Good Monday Morning, Uni Watchers, and welcome to the final Monday Morning Uni Watch for the 2024 regular season. I hope everyone had a great weekend.
All 32 teams were in action Saturday and Sunday, and the 18th week of the season gave us some of the year’s best looking games. Leading off the list were two of my all-time favorite throwbacks: The Orange Crush and Luv Ya Blue. It’s too bad the teams couldn’t play each other in their throwbacks (and color vs. color), because that would have been the best-looking game of the weekend. As it was, the Broncos squared off against the Chiefs, while the Oile…er, Titans broke out their Oilers throwbacks against the team from the city they abandoned, for the second year in a row. It’s definitely a dick move by Tennessee, but at least it means we get to see those beauties on the field.
As expected, Denver looked incredible.
My only complaint is how un-uniform the Broncos lower leg stylings were. I almost always prefer striped socks to plain, but when you get this much variety, maybe solid royal socks would have been better.
Other than that, these were absolutely goregous.
Likewise, the Oilers throwbacks were magnifique.
That’s just the tip of the Week 18 uni iceberg. The league definitely saved some of its best uni games for its last weekend.
We’ve got a LOT to get to, so let’s just dive right into the action.
Browns vs. Ravens
We started off the final weekend of the 2024 season with a fantastic looking game between the Ravens and Browns. I’d argue the Ravens’ “standard” home uniform is their best look, paired against an equally excellent road look for the Browns. The beautiful mix of orange and purple made for our first color palette special too! And I’d be much less against white hose if teams simply wore stripes on said white socks.
The late game consisted of yet another Ohio-based, AFC North squad in orange/white/orange/white (and that’s A-OK with me), and our second color palette special! Of all the new uniform elements added by teams this season, the Bengals’ orange pants are definitely one of the best. Does the AFC North have the best overall uniforms in any football division?
Bills vs. Patriots
The Patriots seem to have finally come to their senses regarding their silver-gray pants, which look especially good when paired with their navy jerseys. And while I prefer Buffalo in white pants (always), this was a little too icy white for my liking. Would have been a T-5 contender otherwise.
The Panthers debuted their thirteenth new combination of the season, pairing their silver-gray pants with white jerseys for only the second time ever (their only other time was in 1998 against the Colts, but that was with blue socks). I’ll have more to say about the Panthers’ uniform selections for 2024 later, but this wasn’t one of their better combinations, especially since Nike can’t (or won’t) make shiny pants anymore. This isn’t unique to the Panthers: the Raiders, Patriots, Cowboys and Lions all suffer from this as well. And it’s why teams who have “silver” pants should never wear white socks with them — the colors are too close. Carolina in black or blue socks would have been much better.
You can’t throw enough superlatives at this classic pairing. Add in an overcast day and a muddy track and you have an instant Five and One frontrunner.
I talked about the Oilers Titans throwbacks above, but how did the throwbacks match up with the Texans uniforms? It wasn’t a bad-looking game, although Houston’s dark navy/white/dark navy/dark navy might cost this a shot at the Top 5. And is it just me, or do the Texans’ uniforms look more and more black as the season has worn on?
All things considered, this uni matchup may be the best possible for these two teams. Indy, like Buffalo, should always wear white pants with royal hose — especially with blue jerseys. The Jags’ uniforms are still far too plain, but black/white/black/white works for them.
The Buccaneers once again sported their December/January home uniforms, while the Saints once again refused to wear their gold pants. After wearing them for all three preseason games, they wore the (non-throwback) gold pants a grand total of once this season. With both teams in dark pants, this one was not a looker.
The Eagles seemingly violated the three-times-max alternate rule by going mono-black against the Giants. As I noted in that article, the Eagles in all black is apparently their default home look for games played against the Giants in Philly. Going back to 2014, the Eagles have gone mono-black against the G-men every season except 2017.
