The NFL released its schedule for the upcoming 2022 season, including a triple-header on Christmas, which falls on a Sunday in Week 16 this year. If you’re an NFL fan who doesn’t celebrate Christmas, you’ll still get your Sunday football fix with an exciting triple-header featuring the Green Bay Packers at Miami Dolphins, Denver Broncos at Los Angeles Rams, and Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Arizona Cardinals
Due to the Christmas holiday, the NFL will play the bulk of its Week 16 games — 11 in total — on Christmas Eve (aka, Saturday, Dec. 24). Only three Week 16 games will appear on Sunday or Christmas. Week 16 will also have its usual Thursday Night Football and Monday Night Football games.
| NFL Week 16 Schedule – 2022 Christmas Games |
- Green Bay Packers at Miami Dolphins – 1 pm ET on FOX
- Denver Broncos at Los Angeles Rams – 4:30 pm ET on CBS/Nickelodeon
- Tampa Bay Bucs at Arizona Cardinals – 8:20 pm ET on NBC
The NFL will go heads-up against the NBA, which typically schedules multiple games on Christmas. In 2021, the NBA scheduled a quintuple-header throughout the day. Sports fans will have the option to watch either the NBA, the NFL, or both on Christmas.
Early Christmas game: Packers at Dolphins
The NFL will kick off its yuletide programming with the Green Bay Packers playing the Miami Dolphins. Too bad the game isn’t being played on the frozen tundra of Lambeau Field where there would be a potential for a snow game on Christmas.
Instead, Aaron Rodgers and the Packers will head to South Beach for a big game against the upstart Dolphins. Rodgers returns to the Packers this season as the highest-paid player in NFL history after securing a $200 million contract. Rodgers won the MVP in back-to-back seasons, but failed to guide the Packers to the Super Bowl in either season. The Packers are the third-highest team on the NFL futures board at +1000 odds to win Super Bowl 57.
The Dolphins have a rookie head coach with offensive wunderkind Mike McDaniel after they hired the former San Francisco 49ers assistant to replace Brian Flores. We’ll see if Tua Tagovailoa can remain healthy enough all season for a potential shootout with Rodgers. The Dolphins added the Cheetah to the mix after the Kansas City Chiefs traded speedy WR Tyreek Hill.
Afternoon Christmas game: Broncos at Rams
The Denver Broncos head to Hollywood to square off against the reigning Super Bowl champion LA Rams during the middle game of the Christmas tripleheader.
The Broncos acquired quarterback Russell Wilson in an offseason trade, even though they were rumored to snag the unhappy Rodgers. Rodgers leveraged the Broncos’ interest to extort $200 million from the Packers, and the Broncos quickly pivoted to snatch up another unhappy quarterback. Fans will be treated to a Wilson vs Matthew Stafford battle, which should be fun to watch on Christmas afternoon.
The Broncos/Rams game will be aired on CBS and will have an additional feed on Nickelodeon, which is specifically catered to attract a younger audience.
Primetime Christmas game: Bucs at Cardinals
The NFL will conclude its Christmas triple-header with Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Bucs battling the Arizona Cardinals. Bruce Arians retired as the Bucs’ head coach, so there will be no side drama involving Arians returning to his old team in Arizona. Todd Bowles, who won a Super Bowl as the Bucs’ defensive coordinator, succeeded Arians as their new head coach.
The Cardinals are hoping to work out a potential contract conflict with quarterback Kyler Murray, who scrubbed his entire social media feed and removed any mentions of the Cards to let them know he means business at the negotiating table. If the Cards work out a proper extension, Murray will have a chance to take on old-man Brady in primetime. The NFL banned DeAndre Hopkins for six games for PED use, but he’ll be back in the lineup way before the Christmas triple-header.