Well, it was a monumental Christmas Day in the NFL, with its doubleheader debut on Netflix.
But other than the noteworthiness of that, the words “Bah, Humbug!” come to mind.
Kansas City, pursuing the AFC’s top seed, which includes home field advantage and the first-round bye, got after Pittsburgh from the very start, jumping out to a 13-0 lead and never looking back in route to a 29-10 win.
And if you thought THAT was bad, the Baltimore Ravens rolled all over the Houston Texans in Houston, 31-2, with Lamar Jackson running for 87 yards (including an impressive 48-yard touchdown) and breaking the league’s record for career rushing yards by a quarterback.
Jackson now has 6,110, and broke the record held by Michael Vick (6,109).
The Ravens (11-5) did not wrap up the AFC North title – a home win over Cleveland this coming weekend will do that. But they did clinch a playoff spot for a third straight year. Pittsburgh losing for a third straight week, this time to Kansas City in the first game of the day on Wednesday, combined with a loss to Baltimore, will help the Ravens greatly in that division title chase. One win over the three-win Browns will wrap it up.
Jackson also passed for 168 yards and two touchdowns (to tight ends Isaiah Likely and Mark Andrews) and Derrick Henry was like a bull in a China shop, running for 147 yards and a touchdown. It was Henry’s 16th touchdown this season. That breaks a previous record of 15 shared by Ray Rice, who set it in 2011, and by Mark Ingram, who tied it in 2019.
Ironically, the only team that played Wednesday that actually has already clinched a division title: the Houston Texans, who couldn’t get anything going on Christmas Day. Baltimore sacked C.J. Stroud five times, intercepted him once, and held Stroud to 185 passing yards and running back Joe Mixon to 26 rushing yards. The Texans’ only score: a tackle of Henry early in the second quarter in the end zone by rookie Kamari Lassiter. At that point, the Ravens led 10-2; it only got worse.
Houston falls to 9-7 on the season.
Earlier in the day in Pittsburgh, the Chiefs (15-1) did what most expected them to do: but a bow on the AFC West Division title, and with it, home field advantage throughout the playoffs and a first-round bye.
KC quarterback Patrick Mahomes increased his record over the Steelers (10-6) to 4-0 all-time, and helped greatly with touchdown passes to Xavier Worthy, Justin Watson and to his partner in crime, tight end Travis Kelce from 12 yards out in the second half.
Worthy’s unsportsmanlike penalty, one of a few on the day for the Chiefs, proved costly: Harrison Butker missed the point after when it was pushed back 15 yards.
Other than that, the Chiefs romped through Pittsburgh, who never really threatened, and now are likely to have to go into the AFC playoffs as a wild card, considering all Baltimore has to do to win the AFC North is beat Cleveland next week.
Back to Kelce’s touchdown: it was the 77th touchdown catch for the former University of Cincinnati standout, and that broke the record he shared with former Chiefs TE Tony Gonzalez, now a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Kelce, 35, also had an unsportsmanlike penalty in the game, as did a KC defensive back celebrating a play over Pittsburgh receiver George Pickens.
By the way: Kelse is also now one of three tight ends in league history with 1,000 catches. The other two: Gonzalez, of course, and former Dallas Cowboys star Jason Witten.
The Chiefs will finish the regular season in Denver this weekend, and Pittsburgh will host Cincinnati.
