Watch the Packers vs. Dolphins game starting at 1pm on RDS and RDS.ca.
This year, December 25 begins with a duel in the heart of the playoff race. The Miami Dolphins (8-6) host the Green Bay Packers (6-8) and the two formations have very different scenarios.
Miami, who will want to end a three-game losing streak, will be looking to take one step closer to qualifying for the playoffs in America.
“We will play Aaron Rodgers, who has been in this league for years and is one of the best quarterbacks in history. What else do you want to focus on? He’s a big challenge, especially for me,” admitted safety Jevon Holland.
This isn’t Rodgers’ first dance on December 25th. Last year around this time, Rodgers had provided three touchdown passes against the Browns to allow the Packers to sign their 12and win of the season… this year the context is very different.
Hopes of making the playoffs are slim, but still present. The team has won their last two games after losing seven of their previous eight games. With a win, Green Bay will be back in the playoff race with two games to go and can always believe it. With a defeat, the deficit to overcome to reach the playoffs will be practically unbridgeable.
Green Bay will have to be wary of receiver Tyreek Hill, who is having perhaps the best season of his career in his first season in Miami. After 14 games, the Cheetah has already caught 109 balls and his 1,529 rushing yards are a career-high in seven NFL seasons.
Broncos c. Rams (4.30pm)
Russell Wilson and Bobby Wagner were drafted 28 degrees away by the Seahawks in 2012.
They then spent the next decade becoming two of the best players of their generation at their position, helping the Seahawks find success.
After 10 seasons of facing each other in practice, the two friends will meet for the first time in a game this weekend, when the Denver Broncos (4-10) visit the Los Angeles Rams (4-10).
Both teams will see their season finish quickly, having started it with much more ambition. Circumstances are not as hoped for Wagner and Wilson’s first seasons in their new uniforms.
But Wagner still wants to take the opportunity to put an end to a long debate that took place during training between the two friends.
“It was all live and we were doing the exercises at full speed, but the contacts weren’t,” said Wagner. We could never touch it. He said I would never take it. We will see. »
Wilson is back on the field for the Broncos, after missing last week’s game due to a concussion protocol error. He is on course for his least impressive season in the NFL, with the lowest completion percentage of his career, lowest total yards per pass completed, and fewest touchdown passes.
Meanwhile, Wagner missed out on a Pro Bowl invite this week, despite having a strong season with the Rams, whose defense has done well even without the team’s offensive support. Wagner leads the Rams with 118 tackles.
Baker Mayfield is set for his second home start, after completing a spectacular comeback against the Raiders earlier this month.
Buccaneers c. Cardinals (20 at 20)
During his NFL career, Tom Brady had a lot of experiences. Sunday evening, however, will be the first time he will be in action on December 25th.
For the occasion, the stakes are high. With three games left in their season, the Buccaneers (6-8) will look to hold on to the NFC South Division lead in their playoff run in a duel against the Arizona Cardinals (4-10).
If the Bucs lose, three teams will have records of six wins and nine losses in the division and will all be alive for a playoff spot.
This week, Brady and the Buccaneers will try to make up for last week’s failure. They had squandered a 17-point lead en route to a 34-23 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals.
If Brady wins against the Cardinals, he will sign his 250th regular season win and become the first player in NFL history to reach that milestone. Conversely, he is also one loss away from finishing a season with a sub-.500 record for the first time in his career.
The story is very different in the field of cardinals. Trace McSorley will get the first start of his career, as Kyler Murray and Colt McCoy are injured.
