One thing we all learned on Christmas is that the NFL, not the NBA own it.
The NFL had a triple-header on Christmas Day featuring the Raiders vs Chiefs followed by the Giants vs Eagles and topped off with the two best teams playing on Monday Night Football with the Ravens traveling to San Francisco to take on the 49ers.
On Tuesday, CBS announced that the Chiefs-Raiders game averaged 29.171 million viewers on CBS and Nickelodeon. They added that it was the most-watched Christmas Day programming in CBS history and the highest-rated NFL game on Christmas Day since 1989.
The Raiders upset the Chiefs, 20-14, with Patrick Mahomes having his worst performance of the season, completing 27 of 44 passes for 235 yards, a touchdown and a career-high 14th interception of the season.
Kansas City has lost five of its last eight games, failing to reach 20 points each time. The Chiefs lead the NFL in drops while relinquishing 26 turnovers this season.
On the other hand, Zamir White ran for 145 yards in place of Josh Jacobs. The Raiders improved to 7-8 despite Aidan O’Connell completing just nine passes for 62 yards.
Meanwhile, ESPN announced their massive ratings, saying its the second most-watched Monday Night Football game in 27 years, trailing only the Eagles Chiefs in Week 11 this season.
The Ravens bested the 49ers in the potential Super Bowl matchup, 33-19.
Lamar Jackson had one of the best games of his career, completing 66 percent for 252 yards and two touchdowns while rushing nearly 50 yards.
Christian McCaffrey rushed for 103 yards and one touchdown on 14 carries, averaging 7.4 yards per carry.
Christmas falls on a Wednesday next year so it’s unlikely that the NFL will play games on that day but it’s safe to say that if Christmas is on either a Thursday, Sunday or Monday, you can expect the NFL to go all out in making sure they own that holiday.
