Roger Goodell, Jake Paul and Mike Tyson (Photos by Getty Images)
Football fans are naturally worried about Netflix airing the two 2024 NFL Christmas games following the streaming issues for the Mike Tyson-Jake Paul fight last Friday.
Even though Dec. 25 falls on a Wednesday this year, two NFL Christmas games are scheduled for the holiday: Kansas City Chiefs at Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens at Houston Texans.
Netflix will live-stream NFL games for the first time in their history on Christmas day. And the league has reached out to the streaming service giant to ensure that things operate smoothly on the 25th, according to ESPN’S Dan Graziano:
“Obviously it would cause a major uproar if the stream cut out or froze in the middle of a spectacular Lamar Jackson scramble or Patrick Mahomes deep throw to the end zone. The NFL did check in with Netflix following the Tyson-Paul fight to ask about the problems and assess the likelihood that they could repeat themselves on Christmas. Netflix said the fight reached 60 million homes, and apparently part of the explanation to the league was that the unprecedented scale for them of broadcasting a live sporting event contributed to some of the challenges they faced.
But the NFL came away from the conversations reassured that Netflix had figured out what went wrong and that it won’t be a problem for Chiefs-Steelers or Ravens-Texans on Dec. 25.”
It would indeed be a bad look on the NFL if their first partnership with Netflix for live-streaming went awry. Fans were understandably agitated that a company worth billions like Netflix couldn’t provide users with a decent stream for one of the most highly-anticipated sporting events of the year.
If Netflix broadcasted NFL games…
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And it just so happens that the two NFL Christmas games feature four of the top teams in the AFC. With marquee stars like Lamar Jackson, Derrick Henry, Travis Kelce, Patrick Mahomes, TJ Watt and CJ Stroud playing on prime-time, Netflix has no excuses. The streams must be of high quality.
NFL Christmas Games For Fifth Straight Year
2024 marks the fifth straight season where the NFL will have games on Christmas Day. Even though it fell on a Friday in 2020, the league scheduled a Minnesota Vikings-New Orleans Saints game at the Superdome.
A double-header was also scheduled for the 2021 season. Fans got triple the fun in 2022 and 2023, with triple-headers scheduled for both years. Last season featured the Las Vegas Raiders vs. the Kansas City Chiefs, New York Giants vs. the Philadelphia Eagles and Baltimore Ravens vs. San Francisco 49ers.
The Chiefs, Ravens, Texans and Steelers are all poised to make the playoffs this year, so it’s an extra treat that both games carry postseason seeding implications as well.
REPORT: Strange New Details Explain Why The NFL Can’t Flex Bengals-Cowboys Week 15 ‘Monday Night Football’ Game That Nobody Wants To Watch
Dallas Cowboys vs. Cincinnati Bengals (Photo by Wesley Hitt/Getty Images)
Fans hoping that the NFL may flex out the Dallas Cowboys-Cincinnati Bengals Week 15 ‘Monday Night Football’ game won’t be happy to hear that it’s simply cannot happen.
Starting last year, the league adopted a new rule that allows them to “flex” games out of the Monday Night Football slot, but only between Weeks 12-17. The league is allowed to flex no more than two MNF games during that period.
The upcoming Week 15 tilt between the Bengals and Cowboys looked juicy at the start of the year. But the Bengals (4-7) and Cowboys (3-6) have been among football’s biggest disappointments, and the casual fan obviously has little interest in watching a December prime-time game with no playoff implications whatsoever.
Unfortunately for football fans, the Week 15 Monday Night Football affair is the one game that the league cannot flex out during the Weeks 12-17 period.
That’s because as Jay Morrison of BengalsTalk.com points out, the Cowboys-Bengals game can’t be removed from its prime-time slot because of The Simpsons television series. In case you forgot, this game will feature a Simpsons-themed alternate broadcast.
Well, at least non-Bengals and Cowboys fans have the option to view the Monday Night Football Game Simpsons-style.
Which Monday Night Football Games Could The NFL Flex Out?
The NFL has to announce any potential changes to the MNF schedule at least 12 days ahead of time. Obviously, they’re not going to swap out the can’t-miss Harbaugh Bowl between the Baltimore Ravens and Los Angeles Chargers next week.
But don’t be surprised if the league decides to swap out one of the two doubleheaders for Week 15, with the Atlanta Falcons visiting the hapless Las Vegas Raiders and the slumping Chicago Bears visiting the Minnesota Vikings.
Even the Broncos-Cleveland Browns Week 13 game in Mile High City lacks intrigue if you’re not a Denver fan. And if the New Orleans Saints are out of the playoff race by then, their Week 16 road game against the Green Bay Packers could be flexed out.
