The NFL scheduled an unusual Wednesday game this season to ensure a Christmas Day game, but Patrick Mahomes isn’t happy about it.
The Kansas City Chiefs are one of four teams who will have to spend Christmas at work against the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Baltimore Ravens will play the Houston Texans later that night. It also means Mahomes and his teammates will play three games in 11 days. They will face the Cleveland Browns on December 15th and the Houston Texans on December 21st.
Last year, the Chiefs played the Las Vegas Raiders in a Christmas Day game, but that game was on a Monday.
The Chiefs will have less time than usual to prepare for both the Texans and Steelers games. The Houston game will be played on Saturday and the Steelers game will be played on Monday.
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Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes (15) receives pressure from Buffalo Bills linebacker Von Miller (left) during the first half (November 17, 2024, Orchard Park, New York) (AP Photo/Jeffrey T. Burns)
Mahomes already had to give up vacation time for football games, but the idea of playing every game in that short amount of time bothered him.
“It doesn’t feel good,” Mahomes told reporters Wednesday. “You would never want to play this amount of games in such a short amount of time. It’s not good for your body. But at the end of the day, it’s your job, it’s your profession. You come to work. You have to do it.”
Mahomes was asked if he had ever played three games in such a short span of time.
“I’ve never played soccer,” he answered.
“All you can do is focus on the game, practice that day,” Mahomes added. “I try to prepare my body for this stretch all year long. It’s just adjusting my workouts and adjusting the way I practice and prepare.”
“And the coaches do a great job of taking care of us on the practice field. We practice as hard as anyone, but they know how to get it back when they need it.” ”
Taylor Swift, Brittany Mahomes and Ashley Avignone react during the first half of an NFL football game between the New England Patriots and Kansas City Chiefs on December 17, 2023 in Foxborough, Massachusetts. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)
In addition to his busy schedule, Mahomes and his family will not be able to spend Christmas at home for the second year in a row. Mahomes and his wife Brittany are both Christians.
“My Christian faith plays an important role in everything I do,” he told reporters before the Super Bowl in February 2023. “I always ask God to lead me in the right direction and to let me be who I am for His name, so it has a role in everything I do. It’s obvious. We’re going to be on the big stage that God has given us, the Super Bowl, so I want to give Him glory while doing it.
“I feel like my beliefs have grown over the last few years and I think it has given me a better understanding of who I am and why I play the game. It takes a little bit of the pressure off playing the game of football. Because I know that.” I’m here on this football field first and foremost to glorify God, and it’s not about winning or losing, it’s about getting out there and glorifying God. It’s about doing your best in the name. ”
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Brittany Mahomes, the wife of Kansas City Chiefs star quarterback Patrick Mahomes, announced her decision to attend the Super Bowl after the shooting at the team’s celebration on February 14, 2024 in Kansas City, Missouri. He says victory is never the same. (Tammy Yungblud/Kansas City Star/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
Brittany is pregnant with her third child.
The NFL has played games on Wednesdays in the past. The most recent Wednesday game was in 2020, when the Steelers and Ravens had a game postponed due to the coronavirus outbreak.
In 2012, the NFL season opener between the Giants and the Cowboys was held on a Wednesday so television networks could broadcast Barack Obama’s speech at the Democratic National Convention.
However, until these games, the NFL had not played a Wednesday game since September 22, 1948, when the Lions faced the Rams.
“This is a unique situation. We just have to deal with it,” Chiefs coach Andy Reid said. The teams will play every day this season except Tuesday. “That’s what it is. Make the most of it.”
Games related to the Christmas period are also not disposable. Each has significant implications for the playoffs.
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Kansas City Chiefs running back Kareem Hunt, 29, gets hit by quarterback Patrick Mahomes, 15, after scoring a touchdown during the second quarter of the game against the San Francisco 49ers at Levi’s Stadium. be blessed. (Kyle Terada/Imagn Images)
The Chiefs have already clinched the AFC West title, but will look to fend off Buffalo and Pittsburgh for the No. 1 seed and a first-round playoff bye. The Steelers have a two-game lead over the Ravens in the AFC North heading into this weekend and could clinch a playoff spot if things go well. The Texans are two games behind the Colts in the AFC South.
“The important thing is to get the players ready for the game. Give them an opportunity to prepare for the game,” Reid said. “They’re going to do whatever you present. You try to help them with that. For now, we’re having a normal week here. We’re going about our business here. It has to be processed.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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