Commanders Christmas? Could Washington Be Featured In NFL's XMas Tripleheader?
The Washington Commanders have never played on Christmas Day, but that could change in 2022.
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For years Christmas has belonged to the NBA, with its "unofficial" tip-off to the season featuring 12 hours of games. But this year Christmas falls on Sunday, so ... Santa will have lots of competition.
The NFL plans to maximize this opportunity for home-bound viewers by airing a triple-header on Dec. 25 for the first time in league history.
There will be two afternoon games - on CBS and Fox - before NBC hosts a prime-time matchup. That week will also feature the regular Thursday night game on Dec. 22, 11 games on Dec. 24, plus a Monday night matchup Dec. 26.
“Christmas, when it falls on an NFL game day, we’ve had a lot of success there, all due respect to our friends at the NBA. It is something that our friends are interested in,” NFL vice president of broadcasting Mike North told WGR radio host Sal Capaccio this week. “If Christmas falls on a Sunday, it makes perfect sense.”
The NFL has played 27 games on Christmas, but never a triple-header menu. Last year's Packers-Browns game was the third-most watched game of the regular season.
This year’s matchups will be announced the week of May 9.
The Commanders could make their Christmas debut this upcoming season with a lot of high-profile opponents on their schedule.
How does the scheduling format work?
Six games are made up from their NFC East opponents (home and away with the usual NFC East suspects). Four are against teams from another division within the conference (these games are on a rotating three-year cycle), with four being played against teams from the AFC (on a rotating four-year cycle). Two games are played within NFC, based on the standings of the prior year. And finally one game will be played against an AFC team, also based on the prior year.
Good news: the Commanders have nine home games in 2022 because in the first season of the 17-game format it had nine on the road.
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Home: Green Bay Packers, Minnesota Vikings, Jacksonville Jaguars, Tennessee Titans, Cleveland Browns, Atlanta Falcons, Dallas Cowboys, Philadelphia Eagles, and New York Giants.
Road: Detroit Lions, Chicago Bears, Houston Texans, Indianapolis Colts, San Francisco 49ers, Dallas Cowboys, Philadelphia Eagles, and New York Giants.
Since Washington finished third in the NFC East, that means it will play the third-place schedule.
Will one of those teams draw the Commanders on Christmas? We'll find out in the coming weeks.