Interesting uni choice by the Cowboys, who wore their dark blue jerseys at home. I’ve really begun to like the blue jerseys, but not when paired with the color rush pants. I’m fine with those when they wear their alternate white helmets, but the silver/blue/silver-gray is a very underrated good look. With Washington in burgundy yoga pants, it won’t be sniffing the T-5.
Chiefs vs. Broncos
As gorgeous as both Denver’s throwbacks and KC’s road unis are individually — and don’t get me wrong, this game looked great — together they don’t look as great as the sum of their parts. It’s not that there’s too much color, but, at least to my eye, instead of complementing each other, the orange and red are a bit visually dissonant. It’s a T-5 game for sure, but it is #1?
Even with the Broncos getting new unis this season, the AFC West may have the best uniforms (or at least best matchups) of all the divisions. And even though the Chargers would look better in gold pants, this is still always a T-5 contender.
Like Buffalo and Indy, Miami really really needs aqua socks with white pants, especially when they’re in white jerseys. If they insist on white socks, then please give them stripes. Pretty please!
Like a couple others, this game was so close to T-5 contention, and the Seahawks held up their end of the bargain. They look good in navy/white/white/navy, but the Rams? Not so much in mono-royal. Sol pants should always be worn with royal jerseys. Next, get rid of all the sol-to-white gradient, on both pants and shirts.
Of all the games this weekend, this was probably the best-looking versus worst-looking teams paired together. The Cardinals bloodclots are possibly the worst home uni in the league, while the 49ers certainly have one of the best road sets. Such a great look. And, somewhat amazingly, Nike was able to pretty successfully match the helmet gold to the pants gold. Bonus points to the Niners for wearing red socks.
Vikings vs. Lions
If there were any doubt as the this weekend’s And One, the Vikes and Lions removed all doubt by going spy vs. spy from the neck down. I was genuinely surprised by the Lions decision to go mono-black, considering it is the only time this season to wear a combo in which they previously lost. I guess the players’ love of mono trumped their superstitious uni-natures. And now we can look forward to Monolulu Blue until they lose…
I really like Denver in the Orange Crush unis. But is it me, or is the shade of orange just a touch off? The current orange jerseys don’t seem rich enough, not pumpkin-y enough.
Could be your brain playing tricks. Most of the way we remember what uniforms used to look like is from low-res old TV footage and iconic magazine covers, which have effects and lab techniques applied to them as well as the vagaries of pre-digital color accuracy print production. It’s possible that the orange is slightly off, but it’s also possible that the blue is the real problem:
link
You are correct; there was some discussion about this when the uniforms debuted. While the Broncos are using the 1977 stripe patterns and blue socks with stripes they are using the lighter shades of orange and blue they adopted in the early 1980s. So it’s a bit of a fauxback due to the colors used.
August 17, 1969: Seven months after winning Super Bowl III, the Jets play the Giants for the first time, in an exhibition game at the 70,000-seat Yale Bowl. “I want to win even more than the Super Bowl,” Jets running back Bill Mathis says. The Giants lose and their head coach is fired!Oct 29, 2023
First one I figured out! Yay me!
That’s a lot of mud and dirt for mid August…I would have been looking for a November matchup! Looks like Yale wasn’t spending a lot of money on groundskeeping.
The game was played right after torrential rains hit a nearby music festival in upstate New York that same weekend.
Wow, I didn’t make the connection. That’s cool.
So many bad looks. Crazy how far the NFL has sunk. From the gold standard of sport uniforms to a random mess of sleeveless tops, biking stripe-free shorts, tights replacing socks, BFBS, and way too many monos. Are the players driving this?
Interesting that you make this comment after one of the best weeks of the season from a uniform perspective.
There was a week a month or two into the season when 75% of the league seemed to go mono-color. At least this weekend we had a ton of classic looks.
I’m with Brodie here, great looking games this weekend!
You are not alone thinking the Texans’ blue looks more and more like black. They may as well go with it.
I see no blue at all in their uniforms. I discovered recently that I (and many other males) have the inability to discern dark navy from black. I ALWAYS thought the Yankees were black and white (gray). Then my my wife pointed out they were blue – clear as day to her. So yeah this dark navy trend across leagues made me think everyone wore black. Good grief.
