Patrick Mahomes and Russell Wilson are both locked into an three-game stretch unlike any other earlier this season.
Patrick Mahomes, Russell Wilson, CJ Stroud, and Lamar Jackson are four of the most well-known quarterbacks in the NFL. All four worked as hard as they could to grow to become that well-known.
Their reward? All four quarterbacks don’t get to celebrate Christmas with their families and must play three games in 11 days to end the year.
To make this happen, the Kansas City Chiefs, Baltimore Ravens, Houston Texans, and Pittsburgh Steelers spent Week 16 and Week 17 in a bubble, playing against each other on December 22 and then will play again on December 25.
Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes has already complained about the schedule, calling it “not a good feeling,” per ESPN via Pro Football Talk. One quarterback he sent into retirement appears to agree with him.
Steelers legend on Patrick Mahomes’ Christmas schedule
Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger has been away from his team for several years, but Roethlisberger has spoken out about the Steelers before. From the Steelers’ quarterback situation to other issues, the quarterback has said plenty on his “Footballin’ with Ben Roethlisberger” podcast. His opinion on the Christmas schedule might be his most scathing in recent memory.
Speaking on the podcast per Sports Illustrated, Roethlisberger condemned the NFL’s decision to sign up the Steelers for three games in 11 days, echoing Patrick Mahomes’ complaints.
He said: “It’s miserable. It’s a shame that the league does this. It just shows that it’s all about money and this is a way that they can, you know, make more money and figure this thing out because it’s not fair for the players.
“You wanna talk about injuries and making the game safer, changing the kickoff rule and preventing guys on hip-drop tackles, and concussions, and this that and the other, and you’re going to make guys play the most violent game in the world, arguably, three games in 11 days.
“I mean, there’s no time for your body to get healthy and rest,” Roethlisberger said.
Mahomes ended Ben Roethlisberger’s final season, defeating him in a 42-21 playoff battle at the end of the 2020-2021 season.
Exploring Steelers’ difficult final regular season stretch
In a way, the team’s difficult schedule started on December 15. After playing against the red-hot Philadelphia Eagles, the Steelers had five days to get ready and travel to Baltimore to face the Ravens on Saturday.
Then, following that brushing affair, the team had three days to travel and get ready to face the Kansas City Chiefs, the hottest team in football. Following that, they get an extended mini-bye before facing the rival Cincinnati Bengals in Week 18. The Steelers are in the most dangerous part of the schedule and Christmas will decide if three days was enough time to recover from facing Baltimore.
