The NFL has long had a firm grip on Thanksgiving, but the league is quickly strengthening its hold on a holiday once reserved for the NBA: Christmas.
For the first time, the NFL has a Christmas tripleheader scheduled, one day after most of the league plays on Christmas Eve.
While three games is a record for the holiday, the NFL does have a history of Christmas action dating all the way back to 1971.
Why are there NFL games on Christmas?
The NFL intentionally avoided playing games on Christmas Day before it scheduled the first regular-season Christmas game, featuring the Bengals and Vikings in 1989.
After the NFL held two playoff games on Christmas in 1971, the league received a slew of complaints about the games intruding on a religious holiday. With some lawmakers even proposing legislation that would ban NFL games on Christmas, the league avoided the holiday for 18 years.
The NFL has scheduled Christmas games in the late afternoon or at night, after most Christmas dinners would have ended. When the NFL returned to Christmas in 1989, the Bengals and Vikings played at 9 p.m. ET. In fact, this year will mark the first time any NFL game will start before 3:30 p.m. ET on Christmas.
As for why the league is expanding its foothold on Christmas, NFL vice president of broadcasting Mike North had a pretty simple explanation. "Christmas, when it falls on an NFL game day, we’ve had a lot of success there, all due respect to our friends at the NBA," he told Buffalo radio station WGR in April.
North said that the NFL will play two or three games on Christmas when it falls on a Monday next year, but he said he isn't sure about 2024, when the holiday falls on a Wednesday. Either way, the NFL on Christmas appears here to stay.
NFL Christmas schedule in Week 16
| Game | Kickoff time (ET) | TV |
| Packers vs. Dolphins | 1 p.m. | Fox, fuboTV |
| Broncos vs. Rams | 4:30 p.m. | CBS, Nickelodeon, fuboTV |
| Buccaneers vs. Cardinals | 8:20 p.m. | NBC, fuboTV |
The Packers played on Christmas last season, defeating the Browns, but the situation for Green Bay this year are much more grim. It's on the very edge of contention at 6-8 and needs significant help to reach the playoffs. All hope is not lost, however, after back-to-back wins over the Bears and Rams.
The Dolphins, meanwhile, are hoping to take a big step toward their first playoff berth since 2016 after losing three consecutive games.
The NFL tried its best to schedule three games with playoff implications for its Christmas slate, but even the best plans don't always work out.
MORE: NFL playoff bracket, explained: How byes, seeding, format will work in 2022-23
The Broncos and Rams, for example, are both out of playoff contention. Russell Wilson's arrival in Denver hasn't gone as planned, to say the least, while a slow start by the Rams has turned into a lost season after numerous key injuries.
Denver and Los Angeles will be playing for pride instead, though Baker Mayfield has injected some life back into the Rams and is fighting to prove he deserves to be a starting quarterback in the NFL.
The Cardinals played on Christmas last year. Like the Packers, the circumstances are quite different this year. Arizona was eliminated in Week 15, and the recent loss of Kyler Murray to a torn ACL means Colt McCoy or Trace McSorley will try to outduel Tom Brady in prime time.
MORE: Watch NFL Christmas games live on fuboTV (free trial)
The Buccaneers enter Christmas still trying to secure the dismal NFC South after a season of struggles on offense. Brady will draw fans, but Tampa Bay's offense has been painful to watch for much of the year.
A win on Christmas, however they can get it, would be a major boost to the Buccaneers' playoff hopes.
What channel is Christmas football on?
Packers vs. Dolphins (1 p.m. ET) TV channel
- TV network: Fox
- Live stream: FoxSports.com, fuboTV
Fox will get the day started, with its top broadcast team of Kevin Burkhardt (play-by-play) and Greg Olsen (color commentator) on the call from Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens.
Fox showed Browns vs. Packers on Christmas last year, but Joe Buck and Troy Aikman were on the call for the network. Now that Buck and Aikman have moved to ESPN, they'll enjoy a Christmas off.
MORE: Breaking down the Packers' slim playoff chances
It'll be a bit warmer for Burkhardt and Olsen, too, as the Packers' Christmas game was in Lambeau Field last year.
Broncos vs. Rams (4:30 p.m. ET) TV channel
- Networks: CBS, Nickelodeon
- Live stream: Paramount+, fuboTV
CBS's top broadcast team of Jim Nantz (play-by-play) and Tony Romo (color commentator) will be on the call from SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, Calif.
For the first time, Nickelodeon will have an alternate broadcast of a Christmas game, with Nate Burleson and Noah Eagle on the call alongside some of the channel's stars. Burleson and Eagle called the Vikings' historic comeback win over the Colts in Week 15.
The game itself might not be meaningful, but the Nickelodeon broadcast will at least have some slime to keep spirits high.
Buccaneers vs. Cardinals (8:20 p.m. ET) TV channel
- Network: NBC
- Live stream: NBCSports.com, Peacock, fuboTV
Mike Tirico (play-by-play) and Cris Collinsworth (color analyst) will be on the call as the Cardinals host the Buccaneers in the traditional "Sunday Night Football" slot.
MORE: Cardinals quarterback depth chart
The Cardinals played in prime time on Christmas last year, but the game was broadcast on NFL Network. Given that Christmas falls on a Sunday this year, Buccaneers vs. Cardinals from State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Ariz., will be a typical "Sunday Night Football" broadcast.
"Monday Night Football" is set to air on ESPN the following night as the Chargers take on the Colts in Indianapolis.