I always thought the Yankees and Tigers among several other teams were black until I got a high definition TV for the first time about 15 years ago. After close to 40 years of hating the Yankees and their damn black uniforms, I was shocked that they were very dark navy. For what it is worth, even with a high def TV, the Texans still look black rather than blue.
I always thought the Yankees and Tigers among several other teams were black until I got a high definition TV for the first time about 15 years ago. After close to 40 years of hating the Yankees and their damn black uniforms, I was shocked that they were very dark navy. For what it is worth, even with a high def TV, the Texans still look black rather than blue.
I think I was in middle school before I realized the Yankees and Bears wore blue, not black.
Same for me with the Baltimore Bullets 60s uniforms.
It took a long time for me to tell that the Astros wore midnight blue, not navy blue like so many other ballclubs. When the light hits the batting helmets, it becomes apparent.
I realize no one asked or cares, but:
1. Browns/Ravens
2. Packers/Bears
3. Chargers/Raiders
4. Steelers/Bengals
5. Commies/Cowboys
Da bears should wear black shoes
Teal socks would have helped the Jags
Contrasting socks good on everybody
The Dallas jerseys looked less dark than previous years. Ditch the white pants too, Jerry.
So many games that were so close to looking great…
I think it’s funny that in 2017 when the Lions debuted their new unis, there was a bunch of hype about removing the black elements. Then, this year, look what we get…………..
The black elements are now only there when this uniform combo is worn. So three times in 17 regular season games and you won’t see black again throughout the Lions playoff run.
GTGFTU (My stab at it) August 17, 1969 Yale Bowl, New Haven CT. Jets 37 Giants 14. Giants “hosted” the Jets at the Yale Bowl in pre-season 1969-1971 while they still had Fran Tarkenton. This game led the Giants to fire Allie Sharman as HC and promote Alex Webster. NFL 50 patch is on Giants’ left shoulder.
GTGFTS: 8/13/16 Cowboys at LA Rams…preseason, first game after the Rams’ move from StL
I’ve been tracking the 5&1 for the year and have some stats readers might find interesting.
On the good, the Steelers had the most appearances in the top 5 with 11, followed by Kansas City with 10, then the Raiders, Chargers, Broncos and Bengals with 9 each. The AFC West fared very well!
Kansas City and the Chargers had the most first place finishes with 5 each.
The Raiders and Steelers tied for the longest streaks of making the 5, each with a streak of 5 weeks in a row.
Every team made the top 5 at least once, but the Lions, Rams made the list the least times with only 1 appearance each.
For the &1, the Lions and Texans tied for the most &1 appearances with 6 each, followed by the Vikings with 4. 13 teams did not make any &1 appearances.
One thing to remember is that Monday Night Football matchups are not included, so all teams are not eligible for the 5&1 every week, and of course most weeks had some teams on a bye.
The Saints also only had one appearance in the top 5, forgot about them!
Fun!
Five and One
5 Jaguars/Colts
4 Browns/Ravens
3 Chiefs/Broncos
2 Bengals/Steelers
1 Bears/Packers
An argument could be made for any of the top four to be number one. If Chargers had worn yellow pants, their game against Raiders would have been in the top five.
And one
Several contenders; Lions/Vikings; Panthers (need blue socks)/Falcons and any game involving matching jersey. Pants and socks but…………..
Commandeers/Cowboys
Love Cowboys with silver britches, but never white and Washington’s white jersey is just awful.
Praying that next year a new policy will require socks to contrast with pants and t-shirts to be the same color as jerseys! Hopefully, Nike can return the shine to the silver britches worn in the NFL and NCAA.
I have really enjoyed reading the NFL 5 and 1; as well as sharing my opinion in the comments.
What is a color palette special?
A matchup that involves at least three complementary colors being prominently displayed. Two of the colors would be something other than black or white, and tend to be vibrant.
