NFL Week 16 on Christmas Day features two exciting matchups with major playoff implications, highlighting a slate of games that includes several prime-time matchups. The Kansas City Chiefs and Baltimore Ravens will both make their second consecutive Christmas Day appearances. Kansas City faces the Pittsburgh Steelers in the early game on Wednesday, while Baltimore plays the Houston Texans in the later game. All four teams have already secured playoff spots, but these games are crucial for positioning in the upcoming playoffs, particularly in securing home-field advantage for the first two rounds.
Baltimore previously triumphed over the 49ers in one of the three games played on Christmas Day in 2023, which fell on a Monday. This year, the Chiefs lost to the Las Vegas Raiders in their 2023 Christmas game. In an unusual shift from tradition, the NFL is holding games on Wednesday this season. In December 2023, the league announced that it would not host games on Tuesdays or Wednesdays, but later decided to schedule two Wednesday games in 2024.
These games are available exclusively on Netflix, which signed a three-year deal with the NFL in 2023 worth about $150 million for the broadcasting rights. Netflix is set to stream at least one game on Christmas in 2025 and 2026, with Christmas falling on Thursday next year and Friday the following year.
Only three NFL games have ever been played on a Wednesday. One was moved in 2020 due to a COVID-19 outbreak, pushing a Pittsburgh-Baltimore game to December 2. Additionally, in 2012, the NFL moved the season opener between the Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants to Wednesday, September 5, due to President Obama’s speech at the Democratic National Convention. The first-ever Wednesday game occurred on September 22, 1948, between Detroit and the Rams.
Other prime-time matchups this week with playoff significance include games involving teams like Seattle, Denver, Cincinnati, Washington, and San Francisco, as well as both Los Angeles teams.
