- Alvin Kamara equals a 91-year-old NFL record with six rushing touchdowns in the New Orleans Saints' Christmas Day win over the Minnesota Vikings.
- NFL Week 16 scores, standings, playoff picture: Bills sweep Patriots in 2020, Steelers win AFC North. 2020 NFL Week 16 Scores. Friday, December 25 (Christmas Day 2020) Minnesota Vikings 33, New.
- The NFL has seen six Christmas Day games since 2010 alone, and this will be the 20th Christmas game since the NFL started playing regular season games on the holiday more than 30 years ago.
- Has There Ever Been An Nfl Game On Christmas Day
- Nfl Christmas Day Scores 2020
- Is There A Nfl Game On Christmas Day 2019
- Nfl Christmas Day On Tv
- Is Nfl On Christmas Day
As the NFL schedule didn’t even run into December for the longest time, it took the league more than 50 years to hold a game on Christmas Day. The first time it happened was in 1971 and there were actually two games on December 25 that year, both divisional round playoff games. The first game saw the eventual Super Bowl champion Dallas Cowboys defeat the Minnesota Vikings on the NFC side of the bracket, which was followed by an AFC playoff matchup between the Miami Dolphins and Kansas City Chiefs.
Sports fans get the rare doubleheader of NFL and college football games on TV on Christmas Day. Most years, the NFL has avoided the holiday giving the whole day to the NBA, but this year the. NFL history playing on Christmas. According to the Pro Football Hall of Fame, there have been 21 games played on Christmas Day prior to 2020.The most recent two came in 2017, when the Steelers.
And what a matchup it was.
In what at the time was just the second double-overtime game in NFL playoff history, the Dolphins and Chiefs went back and forth all game long that muddy Christmas Day in Kansas City with Miami finally coming out on top in what is still the longest game in NFL history.
There have been six double-overtime games in NFL playoff history
Before we get to the details of that 1971 Christmas Day matchup between the Miami Dolphins and Kansas City Chiefs, let’s take a quick look at the other five NFL playoff games that went into double overtime. Obviously, this isn’t a common occurrence in the league as regular-season games can actually end in a tie. So it’s always a treat to get double-extra football, at least for fans anyway.
- December 23, 1962: Dallas Texans-20, Houston Oilers-17 — the game ended 2:54 into the second overtime
- December 24, 1977: Oakland Raiders-37, Baltimore Colts-31 — the game ended 43 seconds into the second overtime
- January 3, 1987: Cleveland Browns-23, New York Jets-20 — the game ended 2:02 into the second overtime
- January 10, 2004: Carolina Panthers-29, St. Louis Rams-23 — the game ended 10 seconds into the second overtime
- January 12, 2013: Baltimore Ravens-38, Denver Broncos-35 — the game ended 1:42 into the second overtime
The Miami Dolphins and Kansas City Chiefs played the longest game in NFL history on Christmas Day in 1971
At the end of the 1971 NFL regular season, both the Miami Dolphins and Kansas City Chiefs had 10-3-1 records, which were good enough to give both teams a division title.
The two teams matched up in the second-ever Christmas Day NFL game on December 25, 1971, at Kansas City Municipal Stadium (the Chiefs moved to Arrowhead the following season) and it was an unseasonably warm day with temperatures in the 60s. It was also a very muddy day, which certainly made for some entertaining football.
The Chiefs jumped out to a 10-0 lead in the first quarter behind a Jan Stenerud 24-yard field goal and a seven-yard touchdown pass from Len Dawson to Ed Podolak. But the Dolphins scored 10 points of their own in the second quarter, a one-yard TD run from Larry Csonka and a 14-yard field goal from Garo Yepremian, to tie the game heading into halftime.
Kansas City struck first in the third quarter on a one-yard touchdown run from Jim Otis but the Dolphins came right back to tie on a one-yard TD run of their own from Jim Kiick. The Chiefs took another seven-point lead in the fourth quarter on a three-yard TD run from Podolak but the Dolphins again came right back and tied it up on a five-yard touchdown pass from Bob Griese to Marv Fleming.
With 35 seconds to play, the Chiefs had a chance to take a three-point lead but Stenerud missed a 31-yard field goal, his second miss of the day, sending the game into overtime. After both teams missed kicks in the first overtime period, Yepremian finally ended things 7:40 into the second overtime, hitting a 37-yard field goal to give Miami a 27-24 win and a trip to the AFC Championship Game.
At 82:40, that Christmas Day classic remains the longest game in NFL history.
The Dolphins and Chiefs have each played two Christmas Day games since then
RELATED: Does the NFL Always Play Games on Christmas?