Usually both teams have non-white pants, but not always.
So for example, Bears/Packers had navy, gold and green, but two of those colors are dark. Not really a Color Palette Special.
Bengals/Steelers had orange, black and gold. Two vibrant colors prominently displayed. Had Cincy gone with white pants it still would be a nice looking game, but it wouldn’t qualify as a CPS.
This may not be a popular opinion, but I think the panthers silver/white/silver/white combo looks terrific. It really makes the blue shoulder and pants stripes pop.
I don’t mind the combo at all but would prefer blue socks. Perhaps because the silver pants look gray but the white socks don’t contrast enough. I worked yesterday and am currently watching the game and to me the silver/gray looks better with the white jersey than black pants would
It seems like the raiders do have a little bit of sheen compared to the other “silver” pants teams. But I could be wrong, it’s hard to tell.
Either way, pretty pathetic that the primary apparel provider of the most profitable sports league on earth can’t make shiny pants.
Not sure if it’s “can’t” or “won’t”.
Either way, pretty unacceptable.
I’m pretty sure the Nike party line has been that they can’t make their “hi-tech” pants fabric shiny. Not a good reason but Nike has stuck with the story since they took over the NFL contract in 2012.
And the Raiders pants are still the shiny fabric but they look less shiny indoors than what they had a few years ago. Also the Cowboys silver blue pants are still shiny fabric, but I think the silver pants are now matte fabric. So I suppose those teams are willing to trade the shiny look for less “high tech/high performance” from the fabric.
Oh true, I forgot about the cowboys, but I see what you’re talking about with their alternate pants not having the sheen.
I guess at this level of competition teams will believe even the dumbest marketing jargon if it might slightly increase performance
At least sleeves are making a comeback, I’ve noticed a lot more non-quarterbacks are rocking sleeves lately.
Do the Saints play the Bucs every week now? For some reason it feels that way.
I like the Jets uniforms, but I wish the helmet color was the same as the jersey color. I believe the jersey color is #115740. Does anyone know what the helmet color is? It looks more green to me (if that makes sense), almost like it has more yellow.
It definitely does. Been noticing it all season, but it depends on the lighting just how “different” the shades of green are between the helmet and the jersey. Yesterday’s helmets looked especially green-yellow. But they’re definitely not the same shade of green (this is partially due to the metallic nature of the helmet).
Speaking of color matching, I noticed the Guardian Caps for Tampa Bay are a shade or two off…or maybe it’s the dull cap versus the shiny helmet?
link
I kept thinking yesterday afternoon that, as good as KC-Denver looked, it would be vastly better if the Chiefs had gone with white pants. Of course, I think red/white/white/red should be KC’s standard road look, but it especially makes sense when the opponent is wearing a red (or orange) jersey.
Also completely agree about the Broncos socks. I think solid blue tights would look much better than the hosiery mess we saw yesterday. Still, anyone with functioning eyes could look at that game yesterday and immediately realize Denver should be wearing these uniforms full time.
I’d still give the AFC West the nod for best dressed division, even with Denver’s current uniform dragging it down. But the AFC North is a solid second.
I think this weekend was the best overall NFL-wide uniform game of 24-25. Even the black Lions did not drag the other 31 down too badly.
The Titans are a team of nothing but dick moves.
The Jets let them have rights to the Titans name for nothing. The Jets did not have to do that.
In return, the Titans should have let Houston keep the Oilers name and colors. Not only did they not do that, they rub it in the faces of Houston fans.
The Panthers helmets yesterday looked really sparkly. I can’t be the only one who noticed. Maybe it’s because I rarely see them on TV. Anyway, I do like the look.
GTGFTS: I think this game was a week one preseason game between the cowboys and rams the first year rams went back to Los Angeles. This game was played in the rose bowl. I remember because it was Dak Prescott’s first start as QB and he made several impressive throws. A couple weeks later in the 3rd preseason game Romo got hurt in Seattle against the legion of boom and Dak would end up starting week 1 vs the Giants.