The 2025 NFL season featured a unique holiday scheduling structure due to Christmas falling on a Wednesday. While there were no NFL games played on Christmas Eve (Wednesday, December 24, 2025), the league utilized a historic Wednesday Christmas Day doubleheader exclusively on Netflix. Fans looking for holiday football watched a heavy slate of Week 16 games on Saturday, December 20, followed by the mid-week Christmas Day specials.
The 2025 Holiday Scheduling Strategy: Why Christmas Eve Remained Dark
In the 2025 NFL season, the league faced a significant logistical challenge: Christmas Day fell on a Wednesday. Historically, the NFL avoided mid-week games outside of the traditional Thursday night slot, but the massive viewership numbers from previous Christmas broadcasts prompted a shift in strategy. However, this shift did not extend to Christmas Eve.
The decision to leave Christmas Eve, December 24, 2025, without any scheduled games was rooted in three primary factors: player safety, CBA (Collective Bargaining Agreement) requirements, and broadcasting exclusivity. For the NFL to play games on a Wednesday (Christmas Day), the participating teams required a minimum of four days of rest. This necessitated moving their previous games to the preceding Saturday, December 20. Playing games on Christmas Eve would have disrupted the entire Week 16 and Week 17 schedule, creating a "short-week" ripple effect that the league deemed unsustainable for more than the four teams involved in the Christmas Day doubleheader.
Furthermore, Christmas Eve has traditionally been a "travel day" or a night reserved for family for NFL players and staff when it falls on a weekday. By focusing all "holiday" energy on the December 25 Wednesday games, the NFL maximized its partnership with Netflix while ensuring the Saturday and Sunday (December 21) windows remained the primary hubs for the rest of the league’s Week 16 matchups.
The 2025 Christmas Day Doubleheader: The "Real" Holiday Games
Since fans often associate the Christmas holiday weekend with the specific holiday dates, it is essential to look at the two games that framed the 2025 mid-week holiday window. These were the games the league promoted as their primary holiday offering, appearing on Netflix for the first time in history.
Kansas City Chiefs at Pittsburgh Steelers
The first game of the Wednesday holiday slate featured the defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs traveling to Acrisure Stadium to face the Pittsburgh Steelers. This matchup was a ratings juggernaut, featuring Patrick Mahomes against a perennially tough Steelers defense. Because this game was played on a Wednesday, both teams played their Week 16 games on Saturday, December 20, to satisfy the mandatory rest period.
Baltimore Ravens at Houston Texans
The second half of the Christmas Day doubleheader saw a clash of AFC titans as the Baltimore Ravens faced the Houston Texans. This game highlighted two of the league's most dynamic quarterbacks, Lamar Jackson and C.J. Stroud. Like the Chiefs and Steelers, these teams were given the "Saturday-to-Wednesday" window to ensure they were physically prepared for the mid-week primetime broadcast.
Week 16 Schedule: The Football Leading Into Christmas Eve
While Christmas Eve itself was quiet on the field, the days leading up to it were packed with high-stakes games as teams fought for playoff positioning in 2025. Because the Christmas Day teams played on Saturday, the NFL loaded the Saturday, December 20, 2025, window with several key matchups.
| Date | Matchup | Kickoff (ET) | Primary Broadcast |
|---|---|---|---|
| Saturday, Dec 20 | Kansas City Chiefs at Pittsburgh Steelers (Week 16) | N/A | Moved to Dec 25 |
| Saturday, Dec 20 | Houston Texans at Baltimore Ravens (Week 16) | N/A | Moved to Dec 25 |
| Saturday, Dec 20 | Cleveland Browns at Cincinnati Bengals | 1:00 PM | CBS |
| Saturday, Dec 20 | Detroit Lions at Chicago Bears | 4:25 PM | FOX |
| Saturday, Dec 20 | San Francisco 49ers at Miami Dolphins | 8:15 PM | NFL Network |
| Sunday, Dec 21 | Dallas Cowboys at Philadelphia Eagles | 4:25 PM | FOX |
| Sunday, Dec 21 | Green Bay Packers at New Orleans Saints | 8:20 PM | NBC/Peacock |
| Wednesday, Dec 25 | Kansas City Chiefs at Pittsburgh Steelers | 1:00 PM | Netflix |
| Wednesday, Dec 25 | Baltimore Ravens at Houston Texans | 4:30 PM | Netflix |
The Netflix Partnership: How to Watch the 2025 Holiday Slate
The 2025 season marked a radical shift in how fans consumed holiday football. Netflix secured the exclusive global rights to the NFL’s Christmas Day games for 2025 and 2026. This meant that for the first time, a major holiday NFL window was behind a streaming-first paywall, similar to the shift seen with Amazon Prime’s Thursday Night Football.
Streaming Requirements
To watch the 2025 holiday games, viewers needed an active Netflix subscription. Unlike traditional cable broadcasts, the games were not available on national networks like CBS, NBC, or FOX, with one major exception: local markets. Per NFL policy, the games were televised on over-the-air stations in the local markets of the competing teams (Kansas City, Pittsburgh, Baltimore, and Houston).
Technical Specifications for Viewing
For the best experience, the NFL and Netflix recommended the following setup in 2025:
- Internet Speed: A minimum of 25 Mbps was required for 4K Ultra HD streaming.
- Supported Devices: Smart TVs, gaming consoles (PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X), and streaming sticks (Roku, Amazon Fire Stick).
- NFL+ Integration: While the live games were exclusive to Netflix for out-of-market fans, NFL+ subscribers could access the radio broadcasts and full game replays shortly after the final whistle.
