Netflix and Amazon aren’t getting what they wanted under their billion-dollar Christmas trees.
The two streaming giants envisioned three high-level Week 17 NFL games filling their stockings:
- Jayden Daniels and the Commanders battling the Cowboys for playoff positioning: Nope.
- JJ McCarthy and the Vikings taking on the Lions in what would surely be a matchup of NFC playoff contenders: Nope.
- Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs fighting for postseason positioning against the rivals Broncos in primetime: Nope.
Instead, fans will get Josh Johnson, Max Brosmer and Chris Oladokun wrapped up and delivered to them on a tripleheader of holiday action.
The turn of events could be particularly painful for Netflix, which is dishing out $150 million annually for the next three years for the Christmas games.
The first game (1 p.m. ET, Netflix) features Washington and Dallas, two NFL behemoths that have both been eliminated from playoff contention.
While the Cowboys (6-8-1) will still roll out Dak Prescott, CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens, the Commanders (4-11) are dealing with an injury nightmare — particularly at quarterback.
First, they lost the electric Daniels for the season and then Marcus Mariota injured his hand and quad in last week’s loss to the Eagles.
Enter 39-year-old Josh Johnson, who has played for eight NFL franchises and is the ultimate journeyman.
Johnson stepped in with the Commanders leading the Eagles, 14-10, last week and the next three possessions promptly went interception, three-and-out, three-and-out, allowing Philadelphia to take control of the game in a 29-18 win.
The second game of the day (4:30 p.m. ET, Netflix) pits two NFC North rivals against each other who went a combined 29-5 last season.
This year, not so much.
McCarthy has battled injuries and ineffectiveness with Minnesota (7-8) long removed from the playoff hunt. But he is still miles ahead of the Brosmer Experience, which we will get after McCarthy broke his hand against the Giants last week.
Brosmer, the undrafted rookie, was dreadful in his one start this season — a 26-0 loss to the Seahawks, which included, by far, the worst interception of the season.
The Grinch saved the best for last. No Mahomes, not even Gardner Minshew, after both Chiefs QBs suffered serious knee injuries the past two weeks.
Nope, it’s Chris Oladokun time. The former seventh-round pick of the Steelers has been with the Chiefs since 2022, though mostly on the practice squad.
The former South Florida, Samford and South Dakota State quarterback took over for Minshew in the 26-9 loss to the Titans last week that dropped Kansas City to 6-9.
He completed 11-of-16 passes for 111 yards but was sacked four times.
The Broncos are the only team playing on the holiday that is likely headed to the postseason — Denver (12-3) has already secured its spot — and they are 13.5-point favorites in what could be Travis Kelce’s last home game at Arrowhead Stadium.
Cover your eyes, Taylor.
