The NFL “granted the Chiefs’ wish of playing on Christmas” with K.C. slated to host the Broncos “in the nightcap of the Christmas tripleheader,” according to Jeff Kerr of CBSSPORTS.com. Prime Video will broadcast the matchup, with the other two Christmas games carried by Netflix. Since Christmas is on a Thursday, that “coincides with the ‘Thursday Night Football’ package.” The Chiefs had previously “suggested to the NFL to make them a ‘fixture’” for Christmas games. This is the Chiefs’ third consecutive year they have played on the holiday (CBSSPORTS.com, 5/12). In K.C., Blair Kerkhoff wrote as the Super Bowl finalist, “the Chiefs get ... no special treatment.” But as one of the league’s “most successful and attractive teams,” the Chiefs can “expect plenty of attention from the schedule makers.” It has been “strongly speculated” that the Chiefs will play in the second game, Friday, Sept. 5, as the visiting team to the Chargers in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Networks and streaming services “love the Chiefs.” Last year, the Chiefs played in five of the 13 most-watched regular season games (K.C. STAR, 5/12).
WANTED MOVE BY BOTH: YAHOO SPORTS’ Frank Schwab wrote it is a “smart move” for the Chiefs to aim to become the NFL’s Christmas team because there will come a day when the league will not “want to feature the Chiefs in a prime television spot, but they’ll likely be grandfathered in.” Chiefs owner Clark Hunt knows his NFL history. He understands how the Lions and Cowboys became “irreplaceable parts of the NFL’s Thanksgiving broadcasts.” Schwab: “It might take a couple decades, but at some point the Chiefs will find themselves at the bottom again. And if their plan works out, they’ll always have at least one prominent television spot on the NFL’s schedule no matter their record.” The NFL “probably wants the Chiefs on Christmas every year during their dynasty.” The NFL’s desire to take over Christmas “isn’t going away,” and the appeal of having the holiday include a Chiefs team that has “been in five of the past six Super Bowls has to be strong” (YAHOO SPORTS, 5/12).
