Next week kicks off one of the … let’s say, most interesting weeks of the NFL calendar year.
The league will release the schedule for the upcoming season.
I will concede that if I have a singular curmudgeonly, “get off my lawn” opinion, it is that this is the most pointless event on the NFL calendar. We know each team’s schedule due to the league’s scheduling formula, all we learn is when the games will be held.
However, in a quest to truly live by the creed “don’t yuck someone’s yum,” I have grown to at least grudgingly accept this latest NFL-forced league holiday. The schedule release videos are more creative each year, and for fans who build their fall traveling schedule around their team’s games, this does matter.
If you can’t beat them, join them, I guess.
As we look ahead to the schedule release, here are the games we would like to see on Christmas Day. Once again, the league is holding three games on the holiday, with two airing on Netflix and the third on Amazon Prime.
This Christmas will also make history, as it will mark the first time the league has held games on the holiday when it falls on a Thursday.
Here are our suggestions:
Kansas City Chiefs at Buffalo Bills, 1:00 p.m. ET
What better way to kick off the holiday triple-header than a rematch of the AFC Championship Game?
The Bills and the Chiefs have grown into one of the league’s best rivalries, spurred in large part by the incredible “13 seconds” game a few seasons ago. You also have two of the league’s premier talents at the quarterback position in Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen.
In addition, the Chiefs have reportedly told the league they would like to be a permanent fixture on Christmas Day, similar to how the Detroit Lions and Dallas Cowboys have become associated with Thanksgiving Day. While NFL vice president of broadcast planning and scheduling Mike North brushed that idea aside — noting that it took decades for the Lions and the Cowboys to become permanent fixtures on Thanksgiving Day — it at least makes perfect sense for the Chiefs to play on Christmas for the third consecutive season.
Minnesota Vikings at Los Angeles Chargers, 4:30 p.m. ET
If nothing else, the holidays are about spending time with loved ones.
What better way to acknowledge that than a reunion between Jim Harbaugh and J.J. McCarthy?
With Sam Darnold off to the Pacific Northwest, McCarthy is in line to take over as the starting quarterback for the Minnesota Vikings. After being drafted in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft, McCarthy sat out his rookie season with a knee injury. Now, he expected to take over under center for Kevin O’Connell.
Putting him up against the Chargers — and a coach he helped deliver a National Championship for at Michigan — is a lovely holiday treat.
Washington Commanders at Philadelphia Eagles, 8:00 p.m. ET
If we are having an AFC Championship Game rematch, why not an NFC Championship Game rematch to cap off the tripleheader?
Last year, the Washington Commanders stunned everyone around the league with a magical ride to the NFC Championship Game, led by rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels. His success put the Commanders in position to build around him this offseason and Washington has done exactly that, adding talented players such as Deebo Samuel, Laremy Tunsil, Deatrich Wise, Javon Kinlaw, and Jonathan Jones in free agency, and then incoming rookies such as Josh Conerly Jr., Trey Amoe, and Jalyin Lane.
This improved Commanders roster should get a shot at a rematch against the Eagles in prime time on Christmas night.