From Marquee To Meh: Christmas Day In The NFL
Injuries, eliminations, and dwindling stakes have drained the intrigue from a once-marquee holiday tripleheader.
The NFL easily wrestled Christmas Day away from the NBA because Americans love football more than basketball. That, along with the NBA’s constant left-wing messaging, pushed away thousands, if not millions, of fans.
The NFL has turned Christmas Day into one of its biggest events of the year, and with the holiday falling on a Thursday this season, it creates a perfect chance to feature three huge divisional matchups late in the regular season.
Unfortunately, those games, which looked great on paper in the preseason, suddenly look like crap. The day starts with a matchup between the 6-7 Dallas Cowboys and the 4-10 Washington Commanders. The Commanders have long been eliminated from the postseason, and starting quarterback Jayden Daniels is out for the season.
The Cowboys' loss to the Vikings in Week 15 all but eliminated them from the playoffs. Technically, Dallas can still win the NFC East, but they have less than a one percent chance of doing so.
The Dallas Cowboys have a less than one percent chance of reaching the NFL playoffs.
(Dustin Bradford/Getty Images)
The next game on the slate features the 8-6 Detroit Lions and the 6-8 Minnesota Vikings. Both teams made the playoffs last season. However, the Vikings are eliminated, and the Lions currently sit outside the NFC playoff picture. If Detroit loses to Pittsburgh in Week 16, their postseason hopes will enter life support mode, especially if the Packers beat the Bears.
Christmas Day finishes with a game between the 12-2 Denver Broncos, who have already clinched a playoff spot, and the 6-8 Kansas City Chiefs, who are eliminated from the playoffs and have lost Patrick Mahomes to a torn ACL.
This isn't to say that fans are going to flock to the NBA on Christmas Day. The NFL is still king and despite the not-as-enticing matchups, the league figures to still see huge viewership numbers. However, expecting those numbers to match the record-breaking figures from 2024 would be extremely optimistic.
The NFL will still own the day, because it always does, but let’s be honest: this slate isn’t the Christmas gift we were promised. Between injuries gutting star power and playoff math sapping urgency, these games feel more like background noise for family gatherings than appointment viewing.