Andy Reid and Patrick Mahomes have made the Kansas City Chiefs one of the most exciting teams to watch in the NFL. Last year, they made the Christmas slate even more attractive by beating Mike Tomlin’s Pittsburgh Steelers on the road.
And it looks like the team wants to make its presence on this holiday a tradition. According to The Athletic, the Chiefs have requested the NFL to make them a fixture of the Christmas Day slate.
Kansas City has already played on December 25 in the last two years. Before outplaying Tomlin‘s Steelers 29-10 in 2024, Reid and Mahomes were shocked by division rivals Las Vegas Raiders 14-20 in 2023.
A new tradition in the NFL with the Chiefs?
The report claims that the Chiefs now want to become a permanent team on Christmas, just like the Detroit Lions and Dallas Cowboys always play on Thanksgiving.
Mike Tomlin and Andy Reid greet after a game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Kansas City Chiefs.
The NFL has already announced there will be three games on Christmas in the 2025 season, with the holiday falling on a Thursday. The first two games will be broadcast by Netflix, whereas Amazon Prime will get the third game as they hold the rights for the ‘Thursday Night Football’ showdowns.
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It will be interesting to see how Kansas City fares next season, as it has to bounce back from a painful Super Bowl loss. Their coach looks optimistic, with Reid warning the rest of the NFL now that Travis Kelce postponed retirement.
Mahomes already complained before Christmas game vs Steelers in 2024
However, if the Chiefs have it their way and continue playing on Christmas, they’ll have to take into account that their schedule could be tight in December. Last year, Mahomes looked concerned about this situation.
“It’s not a good feeling,” Mahomes said in regard to the grueling schedule in the last month of 2024. “You never want to play this amount of games in this short of time. It’s not great for your body. But, at the end of the day, it’s your job, your profession. You have to come to work and do it.“
In 2024, the Chiefs had to play three games in 11 days due to the Christmas fixture. After playing the Cleveland Browns on Dec. 15, the NFL moved their game against the Houston Texans to a Saturday (Dec. 21) to give them an extra day of rest ahead of the Steelers game.
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Either way, these things happen to successful teams. Reid and Mahomes usually draw larger audiences than others, which is why they often get to play on primetime and special fixtures. In fact, the Chiefs are expected to play an AFC West rival outside the US in Week 1, with the NFL looking to increase its exposure overseas.
