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One of the toughest stretches for any NFL team in history is now unfolding for four top franchises. It’s already claiming some of the league’s biggest stars—and perhaps leaving some collateral damage for several of the league’s rights holders.
The two-time defending Super Bowl champion Chiefs, Steelers, Ravens, and Texans are each playing three games in 11 days among their Week 15 games this past Sunday, upcoming Week 16 games on Saturday, and then a Christmas Day doubleheader on Netflix. The heavily compressed run of games—all involving top teams—has been known since the schedule release in May, and the selection of these teams in featured broadcast slots owes heavily to their status as regular Super Bowl contenders.
The league even went so far as to have these four teams grouped together for both the Weeks 16 and 17 games to enable the unusual scheduling of NFL games on a Wednesday for the Netflix doubleheader, as each will play the Christmas matchups on three days of rest.
Now that the games are happening, though, the grumbling and injury fallout has begun. Even before Sunday’s contests, Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes complained, “It’s not a good feeling. You never want to play this amount of games in this short of time. It’s not great for your body.” The fears of Mahomes were then confirmed in Kansas City’s 21–7 win over the Browns, as the two-time league MVP sustained an ankle injury and is now considered “week-to-week” in his availability.
That means he could miss the Chiefs’ upcoming home game against the Texans, and perhaps even the holiday showcase against the Steelers, an absence that would be a big blow for NBC and Netflix, respectively. The Chiefs’ official injury report for Week 16 has not been released yet.
A similar situation is unfolding in Pittsburgh with Steelers linebacker T.J. Watt, who also sustained an ankle injury Sunday in a 27–13 loss to the Eagles. Like Mahomes, X-rays came back negative, but the status for the five-time NFL All-Pro is uncertain. The NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport said Monday that Watt is “probably good for the playoffs, at least.” The Steelers’ upcoming game at Baltimore will be shown on Fox.
All these matchups will have significant seeding implications in the AFC playoffs, as the Chiefs, Steelers, and Texans have already clinched postseason spots, and the Ravens are a near-lock to join them. The situation could prove to be a boon for the Bills, currently the AFC’s No. 2 team and playing a conventional schedule with two Sunday afternoon home games over the next two weeks.