Navigating the "Short Week" Logistics
The absence of Christmas Eve games in 2025 was a direct result of the "Short Week" protocols mandated by the NFL and the NFL Players Association (NFLPA). When the league schedules a game for a Wednesday, it effectively treats that game like a Thursday Night Football game in terms of preparation.
- The Saturday-to-Wednesday Turnaround: The four teams playing on Christmas Day played their previous games on Saturday. This provided them with a four-day recovery window (Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday), which is the same duration teams receive between a Sunday game and a Thursday night game.
- No "Three-Day" Turnarounds: The NFL does not permit teams to play with only three days of rest. Therefore, if the NFL had scheduled games for Christmas Eve (Wednesday), the teams would have had to play their previous games on the preceding Friday. Since the NFL does not typically play Friday games in mid-December (to avoid conflict with high school and college schedules), Christmas Eve was skipped to maintain the integrity of the rest cycle.
- Practice Adjustments: Teams involved in the holiday games held "walk-throughs" rather than full-contact practices on Monday and Tuesday (Christmas Eve) to preserve player health for the mid-week contest.
Why 2025 Was Different From 2024 and 2026
To understand why there were no games on Christmas Eve 2025, it helps to compare it to the surrounding years. In 2024, Christmas fell on a Wednesday as well, and the NFL similarly focused on the Christmas Day games while keeping the Eve quiet.
In 2026, Christmas falls on a Friday. This change in the calendar allows the NFL much more flexibility. The 2026 schedule is expected to feature a Thursday Night Football game on Christmas Eve, followed by a tripleheader on Christmas Day (Friday), and the standard Saturday/Sunday slate. The mid-week placement of Christmas in 2025 was the specific reason the league consolidated its holiday "event" into a single-day doubleheader on Netflix rather than spreading it across the 24th and 25th.
Impact on the 2025 Playoff Race
The games surrounding the Christmas holiday in 2025 were pivotal for the AFC and NFC playoff pictures. The Saturday games (Dec 20) and the Wednesday Christmas games featured several teams that eventually contended for the top seeds.
The Kansas City Chiefs and Baltimore Ravens were both vying for the AFC's #1 seed and the lone first-round bye. Playing on Christmas Day on a short week required elite depth and coaching. Similarly, the Houston Texans were fighting to maintain their lead in the AFC South. Because these games happened so late in the season (Week 17 for some, Week 16 for others depending on the calendar alignment), the Christmas Day outcomes essentially decided home-field advantage for the 2025-2026 playoffs.
Common Viewing Issues and Troubleshooting
During the 2025 holiday games, some fans experienced the typical hurdles associated with high-traffic streaming events. If you are looking back at these games or preparing for future Netflix NFL broadcasts, keep these tips in mind:
- Buffering and Latency: Because live sports streaming is several seconds behind a traditional broadcast, many fans found it helpful to turn off social media notifications to avoid spoilers.
- App Updates: Netflix required the latest version of their application to support the live sports interface. Users on older smart TVs often had to switch to a dedicated streaming device (like an Apple TV) to maintain a stable 60fps (frames per second) feed, which is crucial for football.
- Local Blackouts: There were no "blackouts" in the traditional sense for Netflix, but as mentioned, local fans had the option to watch on their local affiliate, which often provided a more stable signal than the internet-based stream in areas with poor broadband infrastructure.
Frequently Asked Questions
Were there any NFL games on December 24, 2025?
No, the NFL did not schedule any games for Christmas Eve, Wednesday, December 24, 2025. The league focused its holiday programming on a Wednesday doubleheader on Christmas Day, December 25, to accommodate player rest requirements and the Netflix broadcasting deal.
Why did the NFL play on a Wednesday in 2025?
Despite Wednesday being a non-traditional day for football, the NFL capitalized on the high viewership potential of Christmas Day. Commissioner Roger Goodell noted that the 2023 Christmas Day games saw massive ratings, leading the league to partner with Netflix for a multi-year deal that included Wednesday games when the holiday fell mid-week.
How could fans watch the 2025 Christmas games without Netflix?
Outside of the participating teams' local television markets, Netflix was the exclusive home for these games. If you lived in the local market of the Chiefs, Steelers, Ravens, or Texans, the game was available on a local broadcast station (usually the local NBC, CBS, or FOX affiliate). For everyone else, a Netflix subscription was required.
Who played in the 2025 Christmas Day games?
The 2025 Christmas Day games on Netflix featured the Kansas City Chiefs at the Pittsburgh Steelers, followed by the Baltimore Ravens at the Houston Texans. These four teams were specifically chosen because of their high-profile rosters and their impact on the AFC playoff race.
Is the Hawaii Bowl played on Christmas Eve?
While the NFL did not play on Christmas Eve 2025, college football often occupies that slot. The Hawaii Bowl has traditionally been held on December 24, providing a football option for fans on Christmas Eve when the NFL is not active.
Will there be NFL games on Christmas Eve 2026?
Yes, because Christmas 2026 falls on a Friday, the NFL is expected to return to a more standard schedule, which likely includes a Thursday Night Football game on Christmas Eve, December 24, 2026.
Final Recommendation for Fans
For fans looking to revisit the 2025 holiday season, the best way to catch the action is through NFL+, where full game replays and "All-22" coaches' film are archived. If you are preparing for future holiday games, ensure your streaming setup is optimized with a wired Ethernet connection to avoid the buffering issues that occasionally impacted the Netflix live stream during the 2025 debut.
