With the NFL moving towards scheduling Christmas games, the Denver Broncos will take part in the festivities in the holiday nightcap when they take on the Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium.
This game was supposed to have much more riding on it than it does when the schedule was released, but the Chiefs have completely fallen apart this season after being eliminated from the playoffs and seeing the face of the franchise, Patrick Mahomes, go down with a season-ending ACL tear.
But the Broncos shouldn't worry about that. It's still a chance to win a divisional road game and after losing their 11-game winning streak to the Jacksonville Jaguars last Sunday, this is a perfect bounce-back opportunity.
It will be the fifth time in Broncos history that they will play a game on Christmas. The first two of those went well with a 17-7 win over the Detroit Lions in 1999 and a 37-16 win over the Tennessee Titans in 2004. Both of those games were on the road.
The next two games the Broncos played on Christmas, which came with much different results, were also played on the road.
Broncos dominated by Chiefs in 2016
The Broncos were the defending Super Bowl champions in 2016 and were still vying for a playoff spot going into this game. The Chiefs pretty much extinguished those hopes with a 33-10 victory.
The Broncos turned the ball over three times and Travis Kelce caught 11 passes for 160 yards and a touchdown. One of the Chiefs' touchdowns, on a pass by defensive lineman Dontari Poe, was the final blow in a game dominated by Kansas City.
Dontari Poe
— Frank Michael Smith (@frankmikesmith) January 6, 2025
Who said big men can't throw?
Dontari Poe showed off his QB skills with this flawless jump pass TD pic.twitter.com/CL2aGQpGr0
Rams put up a Christmas 50-burger on the Broncos
This game was never close. The Broncos were playing horrible football going into this game and the Rams, with Baker Mayfield at quarterback, smashed the Broncos 51-14. This game is remembered for two things if you're a Broncos fan.
First, there was the sideline spat between offensive lineman Dalton Risner and backup quarterback Brett Rypien. The following day, the Broncos fired head coach Nathaniel Hackett. He became just the fourth coach in NFL history to be fired before his first season as the team's coach even finished.
READ: How many sacks do the Broncos need to break the all-time record?
The Broncos have a 2-2 record on Christmas Day. There has never been a Christmas game played in Denver. That could be something for fans to look forward to in the future.
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