A second straight three-pack of Christmas Day games starts with the Chiefs hosting the Raiders at 1:00 p.m. ET on Monday. After Kansas City’s Sunday win at New England, I asked quarterback Patrick Mahomes for his thoughts about playing on December 25.
“I think it’s two things,” Mahomes said by phone. “I’m excited because you get that standalone [game]. You get to play at Arrowhead [Stadium] at 12:00. I mean, everybody’s gonna be just opening presents and getting the food in them and then they’re going to be the happiest they possibly can be, and they’re gonna turn on and see the Kansas City Chiefs playing. So I’m excited about that.
“I’m a little disappointed I’m going to miss Christmas Eve with my kids and Christmas morning and miss Santa coming. But I’ll be able to spend the evening with them and open presents with them then. So, it’ll be a great opportunity. I’m excited for that. We’ll miss the kids a little bit but we’ll celebrate after the game’s over.”
A win will make it even easier to celebrate. A loss by the Dolphins the day before and the Ravens on Monday night would give the Chiefs even more reason to celebrate, as Kansas City keeps alive it’s eleventh-hour push for the No. 1 seed in the AFC.
And the reality for NFL teams going forward seems to be that, regardless of when Christmas lands, the NFL will find a way to leverage a massive captive audience. The biggest test comes next year, when Christmas lands on a Wednesday.
Don’t be surprised if the league finds a way to configure its schedule to have three games on Christmas Day — and one on Christmas Eve.