It’s Christmas Weekend and already we have coal in our stockings.

That’s if you’re a New England Patriots fan, that is.

You pushed everything aside for Christmas Eve with the idea of having a holiday party in front of the TV with the Patriots taking on Denver at Mile High Stadium. Oh you had a whole thing planned as soon as the schedule was announced last May.

Who knows how many people you offended, family members, significant others, kids, etc. along the way, by having football take over Christmas Eve.

Geez, remember when Christmas Eve was a night off from the sports world? It used to be just the Hula Bowl in Hawaii. Christmas Day was just some college football All-Star game. But now the NBA and NFL have taken over the holiday and won’t let go.

But with the Patriots a lost cause, maybe by now you’ve changed your plans. Or maybe you held out hope – hope that the game would be flexed out to earlier in the day. Problem is it’s an NFL Network game and not part of NBC’s Sunday Night package, so it stays on the schedule.

Hey maybe it could be entertaining. Denver coach Sean Payton will likely be screaming at somebody on the sidelines, and the pressure there is on. The Broncos (7-7) likely need to win out to make the playoffs, so there will be a lot on the line on one side of the field.

And of course, the Patriots will still say they’re competing and we know it’s not in Bill Belichick’s DNA to tank. Plus, remember, he’s coaching for his job.

Yes, the saga and intrigue continues, conflicting reports on his future, etc. etc. It’s pretty much the same during the weeks leading up to Tom Brady’s final days as a Patriot. He’s staying. He’s going. This team will get him. That team will get him.

Same for Belichick. Robert Kraft has made his decision. He may change his mind. There will be a sit down meeting. Belichick may go to the Chargers. To Washington. To Chicago. To Nantucket.

It gets ridiculous after a while. The fact remains there’s no NFL coach who’s team is 3-11 that wouldn’t be in trouble, not when the trend has been way down and a playoff game hasn’t been won since that boring Super Bowl in February of 2019.

And when your game gets flexed off Monday Night Football, that’s not good. When there’s a healthy smattering of Kansas City Chiefs fans in your Gillette Stadium lower bowl like there were last Sunday, that’s not good. And after watching Drew Lock last Monday night win a dramatic game for Seattle over the Eagles – the game that replaced you – and you have Bailey Zappe taking us through a snoozer of a second half last Sunday vs. the Chiefs, that’s not good either.

This season makes it even more clear, you win with talent, and when you don’t have it, you lose. Injuries happen in the NFL, but the roster was so thin the Patriots are never really able to survive them on offense. Defense, well, that’s been a different story but there have been hiccups then too.

You’re perhaps holding out hope Sunday night’s game can be worth watching. It’s always interesting watching Denver’s Russell Wilson run around and throw it to the other team, which he’s done often the last two or three seasons.

We remember when Patriots-Denver was a big deal, regular season or playoffs. Those days are long gone, for both franchises, but the Broncos are trying to work their way out of their depressed state and get back to some relevance in the NFL.

So in the meantime, have some great food, wrap some presents, and hope the Patriots will eventually be doing the same thing – with or without their legendary coach.

Merry Christmas, everyone. But before we go, here are this week’s picks:

BRONCOS 17, PATRIOTS 13

Ahhh, Russell Wilson responds to another tongue lasthing by Sean Payton by tossing two TD passes in the final 10 minutes. Meanwhile, Bailey Zappe sets up one of those with another bad interception. We bring you the story of the Patriots season: turnovers.

BROWNS 20, TEXANS 3

Good grief, is anybody healthy for this game? Instead of C.J. Stroud vs. Deshaun Watson, it’s Joe Flacco vs. Case Keenum. Seen how Flacco has been playing lately?

CHIEFS 23 RAIDERS 13

Hey, the Raiders play hard, they play tough. And that’s where renegade screw up Kadarius Toney should be. But not Patrick Mahomes, who can’t lose on Christmas Day at home, can he?

LIONS 24, VIKINGS 16

If this were in Detroit, it’d be a blowout. But it is indoors, right? Brian Flores has the Vikings defense playing very, very well, but the Lions looked last week like they don’t sleep tonight.

EAGLES 40, GIANTS 10

OK, enough of the Tommy Cutlets story, right? Giants QB Tommy DeVito has already had his Christmas, and the Eagles take out their frustration on the poor G-Men, who likely won’t win another game the rest of this year. Remember they have to face a Matt Patricia defense twice. Ho ho ho.

SEAHAWKS 24, TITANS 13

Gotta love Mike Vrabel with his antics last week, wearing the Bum Phillips cowboy hat with his team in Oiler uniforms vs. Houston (that was the original franchise). But the Seahawks pulled one out last week, get Geno Smith back. Hawks in this one, not Doves.

NINERS 23, RAVENS 20

Ahhhh, Christmas Night gold. ESPN gets a good one, and right now Brock Purdy & Co. look like a Super Bowl team. The Ravens do too, kinda sorta. Maybe a preview.

LAST WEEK: 5-2.

SEASON: 66-39

Tom King may be reached at tking@nashuatelegraph.com. Also, follow King on X (@Telegraph_TomK).

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