There are two NFL games on Christmas Day. (Getty)
Football fans have limited viewing options on Christmas Day. There are two NFL games while college football takes the holiday off and will resume bowl games on December 26.
The Baltimore Ravens take on the Pittsburgh Steelers in the early matchup. The game kicks off at 4:30 p.m. Eastern on NFL Network. The prime time matchup features an AFC West showdown between the Denver Broncos and Kansas City Chiefs. NBC will broadcast the Sunday Night Football game at its normal time of 8:30 p.m. Eastern.
Pittsburgh is one of the hottest teams in the league while the Ravens are sitting just outside the playoffs heading into the matchup. Baltimore won the November matchup 21-14 when the two teams last squared off.
The Chiefs and Broncos played each other on Sunday Night Football less than a month ago. Kansas City came away with a thrilling 30-27 overtime victory as the ball bounced just inside the upright for a game-winning field goal. Denver has hit a bit of a dry spell since their last matchup with an offense that has sputtered in recent weeks.
Christmas has become synonymous with the NBA in the sports world. The NBA has five games on today for the holiday. The NFL traditionally has avoided the holiday with only 17 games taking place on Christmas since the league began. Today is the first time the NFL has had two games on Christmas since 2006.
The NFL opted to move the majority of their Week 16 games to Christmas Eve this season rather than have the majority of their games compete with the holiday. The NFL believes a smaller slate of games held later in the day can help sustain television ratings rather than trying to play the majority of their games on the holiday.
Check out Heavy’s Christmas edition of our NFL power rankings.
