In a pure box score sense, the Kansas City Chiefs and Baltimore Ravens are winners on Christmas Day, while the Pittsburgh Steelers and Houston Texans are losers.
Winner: Kansas City’s offense Just like last year, the Chiefs appear to be kicking into gear at just the right time.
Loser: Steelers pass rush Mahomes was sacked exactly zero times in this game, and barely seemed to feel the pressure the Steelers did get in his face.
He gets the Steelers this coming Saturday, then the Texans in a Wednesday afternoon Christmas game.
Loser: Texans offense We knew this could be a struggle after Houston lost Tank Dell to a brutal injury last week.
The Pittsburgh Steelers and Houston Texans are losers on Christmas Day, while the Kansas City Chiefs and Baltimore Ravens are winners based solely on box scores. But we also want to look at some of the league’s bigger-picture winners and losers following their first Wednesday afternoon schedule of games.
The Kansas City offense won.
The Chiefs seem to be getting into gear at the ideal moment, just like they did last season. As we approach the final stretch of the season, their rookie wide receiver, Xavier Worthy, is growing into a key member of the offense, just like he did the year before. Travis Kelce is not displaying any signs of slowing down anytime soon, just like he did last year. Similar to last year, the rest of the league ought to be extremely concerned about this and its implications for a possible postseason run. They have now secured the No. 1 spot with their third victory in 11 days. home-field advantage and the first seed in the AFC playoffs. They have plenty of time to get Chris Jones, Patrick Mahomes, Kelce, and others healthy enough for a run at a third straight Super Bowl, as they have 24 days until they play another important game. Those who are hoping to win the Lombardi Trophy in February will be very disappointed by this.
The loser is Russell Wilson.
George Pickens, the team’s main (and frequently only) deep threat, was not present in Pittsburgh’s last few games, which may have contributed to Wilson’s performance decline. However, Pickens returned to the field on Wednesday and continued his recent run of subpar performances with one of his worst games of the year. In addition to taking five sacks, he only went 23 of 37 for 205 yards (5 points per attempt) and an interception. Additionally, a large portion of that production occurred during garbage time. Even though he ran for 55 yards and scored a touchdown, Pittsburgh’s offense’s shortcomings were still evident when he wasn’t hitting Pickens with moonball completions. Pittsburgh is tied with the dreary Giants for the 26th-lowest offensive success rate in the league.
Travis Kelce won.
Since Kelce broke a tie with Hall of Famer Tony Gonzalez to become the Chiefs’ all-time leader in touchdown catches, we would be remiss if we did not specifically mention the Chiefs’ offense, which we have already discussed.
It was Patrick Mahomes’ 54th touchdown reception and Kelce’s 77th during the regular season.
Steelers pass rush is the loser.
Despite being sacked exactly zero times during this game, Mahomes hardly appeared to notice the pressure the Steelers applied to his face. T did not bother him at all. The J. Watt & Co. who must be winning games if the Steelers hope to qualify for the postseason.
Winner: The MVP campaign of Lamar Jackson.
We wrote a few weeks ago about Lamar’s chances of winning the Most Valuable Player trophy for the second time in a row after falling behind in the odds.
The player in the strongest position to take the award away from Allen is Jackson. His numbers are already higher than Allen’s, which is advantageous. Tru Media reports that he leads the NFL in EPA per play, has more rushing yards, fewer interceptions, and more passing yards and touchdowns. However, Buffalo’s record, Allen’s alien-like talent, and his recent national TV heroics are helping him win the perception game.
In this case, Jackson benefits from the schedule. Over the next two weeks, he will face two very formidable opponents, both of whom will play island games on days when the NFL doesn’t typically play. He has the Texans in a Wednesday afternoon Christmas game after the Steelers this Saturday. Additionally, both of those teams—Pittsburgh in particular—have strong defenses. Jackson could still win if he gives it his all and leads the Ravens to two victories before losing to the Browns in outstanding fashion.
The goal was achieved. Jackson went 25 of 38 for 375 yards, five touchdowns, and an interception in those two games. He also added 109 yards and a touchdown on 13 carries. In Buffalo’s victory over the Patriots in Week 16, Allen’s performance was more subdued. Jackson has likely closed the gap, but he still has two more opportunities to shine.
Texans offense is the loser.
Houston lost Tank Dell to a severe injury last week, so we knew this would be difficult. Because of the recent performance of Baltimore’s defense, we were particularly aware that it might be difficult. But for the Texans, this was ugly, man. D. J. . Stroud only went 17 of 31 for 185 yards and an interception, taking five sacks, meaning he had little chance for the majority of the game. All night long, Joe Mixon was running through mud. A few weeks prior to Houston’s next matchup with another formidable defense (Pittsburgh, Denver, or L.), this was not motivating. A. most likely) in the playoffs’ opening round.
The Bengals, Dolphins, and Colts lost.
