The 2022 season is the first time in NFL history three games have taken place on Christmas Day.
After a three-year hiatus, Christmas Day action returned in 2021, with the Green Bay Packers narrowly beating the Cleveland Browns and the Indianapolis Colts seeing off the Arizona Cardinals.
Both the Cardinals and Packers are playing again this Sunday.
The day’s play begins with the Dolphins hosting the Packers, followed by the Super Bowl champion Rams facing the underachieving Broncos and the Cardinals welcoming Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Miami Dolphins vs Green Bay Packers: Over 46.5 Total Points
The over has landed in exactly half of the games for each of these teams thus far.
Miami’s offensive production has slowed of late amid three consecutive losses, but they face a Packers defence which has conceded 27 or more points in six of its last 10.
Green Bay’s offence was poor at the start of the season.
There has been marked improvement over the last few weeks, however, with 33 scored against the Eagles, 28 against the Bears and 24 against the Rams. They are rightly still underdogs here, but the Packers have at least shown they can be competitive.
Only the Chiefs average more net yards per pass attempt than the Dolphins, while Green Bay is below average at defending the pass. This is a game for Miami to regain its best form on offence. Green Bay should be able to put plenty of points on the board to help land this over, too.
Denver Broncos vs Los Angeles Rams: Broncos To Win
Having generated only 12 points of offence in a loss to the Packers last week, the Los Angeles Rams are on a 1-7 streak. They have scored 20 or fewer points in eight of their last 11 games.
Denver are the only team to score fewer than the Rams per game, yet their defence remains elite. They are third in points allowed per contest, despite clocking just two wins since Week 3.
It has been a wildly disappointing season for both of these franchises.
Neither have been much fun to watch. The Broncos have more in their favour on Christmas Day, however, and with home advantage, they are value to make it back-to-back wins.
Arizona Cardinals vs Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Under 42 Total Points
Arizona averages just 15.5 points over its last four games, and has fallen all the way to 4-10.
Only three teams have scored fewer per game than the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on the season. Tampa’s offence has only mustered 16 points per game over that same period.
The defence has kept the Buccaneers competitive this season. Despite allowing 69 points over the last two, they should still be able to rack up the stops against this Arizona offence.
Only the Texans and Rams average fewer yards per play than the Cards, who are also well-below average in their number of first downs per game.
The numbers are not pretty for the Tampa Bay offence either. Dead last in yards per rush and around middle-of-the-pack in pass efficiency, even this Arizona defence can keep the Bucs under control.
All odds are subject to change