Admin December 25, 2024
Mariah Carey Joins Netflix’s Christmas Day NFL Show
Mariah Carey will deliver a taped performance of her hit “All I Want for Christmas” before the Christmas Day NFL double-header on Netflix.
Cheddar
Week 17 of the 2024 NFL season kicks off early with a doubleheader on Christmas. The four teams that played in the Week 16 Saturday games will suit up again on the holiday, starting with the Pittsburgh Steelers hosting the Kansas City Chiefs starting at 1 p.m. ET. The Houston Texans will then host the Baltimore Ravens at 4:30 p.m. ET.
This marks the fourth season in a row with multiple NFL games on Christmas but it hasn’t always been that way. For decades, the NFL avoided games on the holiday.
Here’s a full history of the NFL on Christmas.
When was the first NFL Christmas game?
For years, the NFL season simply did not run long enough to reach the holiday. Until the AFL-NFL merger in 1970, the regular season ended in mid-December with the championship game two weeks later. The league would move the game to Dec. 26 if there was a conflict with the holiday.
The first NFL Christmas game happened in the 1971-72 playoffs with the Minnesota Vikings hosting the Dallas Cowboys and the Kansas City Chiefs hosting the Miami Dolphins. Both road teams won that day with the Cowboys earning a 20-12 win en route to a Super Bowl win and Miami gutting out a 27-24 double-overtime victory.
NFL Christmas history
That double-overtime game between the Dolphins and the Chiefs was the longest game in NFL history. Deciding the winner took 82 minutes and 40 seconds of game time. After that, the NFL avoided Christmas for years.
The NFL finally broke its Christmas drought in 1989 with a Week 16 “Monday Night Football” game between the Vikings and Cincinnati Bengals. Minnesota won 29-21 in what was the regular season finale that year and NFL Christmas games became more regular through the 1990s:
The 2004 NFL season was the first with multiple Christmas games since 1971. The Chiefs and Broncos beat the Raiders and Tennessee Titans, respectively, in the holiday doubleheader.
The NFL played two games on Christmas in 2005, 2006, 2016, and 2017 and one each in 2009, 2010, and 2011. Since 2020, there’s been at least one game on the holiday and as many as three matchups in 2022 and 2023.
Which NFL team has played the most Christmas games?
Entering this season, the Cowboys have played the most Christmas games (five). The Chiefs will equal that mark with their game against the Steelers this week. The Philadelphia Eagles and Green Bay Packers are tied for the most Christmas wins with three each.
NFL Christmas records
Twenty-five of the 32 NFL teams have played on Christmas. The Buffalo Bills, New England Patriots, Washington Commanders, Jacksonville Jaguars, Atlanta Falcons, Carolina Panthers, and Seattle Seahawks have not. Here are their records entering 2024: