NFL Christmas Day facts, figures, and trends

The NFL will host three Christmas Day games on Monday, Dec. 25, including a potential Super Bowl LVIII preview between the Baltimore Ravens and the San Francisco 49ers.

Below YouBet explores the history of the NFL on Christmas and identifies the important facts, figures, and trends to help you win big at the sportsbook over the holiday.  

Eagles undefeated on Christmas

Philadelphia may be in the midst of a three-game slump but Christmas Day could bring the Eagles some holiday cheer, as the franchise is unbeaten on Dec. 25, tied with Pittsburgh with a perfect 2-0 record.

The Eagles first played on Christmas in 2006, when Philly dominated Dallas 23-7 after scoring on four of its first five drives.

Most recently, the Eagles hosted a Christmas Day game in 2017 and sent the then-Oakland Raiders packing with a 19-10 defeat in a matchup that featured Nick Foles as Philly's starter and Derek Carr at the head of the Raiders. Foles had just assumed the starting role at quarterback a game prior, after Carson Wentz went down with injury, and went on to lead the Eagles to a Super Bowl title later that season.

49ers, Raiders winless on Dec. 25

The Raiders have had the opposite luck on Christmas Day, going 0-2, with losses to Philly and Kansas City. In 2004, the former Oakland franchise fell to K.C., 31-30, when placekicker Lawrence Tynes nailed a 38-yard field goal with 22 seconds remaining. The Raiders would finish with a 5-11 record that season.

Only five other teams have failed to record a win when playing on Christmas — the Cincinnati Bengals, Cleveland Browns, Houston Texans, Detroit Lions, and San Francisco 49ers.

The Niners will get a chance at redemption this season when they host Baltimore, who is 1-1 on the holiday.

San Francisco's only previous Christmas Day game was in 1993, when the 49ers lost 10-7 to the Houston Oilers. The matchup pitted the league's two highest-scoring teams against one another, but defense decided the outcome. San Francisco would go on to reach the conference championship round, where the 49ers lost to Dallas, the eventual Super Bowl champion.

Baltimore's previous Christmas Day games resulted in a 30-23 win over Minnesota in 2005 and a 31-27 loss to Pittsburgh in 2016.

Home team 13-12 SU on Christmas

With Christmas comes great parity in the NFL, as the home team is nearly .500 on Dec. 25, with a 13-12 straight-up record over 25 regular-season games played.

In 2022, just one of three home teams came out victorious, with the L.A. Rams crushing the Denver Broncos 51-14. Road teams Green Bay and Tampa Bay both prevailed over Miami and Arizona, respectively.

Only 2 NFL Christmas Games have gone to OT

In the history of the NFL on Christmas, just one regular-season game went into overtime — last year's 19-16 win by Tampa Bay over Arizona.

The only other overtime result on Christmas occurred during a postseason game. The Miami Dolphins outlasted the Kansas City Chiefs 27-24 in double-overtime in 1971 — the same year Miami fell to Dallas in the Super Bowl. The double-overtime Christmas matchup lasted 82 minutes and 40 seconds of game clock — a record for the longest NFL game in history.

Underdog 5-0 ATS since 2021, Under 3-2

Last year, all three favorites failed to cover on Christmas Day. Miami lost to Green Bay as a four-point home favorite, Denver got embarrassed by the L.A. Rams as a 2.5-point road favorite, and Tampa Bay eked out a 19-16 victory as a 7.5-point road favorite.

The Under also hit in two of three games.

In 2021, the Christmas Day double-header featured the Cleveland Browns nearly upsetting the Green Bay Packers in a 24-22 decision; Green Bay was a 7.5-point home favorite. The Over hit by half a point.

Arizona also failed to cover that day as a 1.5-point home favorite when Indianapolis prevailed 22-16. The Under cashed in the prime-time matchup.

As of Tuesday, Dec. 19, Kansas City is a 10-point home favorite over Las Vegas, Philadelphia is a 10.5-point home favorite over the New York Giants, and the San Francisco 49ers are a five-point home favorite over Baltimore.

The lowest total of the Dec. 25 games is the Raiders-Chiefs matchup at 41.5, and the highest total is the Ravens-49ers at 46.5.