How about a little NFL action under the Christmas tree this year? For the first time in league history, the NFL is set to play a Christmas Day tripleheader that will feature a number of the game’s elite quarterbacks.
Of course, CBS had previously announced that the Broncos and Rams will be going toe-to-toe in Los Angeles in the middle game on Christmas, but the NFL has now released the full holiday slate as it has rolled out the entire 2022 regular-season schedule. Below, you’ll find the full rundown and previews for this historic Christmas Day slate:
Packers at Dolphins
1 p.m. ET on Fox | Stream: fuboTV
This game features the reigning back-to-back MVP Aaron Rodgers taking his Packers down south to Miami to face the Dolphins. Green Bay is currently among the betting favorites to win the Super Bowl this season, owning the fourth-best odds overall and the second-highest among NFC clubs. That said, the biggest question for Rodgers and the offense heading into the season is how they’ll fill the void left by star receiver Davante Adams, who they traded to the Las Vegas Raiders in one of the offseason’s biggest blockbusters.
While the Packers saw some talent drained out of their offense this offseason, the Dolphins have experienced the opposite. Miami dived head first into free agency and has surrounded Tua Tagovailoa with all the weapons necessary to see if he can truly be a quarterback it can build around in the seasons to come. The Dolphins signed a litany of running backs, including Raheem Mostert and Chase Edmonds, and signed star tackle Terron Armstead to keep the quarterback upright. The most high-profile addition, however, was the trade that landed them wideout Tyreek Hill. Pair with former first-round pick Jaylen Waddle and the Dolphins have two of the fastest receiving weapons in the NFL.
That said, if they are out of playoff contention by this point in the year, it could be the final days of Tagovailoa in Miami.
Broncos at Rams
4:30 p.m. ET on CBS | Stream: Paramount+
The Denver Broncos made arguably the biggest trade of the offseason, landing quarterback Russell Wilson in a deal with the Seattle Seahawks. That trade now has them as a legitimate Super Bowl contender as they now own one of the game’s elite quarterbacks. If Denver lives up to its potential, this could also be a Super Bowl preview as the Broncos travel to Los Angeles to face the defending champion Rams.
L.A. has retooled this offseason and looks to become the first team in nearly two decades to win back-to-back Super Bowls. While the Rams traded Robert Woods to Tennessee, they replaced him with former Bears receiver Allen Robinson in free agency, giving Matthew Stafford another high-profile weapon to pair with Cooper Kupp. Defensively, the Rams saw Von Miller sign with the Bills in free agency but were able to inject another All-Pro defender into their lineup by signing former Seahawks linebacker Bobby Wagner.
That Wilson vs. Wagner angle — two Seahawks legends — will be a fascinating subplot to this matchup.
Buccaneers at Cardinals
8:20 p.m. ET on NBC | Stream: fuboTV
We put a bow on the Christmas tripleheader with the Buccaneers heading to Arizona to face the Cardinals. This is another great quarterback matchup as Tom Brady will square off against Kyler Murray.
Of course, Brady has engulfed headlines this offseason with his brief 40-day retirement. While it momentarily looked like he’d be riding off into the sunset, the seven-time Super Bowl champion decided to come out of retirement after just five weeks. That said, these Buccaneers will still look a bit different in 2022 as Todd Bowles will now be leading them after former head coach Bruce Arians stepped down this offseason. Tampa Bay is currently the betting favorite to represent the NFC in Super Bowl LVII and owns the second-best odds to hoist the Lombardi Trophy this season.
As for the Cardinals, the biggest storyline has been surrounding the contract status of Kyler Murray. There seemed to have been a Cold War of sorts on social media this offseason between Murray and the Cardinals, but the two sides do seem to be copacetic at this point.
A common theme for Arizona over the last few years has been late-season collapses. This game could very well prove to be extremely important for playoff positioning in the NFC, but the Cardinals will need to play better down the stretch for them to be truly considered threats in the conference so this game could be a massive barometer in that regard.
