) dressed for the game but did not play.
• Za’Darius Smith (Greenville) started at defensive end for the Lions. Smith made three tackles, recorded one sack, registered two quarterback hits and broke up one pass. Smith had nine sacks this season and has 69 in his career.

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.

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Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on X at @AMarkG1.