Since that classic battle on Christmas Day in 1971, both the Miami Dolphins and Kansas City Chiefs have played two more games on December 25. The Dolphins defeated the Detroit Lions, 27-20, in 1994 and lost to the New York Jets, 13-10, in 2006.
The Chiefs played their next Christmas Day game in 2004, edging out the Oakland Raiders, 31-30, and then defeated the Denver Broncos, 33-10, in 2016.
Stats and scores courtesy of Pro Football Reference
As the NFL schedule didn’t even run into December for the longest time, it took the league more than 50 years to hold a game on Christmas Day. The first time it happened was in 1971 and there were actually two games on December 25 that year, both divisional round playoff games. The first game saw the eventual Super Bowl champion Dallas Cowboys defeat the Minnesota Vikings on the NFC side of the bracket, which was followed by an AFC playoff matchup between the Miami Dolphins and Kansas City Chiefs.
And what a matchup it was.
In what at the time was just the second double-overtime game in NFL playoff history, the Dolphins and Chiefs went back and forth all game long that muddy Christmas Day in Kansas City with Miami finally coming out on top in what is still the longest game in NFL history.
There have been six double-overtime games in NFL playoff history
Before we get to the details of that 1971 Christmas Day matchup between the Miami Dolphins and Kansas City Chiefs, let’s take a quick look at the other five NFL playoff games that went into double overtime. Obviously, this isn’t a common occurrence in the league as regular-season games can actually end in a tie. So it’s always a treat to get double-extra football, at least for fans anyway.
Has There Ever Been An Nfl Game On Christmas Day
- December 23, 1962: Dallas Texans-20, Houston Oilers-17 — the game ended 2:54 into the second overtime
- December 24, 1977: Oakland Raiders-37, Baltimore Colts-31 — the game ended 43 seconds into the second overtime
- January 3, 1987: Cleveland Browns-23, New York Jets-20 — the game ended 2:02 into the second overtime
- January 10, 2004: Carolina Panthers-29, St. Louis Rams-23 — the game ended 10 seconds into the second overtime
- January 12, 2013: Baltimore Ravens-38, Denver Broncos-35 — the game ended 1:42 into the second overtime
The Miami Dolphins and Kansas City Chiefs played the longest game in NFL history on Christmas Day in 1971
At the end of the 1971 NFL regular season, both the Miami Dolphins and Kansas City Chiefs had 10-3-1 records, which were good enough to give both teams a division title.
The two teams matched up in the second-ever Christmas Day NFL game on December 25, 1971, at Kansas City Municipal Stadium (the Chiefs moved to Arrowhead the following season) and it was an unseasonably warm day with temperatures in the 60s. It was also a very muddy day, which certainly made for some entertaining football.
The Chiefs jumped out to a 10-0 lead in the first quarter behind a Jan Stenerud 24-yard field goal and a seven-yard touchdown pass from Len Dawson to Ed Podolak. But the Dolphins scored 10 points of their own in the second quarter, a one-yard TD run from Larry Csonka and a 14-yard field goal from Garo Yepremian, to tie the game heading into halftime.
Kansas City struck first in the third quarter on a one-yard touchdown run from Jim Otis but the Dolphins came right back to tie on a one-yard TD run of their own from Jim Kiick. The Chiefs took another seven-point lead in the fourth quarter on a three-yard TD run from Podolak but the Dolphins again came right back and tied it up on a five-yard touchdown pass from Bob Griese to Marv Fleming.
With 35 seconds to play, the Chiefs had a chance to take a three-point lead but Stenerud missed a 31-yard field goal, his second miss of the day, sending the game into overtime. After both teams missed kicks in the first overtime period, Yepremian finally ended things 7:40 into the second overtime, hitting a 37-yard field goal to give Miami a 27-24 win and a trip to the AFC Championship Game.
Nfl Christmas Day Scores 2020
At 82:40, that Christmas Day classic remains the longest game in NFL history.
Is There A Nfl Game On Christmas Day 2019
The Dolphins and Chiefs have each played two Christmas Day games since then
RELATED: Does the NFL Always Play Games on Christmas?
Nfl Christmas Day On Tv
Since that classic battle on Christmas Day in 1971, both the Miami Dolphins and Kansas City Chiefs have played two more games on December 25. The Dolphins defeated the Detroit Lions, 27-20, in 1994 and lost to the New York Jets, 13-10, in 2006.
The Chiefs played their next Christmas Day game in 2004, edging out the Oakland Raiders, 31-30, and then defeated the Denver Broncos, 33-10, in 2016.
Stats and scores courtesy of Pro Football Reference