National Football League Christmas games facts for kids
Have you ever wondered if the National Football League (NFL) plays games on Christmas? Unlike Thanksgiving Day games, which happen every year, Christmas games are not a regular thing. This is because Thanksgiving is always on a Thursday. But Christmas Eve and Christmas Day (December 24-25) can fall on any day of the week.
The NFL first played games on Christmas Day in 1971. These were important playoff games. However, many people did not like this. So, the NFL stopped playing games on Christmas Day until 1989. Since then, the NFL has sometimes scheduled games on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. These games are usually part of the regular season, in week 16 or 17.
By the end of the 2022 season, there will have been 27 Christmas Day games. All of these games were shown on national TV. In some years, like 2004 to 2006, two games were played. In 2022, for the first time ever, three games are planned for Christmas Day!
The NFL usually schedules Christmas Day games if December 25 falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or Monday. If Christmas is on a Saturday, it's just like any other Saturday game. If it's on a Sunday, the usual Sunday games are moved to Christmas Eve (Saturday). One of the Christmas Day games then becomes the Sunday Night Football game. Sometimes, Christmas Eve games are moved to Monday or Saturday. There have even been a few rare games on Friday (Christmas Day) or Thursday (Christmas Eve).
Contents
History of NFL Christmas Games
How Christmas Games Started
In the very early days of professional football, the season usually ended in November or early December. The big NFL Championship Game was often played in mid-December. The first official NFL game played on or after Christmas was the 1943 NFL Championship Game. It was played on December 26, 1943, because of problems caused by World War II.
From 1943 until 1970, the NFL season usually ended before Christmas. If the championship game day fell on Christmas Day, the league would move it. For example, the 1955 and 1960 games were moved to December 26.
The American Football League (AFL) handled it differently. Their 1960 championship game was moved to New Year's Day 1961. This made Christmas Sunday a free day. The NFL's 1966 championship game was also played on January 1, 1967. New Year's Day is often free because college football bowl games are moved if January 1 is a Sunday.
The 1971 Christmas Playoff Games
The first NFL games actually played on Christmas Day happened after the NFL and AFL joined together. This was during the 1971–72 NFL playoffs. Two playoff games were played on Christmas Day. The first game was between the Dallas Cowboys and the Minnesota Vikings.
The second game was between the Miami Dolphins and the Kansas City Chiefs. This game became the longest game in NFL history. Because this game lasted so long, the NFL received many complaints. People were upset because the game messed up their Christmas dinners!
The league also faced criticism for playing on a special family holiday. One politician even suggested a law to stop games on Christmas Day. Because of all this, the NFL decided not to schedule any Christmas Day games for the next 17 seasons.
Avoiding Christmas Games
For many years, the NFL worked hard to avoid playing on Christmas. This was especially tricky when Christmas fell on a Saturday or Sunday. These are usually days when NFL playoff games are played.
In 1976, the NFL started its season a week earlier than usual. This was so the playoff games could be held on December 18 and 19. This way, no games were needed on Saturday, December 25.
In 1977, Christmas was on a Sunday. The playoff games were scheduled around the holiday. Some games were on Saturday, December 24, and others on Monday, December 26. This was done to make sure teams had fair rest times. However, this schedule caused problems for TV viewers. Many people missed the start of one game because another game went into double overtime.
The NFL kept avoiding Christmas games even as the season got longer. The league expanded to a 16-game regular season in 1978. But the season didn't end after Christmas until 1982.
In 1983 and 1988, the NFL split the first round of playoffs. Games were played on Saturday, December 24, and Monday, December 26. This again avoided Christmas Day.
Regular Season Games on Christmas
Finally, in 1989, the NFL tried a Christmas Day game again. It was the Cincinnati Bengals against the Minnesota Vikings. This game was a late-night Monday Night Football game on ABC. This way, it did not get in the way of family dinners.
The NFL changed its schedule in 1989 as a test. Christmas fell during the last week of the regular season instead of the playoffs. In 1990, the league added a bye week to its schedule. This made Christmas always fall during the regular season. Since then, the NFL has played occasional late-afternoon or night games on Christmas.
The league usually plays one or two games on Christmas Day. This happens when Christmas is on a Saturday, Sunday, or Monday. If Christmas is on a Saturday, it's just part of the normal Saturday games. Since 1994, if Christmas is on a Sunday, most Sunday games are played on Christmas Eve (Saturday). The league has also played rare Friday games on Christmas Day in 2009 and 2020. These were special versions of Thursday Night Football.
In 2022, Christmas Day is on a Sunday again. The NFL has planned three Christmas Day games for the first time. There will be two afternoon games on Fox and CBS. Then, the usual Sunday Night Football game will be on NBC. This is similar to how Thanksgiving Day games are scheduled. The CBS game will even have a special broadcast for kids on Nickelodeon!
Starting in 2023, Fox will have the rights to show special Christmas Day games. These are in addition to regular prime-time games like Sunday Night Football or Monday Night Football if Christmas falls on those days.
