NFL Week 17 Christmas Recap: Are You Ready for Some Tudum?!

I've said this before, and I'll say it again: sports telecasts have come a long way. I've seen my share of games on stream sites like ESPN+ and Peacock, but I never thought we would ever see any live sports on Netflix, let alone the NFL. Yet this Christmas, we were treated to a double dose of NFL action, and both games were vital to the AFC playoff picture.

So without further ado, and (unfortunately) without the popular Netflix sound, here are the games.

Chiefs @ Steelers

I was really looking forward to this, because I figured that if any team would really, and I mean really fuck with the Chiefs, it would be the Steelers. Sadly, that didn't happen. KC was up 13-0 after the first quarter; the first NFL quarter in Netflix's history. The Steelers could not do a thing with the the Chiefs. It was a lost cause from the get-go. The only joy I got from this game was Harrison Butker missing kicks.

The Chiefs are doing that thing again. They act faulty for months, and then comes late December, and they finally go into world-beating mode. We all buried this Chiefs team for barely surviving against low-tier teams, and rightfully so. They just beat down and dominated a high level playoff team on the road. Yeah. So the Chiefs got the #1 seed; all they needed was a win, and they got it. It's technically a double bye, as Week 18 will see Mahomes, Kelce, and anybody relevant hitting the pine.

Ravens @ Texans

You know why I was so upset over the Steelers' loss? Because I knew the Ravens would beat the Texans. I didn't expect this, though. Seriously, the Texans should be on "Missing" posters. 31-2. That was the final score in Baltimore's favor. All the Texans could muster was a safety, and that came when Derrick Henry--of all people--was tackled with the ball, in his own end zone. Offense was totally shut out, and Lamar did Lamar things.

The MVP race is over, though again, the MVP race ended when Lamar blew out Josh Allen months ago. Lamar tap-danced all over the Texans so hard that he was mercifully pulled in the fourth because Houston was already dead. The Texans are awful. I honestly thought that whatever demons plagued them this season would be exorcised; after all, they did win the division again. Turns out they only won the South because Jacksonville collapsed, the Titans are the Titans, and the Colts are a shitshow. This Texans team screams "first round exit," especially since they may end up facing these same Texans again on Wild Card Weekend.

Update

So as a result of the Christmas Day games, here's how things stand. The Chiefs are officially #1 in the AFC with the win. With the loss, the Texans are now locked in at #4. As for the AFC North, the Ravens now take the lead over the Steelers. Pittsburgh entered their game in Baltimore this past Saturday needing only a win to take the North. Now, after back-to-back losses, the Steelers do not control their own destiny for that division. The Ravens are now one win away from winning the North, and next week, they'll be at home against the Browns. The Steelers will be in Cincy against the Bengals, and they'll need to beat Cincy and hope Cleveland learns how to play football.

Regarding seeding elsewhere, the #2 seed is between the Bills and Ravens. Baltimore needs Buffalo to lose out along with their own win in the final week to get the #2 seed; they'll finish with the same record, but Baltimore has head-to-head over Buffalo. Bills host the Jets on Sunday and head to Foxboro on the final week. A Bills win will lock in the AFC North winner at #3. The Ravens can finish as low as #5. The Steelers can finish as low as #7, but that will only happen if they lose and the Chargers and Broncos win out.

The Coverage

Regarding the Netflix broadcast, it was very awesome. I did love seeing a mix of talent from other places on there. Mina Kimes was part of the in-studio group, and we saw sideline reporters from all over as well. The main centerpiece was on play-by-play, and taking the lead in each game was Ian Eagle for Chiefs/Steelers, and his son, Noah Eagle for Ravens/Texans. Ian we know a lot; he's worked on CBS for a long time doing NFL games and college hoops, and he's done NBA games on TNT. Regarding Noah, he's been doing an amazing job following in his father's footsteps, especially during the Olympics this year.

The broadcasting Eagles are not the first multi-generational announcing family. We all know about Jack Buck and son Joe Buck, the latter being a longtime staple on Fox before doing Monday Night Football on ESPN. Marv Albert and son Kenny Albert; a very legendary pair. And don't get me started on the Carays; that's announcing royalty!

I enjoyed the Netflix broadcast a lot, it was something nice and different! I loved the graphics, especially the scorebug, which fit the Netflix look. This won't be the last time we see NFL games on Netflix. This will be a regular thing. I can see Netflix airing a few more games per season. Maybe they get a few of the international games in later seasons? Time will tell, but one thing is for sure: the NFL on Netflix is here to stay.