Welcome to the Christmas edition of the Week 17 grades!
The NFL doesn't usually give us Wednesday football, but that changed this year with the league scheduling two games for Christmas Day. Going into the 2024 season, there had only been two Wednesday games over the past 74 years, but that number has now been bumped up to four thanks to the holiday doubleheader.
Although Santa delivered on Christmas, it's safe to say these games didn't. Both games ended up being blowouts.
In the early game, the Kansas City Chiefs topped the Pittsburgh Steelers, 29-10. With the win, the Chiefs have now clinched the No. 1 overall seed in the AFC, which means Andy Reid will now have the option of resting his starters in Week 18 if that's what he wants to do.
In the second game, the Baltimore Ravens ruined Christmas for everyone in Houston by destroying the Texans, 31-2. The Ravens' win combined with the Steelers' loss means that Baltimore can now clinch the AFC North in Week 18 with a win over the Cleveland Browns.
Here are our grades for both games:
Kansas City 29-10 over Pittsburgh
| A+ |  |
| The Chiefs always seem to get hot just in time for the playoffs, and that appears to be exactly what's happening this year. Patrick Mahomes, who has a 4-0 career record against Pittsburgh, once again dominated the Steelers. The Chiefs QB diced up Pittsburgh's secondary for 320 yards and three touchdowns, and he did that my spreading the ball around: The Chiefs had seven different players catch at least two passes, including Travis Kelce, who caught eight passes for 84 yards and a TD. As good as the offense was, the defense might have been better. The Chiefs didn't have star pass-rusher Chris Jones, but they were still able to terrorize Russell Wilson. The Kansas City pass-rush racked up five sacks with Mike Danna recording two of those. Santa always delivers on Dec. 25, and the Chiefs always deliver in big games. Both of them delivered in this rare Wednesday game. | |
| D- |  |
| The Steelers are probably going to get coal in their stocking after this Christmas Day performance. With George Pickens back in the lineup, the offense did show some brief signs of life, but overall it was an ugly day. The ugliness started up front with the offensive line getting dominated for five sacks. As if that wasn't bad enough, the Steelers also made two back-breaking mistakes with a red zone interception by Russell Wilson in the first half and a lost fumble by Pat Freiermuth in the second half. It also didn't help that the Steelers defense looked lost while trying to slow down Kansas City's offense. This team feels like it's fading fast, and with three straight losses, it will be a surprise if it gets out of the first round of the playoffs with the way it is currently playing. | |
Baltimore 31-2 over Houston
| A+ |  |
| Santa wasn't the only one who delivered on Christmas; so did Lamar Jackson. The Ravens QB made an MVP statement with an impressive performance that saw him total 255 yards and three touchdowns. Of that total, Jackson rushed for 87 yards, which moved him past Michael Vick for the most career rushing yards by a QB in NFL history. Jackson did get some help on offense from Derrick Henry, who plowed his way through the Texans defense for 147 yards and a touchdown. The Ravens defense, which had been a weak spot for the first 11 weeks of the season, had another strong game. It beat up on C.J. Stroud, who was sacked five times. The Ravens are getting hot at the right time, and they're now just one win away from winning the AFC North. | |
| F |  |
| The only thing that could have been uglier on Christmas than the Texans' performance was if Santa's sleigh had crashed. This game was a total disaster for a Texans team that has now struggled on offense in three straight games. C.J. Stroud couldn't get the passing game going, and that's mostly because he was under constant pressure (he was sacked five times). Even if the offense had been able to move the ball, it might not have mattered because Houston's defense couldn't stop a Ravens rushing attack that piled up more than 250 yards. The Texans are looking like a team that could go one-and-done in the playoffs unless they can somehow get things turned around before the postseason starts. | |