All-time Results
1971 Playoff Games
| Season | Visiting Team | Score | Home Team | TV |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1971 | Dallas Cowboys | 20–12 | Minnesota Vikings | CBS |
| Miami Dolphins | 27–24 (2OT) | Kansas City Chiefs | NBC |
Regular Season Games
| Season | Visiting Team | Score | Home Team | TV |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1989 | Cincinnati Bengals | 21–29 | Minnesota Vikings | ABC |
| 1993 | Houston Oilers | 10–7 | San Francisco 49ers | NBC |
| 1994 | Detroit Lions | 20–27 | Miami Dolphins | ESPN |
| 1995 | Dallas Cowboys | 37–13 | Arizona Cardinals | ABC |
| 1999 | Denver Broncos | 17–7 | Detroit Lions | CBS |
| 2000 | Dallas Cowboys | 0–31 | Tennessee Titans | ABC |
| 2004 | Oakland Raiders | 30–31 | Kansas City Chiefs | CBS |
| Denver Broncos | 37–16 | Tennessee Titans | ESPN | |
| 2005 | Chicago Bears | 24–17 | Green Bay Packers | Fox |
| Minnesota Vikings | 23–30 | Baltimore Ravens | ESPN | |
| 2006 | Philadelphia Eagles | 23–7 | Dallas Cowboys | NBC |
| New York Jets | 13–10 | Miami Dolphins | ESPN | |
| 2009 | San Diego Chargers | 42–17 | Tennessee Titans | NFLN |
| 2010 | Dallas Cowboys | 26–27 | Arizona Cardinals | NFLN |
| 2011 | Chicago Bears | 21–35 | Green Bay Packers | NBC |
| 2016 | Baltimore Ravens | 27–31 | Pittsburgh Steelers | NFLN |
| Denver Broncos | 10–33 | Kansas City Chiefs | NBC | |
| 2017 | Pittsburgh Steelers | 34–6 | Houston Texans | NBC/NFLN |
| Oakland Raiders | 10–19 | Philadelphia Eagles | ESPN | |
| 2020 | Minnesota Vikings | 33–52 | New Orleans Saints | Fox/NFLN |
| 2021 | Cleveland Browns | 22–24 | Green Bay Packers | Fox/NFLN |
| Indianapolis Colts | 22–16 | Arizona Cardinals | NFLN | |
| 2022 | Green Bay Packers | TBA | Miami Dolphins | Fox |
| Denver Broncos | TBA | Los Angeles Rams | CBS/Nick | |
| Tampa Bay Buccaneers | TBA | Arizona Cardinals | NBC |
Christmas Day Team Records
How teams have performed on Christmas Day (up to 2021 games)
| Team | GP | W | L | T | PCT. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Philadelphia Eagles | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 |
| Pittsburgh Steelers | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 |
| Indianapolis Colts | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 |
| Los Angeles Chargers | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 |
| New Orleans Saints | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 |
| New York Jets | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 |
| Denver Broncos | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | .667 |
| Green Bay Packers | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | .667 |
| Kansas City Chiefs | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | .667 |
| Miami Dolphins | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | .667 |
| Tennessee Titans | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | .500 |
| Baltimore Ravens | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | .500 |
| Chicago Bears | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | .500 |
| Dallas Cowboys | 5 | 2 | 3 | 0 | .400 |
| Arizona Cardinals | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | .333 |
| Minnesota Vikings | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | .250 |
| Cincinnati Bengals | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .000 |
| Cleveland Browns | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .000 |
| Houston Texans | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .000 |
| San Francisco 49ers | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .000 |
| Detroit Lions | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | .000 |
| Las Vegas Raiders | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | .000 |
Games on Christmas Eve
Many NFL games have also been played on Christmas Eve. One very famous game was the Oakland Raiders-Baltimore Colts playoff game in 1977. This game ended with a famous play called "Ghost to the Post". These Christmas Eve games usually start early in the afternoon. This is to respect the holiday.
If Christmas Day falls on a Sunday (like in 2016 and 2022), most NFL games that weekend are played on Christmas Eve afternoon. Only a few games are played on Thursday, Sunday, or Monday night.
In the 2004 season, there was a Christmas Eve game on a Friday afternoon. This is very rare for the NFL. The game was between the Green Bay Packers and the Minnesota Vikings. The Packers won 34–31. Before that, the last Christmas Eve Friday game was in 1999.
Since Sunday Night Football moved to NBC in 2006, Christmas Eve has fallen on a Sunday twice. In 2006, there was no Sunday night game. Instead, two games were played on Christmas Day (Monday). NBC showed the first game, and ESPN showed the second. In 2017, the regular Sunday night game was moved to Saturday, December 23. No game was played on Christmas Eve.
In 2007, Christmas Eve was on a Monday. This was a challenge because ESPN's TV contract required 17 Monday Night Football games. To help with this, the game was scheduled between two West Coast teams. This allowed the game to start at 5:00 p.m. local time. This happened again in 2018.
Since Thursday Night Football began in 2006, Christmas Eve has been on a Thursday three times. In 2009, no game was scheduled on December 24. Instead, a special TNF game was played on Christmas Day. In 2015, a Thursday Night Football game was played on Christmas Eve. It was between two West Coast teams. No games were played on Christmas Day that year. In 2020, the league again only held a game on Christmas Day.
In 2016, Christmas Eve was on a Saturday. Eleven afternoon games were played. A prime-time Saturday Thursday Night Football game was also shown. It was between the Cincinnati Bengals and the Houston Texans. This game started at 7:25 p.m. local time in Houston. It was the latest NFL game ever played on Christmas Eve.
