NFL Christmas doubleheader open thread: Texans-Steelers; Raiders-Eagles

The Detroit Lions’ season may be over the Week 16 isn’t quite done yet. The NFL boldly scheduled two games on Christmas morning, and although they aren’t exactly the most exciting of matchups, they could be used as an effective distraction to the stresses that the holidays bring.

Monday night kicks off with a matchup between the Steelers and Texans. Pittsburgh is trying to keep pace with the Patriots for a chance at the No. 1 seed in the AFC. A win and both teams are tied at 12-3—although the Patriots hold the tiebreaker thanks to their thrilling head-to-head win last week. If Pittsburgh loses, they’re in danger of falling out of the important two seed, with the 10-5 Jaguars nipping at their heels.

The Texans, on the other hand, are 4-10.

In Game 2 of the doubleheader the Oakland Raiders take on the No. 1 seed in the NFC: the Philadelphia Eagles. Philly (12-2) hopes to hold off the Vikings (12-3) for the one-seed in the NFC. With Carson Wentz out for the year, many are counting the Eagles out in the playoff, but home field advantage throughout the playoffs would do a lot to help them out along the way.

So join us for these two games. Do you really need to see Home Alone or Elf for the 50th time?

Steelers at Texans

Date/Time: December 25, 2017 — 4:30 p.m. ET
Location: NRG Stadium, Houston, Texas
TV: NFL Network and NBC
Streaming: NBC Sports | fuboTV
Odds: Steelers by 8.5

Raiders at Eagles

Date/Time: December 25, 2017 — 8:30 p.m. ET
Location: Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia
TV: ESPN
Streaming: WatchESPN
Odds: Eagles by 10