The NFL has scheduled a rare series of games on Wednesdays this season to ensure games are played on Christmas Day Patrick Mahomes is not happy about it.
The Kansas City Chiefs are one of four teams that will have to spend their Christmas at work with a game against the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Baltimore Ravens play the Houston Texans later that evening. That also means Mahomes and his teammates will play three games in eleven days. They play the Cleveland Browns on December 15 and the Houston Texans on December 21.
Last year the Chiefs faced the Las Vegas Raiders in a game on Christmas Day, but that game was on a Monday.
The Chiefs will have less time than usual to prepare for both the Texans and Steelers games. The game against Houston will be played on Saturday and the game against Steelers on Monday.
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Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes (15) is pressured by Buffalo Bills linebacker Von Miller, left, during the first half, November 17, 2024, in Orchard Park, NY (AP Photo/Jeffrey T. Barnes)
Mahomes, who had already had to give up his vacation for a football game, agonized over the idea of playing all those games in such a short time.
“It’s not a good feeling,” Mahomes told reporters on Wednesday. “You never want to play so many games in such a short time. It’s not good for your body. But at the end of the day it’s your job, your profession. You have to come to work and do it.”
Mahomes was asked if he has ever played three games in such a short period of time.
“I didn’t play football,” he replied.
“All you can do is focus on the game. The practice you have that day,” Mahomes added. “I try to prepare my body for this process all year round. This means that I tailor my training, how you practice and prepare.
“And the coaches take great care of us on the practice field. We practice as hard as anyone, but they know how to dial it back when necessary.”
(L-R) Taylor Swift, Brittany Mahomes and Ashley Avignone react during the first half of an NFL football game between the New England Patriots and the Kansas City Chiefs on December 17, 2023 in Foxborough, Massachusetts. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)
In addition to a heavy workload, Mahomes and his family will not be able to spend Christmas at home this year for the second year in a row. Mahomes and wife Brittany do both Christians.
“My Christian faith plays a role in everything I do,” he told reporters before the Super Bowl in February 2023. “I always ask God to lead me in the right direction and let me be who I am for His name. it plays a role in everything I do. Obviously, we’re going to be on that huge stage at the Super Bowl that He gave me, and I want to make sure I glorify Him while I do that.
“I feel like I’ve grown in my faith over the last few years, and I think it’s given me a greater sense of who I am and why I play the game. It just takes the pressure off of playing a football game because I know I’m on that football field to glorify Him first and foremost, so it’s not about winning or losing.
Brittany Mahomes, wife of Kansas City Chiefs star quarterback Patrick Mahomes, says Super Bowl victories will never be the same after the shootings during the team’s celebratory rally on Feb. 14, 2024, in Kansas City, Missouri. (Tammy Ljungblad/The Kansas City Star/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
Brittany is pregnant with their third child.
The NFL has historically played on Wednesdays. The most recent Wednesday game was played in 2020, when the Steelers and Ravens game was postponed due to a COVID-19 outbreak.
In 2012, the NFL opener between the Giants and Cowboys was played on a Wednesday so the TV networks could air Barack Obama’s speech at the Democratic National Convention.
But before those games, the NFL hadn’t had a Wednesday game since the Lions and Rams played on September 22, 1948.
“It’s a unique situation. You just have to get it done,” said Chiefs coach Andy Reid, whose team will have played every day of the week except Tuesday. “It is what it is. You make the best of it.”
It’s not like the games involved in the Christmas season are disposable either. Each has significant implications for the playoffs.
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Kansas City Chiefs running back Kareem Hunt (29) is congratulated by quarterback Patrick Mahomes (15) after scoring a touchdown against the San Francisco 49ers during the second quarter at Levi’s Stadium. (Kyle Terada/Imagn Images)
The Chiefs have already clinched the AFC West, but they’re looking to fend off Buffalo and Pittsburgh for the No. 1 seed and a first-round playoff. The Steelers are two games ahead of the Ravens in the AFC North heading into this weekend and could clinch a playoff berth if things don’t go their way. The Texans are two games ahead of the Colts in the AFC South.
“The most important thing is to get the guys ready for the game. Give them a chance to prepare for the game,” Reid said. ‘They’re going to do what you tell them. Try to help them with that. At the moment we are having a normal week here. We have to take care of business here.’
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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