In 1947, the New York Knicks defeated the Providence Steamrollers 89-75 at Madison Square Garden, and an NBA Christmas tradition was born.

Football fans who want to associate a Holiday theme with their sport would suggest that Thanksgiving Day belongs to the NFL.

However, with eight Christmas games played on December 25th over the last three seasons, the NFL clearly wants a piece of the NBA’s Christmas Day pie.

This year, Christmas Day brings another pair of games.

NFL Christmas Day Recent Results

Year	Away	Home	Result
2023	LV Raiders	KC Chiefs	20-14 Raiders
2023	NY Giants	PHI Eagles	33-25 Eagles
2023	BAL Ravens	SF 49ers	33-19 Ravens
2022	GB Packers	MIA Dolphins	26-20 Packers
2022	DEN Broncos	LA Rams	51-14 Rams
2022	TB Buccaneers	ARI Cardinals	19-16 Bucs
2021	IND Colts	ARI Cardinals	22-16 Colts
2021	CLE Browns	GB Packers	24-22 Packers

Since 2021, away teams are 5-3 outright, which is an interesting trend.

Theories will persist about how playing at home during the Holidays hurts more than helps.

Do I think that is true?

Below, I dive into this year’s Christmas Day matchups and provide insights and betting picks for both games.

Chiefs (14-1) vs Steelers (10-5) Betting Picks

Betting Lines:

Point Spread Chiefs -3 | ML Chiefs -155

O/U 43.5

BestOdds.com Free Betting Pick: Steelers ML +140

The Kansas City Chiefs have made four of the last five Super Bowls and are the defending back-to-back Champs.

So far this year, the Chiefs have won 14 of their first 15 games and have the best record in the NFL.

However, the betting public has some doubts about who the best team actually is.

2025 Super Bowl Odds

Team	DraftKings	FanDuel	Bet365
KC Chiefs	+400	+450	+450
DET Lions	+400	+390	+450
BUF Bills	+500	+470	+450

Despite winning 14 of their 15 games this year, the Chiefs are only 7-8 ATS. (Against the spread)

Kansas City’s winning margin has been seven points or less in ten of its 14 wins, which explains the betting public’s hesitation.

They just refuse to blow anybody out, despite the quality of their opponent.

Patrick Mahomes is famously playing on a bad ankle, which is hard to handicap.

However, the Chiefs QB and their perennial MVP candidate played on the same bad ankle last week. Mahomes threw the ball 41 times, while only being sacked once.

I wouldn’t overreact to his bad ankle this week against Pittsburgh.

Pittsburgh Steelers Stats

The Pittsburgh Steelers are 10-5 and surprisingly tied with the Baltimore Ravens for the top spot in the AFC North division.

Against the spread, the Steelers have rewarded bettors who have been loyal to them this year.

At 10-5 ATS, Pittsburgh is one of the top covering teams league-wide, behind only Denver (11-5 ATS) and Minnesota. (10-4-1 ATS)

Currently, I can find the spread for this game at Pittsburgh +3. I believe this line goes to +2.5 before it goes to +3.5.

Getting Pittsburgh at more than a field goal seems like a no-brainer, but you will most likely have to play an alternate spread to get that number.

Steelers Alt Spread	DraftKings	FanDuel	Bet365
Pittsburgh +3.5	Pitt +3.5 | -140	Pitt +3.5 | -146	Pitt +3.5 | -152

Chiefs vs Steelers Free Betting Pick

If I thought this game had a chance of getting to Pittsburgh +3.5, I would wait for some line movement.

However, I don’t think that will happen based on the odds today, and the juice to pay for +3.5 is significant.

With that in mind, I understand the Steelers haven’t looked great the last couple of weeks, but after hunting around, I found them at +140 on the moneyline.

Do I love the Steelers to win this game? Nope.

Do I think they have ALMOST a coin-flip chance of winning this outright?

I really do.

Therefore, I will take the +140 odds, believing there is a lot of value in that number.

Chiefs vs Steelers Free Betting Pick:

Steelers Moneyline +140 @ FanDuel

Ravens (10-5) vs Texans (9-6) Betting Picks

Betting Lines:

Points Spread Ravens -5 / Moneyline Ravens -225

O/U 46

BestOdds.com Free Betting Pick: Texans OVER 20.5 PTS (+105)

Two weeks ago, Ravens fans were in full panic mode. Baltimore was trailing the Pittsburgh Steelers by two games for the AFC North division lead with time running out in the regular season.

However, after the Ravens beat up their divisional rival last week and claimed a share of the top spot in the Division standings, things are much calmer in Baltimore.

I fully expect the Ravens winning ways to continue in Houston this week, but giving up five points on the road is always concerning.

2024 Baltimore Road Results

Date	Opponent	Final Score	Margin of Victory
Sept 5th	@ Kansas City	27-20 Chiefs	(-7 points)
Sept 22nd	@ Dallas	28-25 Baltimore	(+3 points)
Oct 6th	@ Cincinnati	41-38 OT Baltimore	(+3 points)
Oct 21st	@ Tampa Bay	41-31 Baltimore	(+10 points)
Oct 27th	@ Cleveland	29-24 Cleveland	(-5 points)
Nov 17th	@ Pittsburgh	18-16 Steelers	(-2 points)
Nov 25th	@ LA Chargers	30-23 Ravens	(+7 points)
Dec 15th	@ NY Giants	35-14 Ravens	(+21 points)

Despite a road record of 5-3 this year, the Ravens results prove that it is always difficult to win games when travelling.

• Cincinnati and Cleveland both have losing records this year, but both of them beat Baltimore at home.
• The Cowboys are 7-8 on the year and lost to BAL by only a field goal at home.
• At home, the Ravens beat the Steelers by 17 points, but on the road, they lost to them by 2 points.

Houston Texans Betting Stats

The Houston Texans started their season by winning five of their first six games, including a 23-20 home win against the Buffalo Bills.

The Texans would then lose four of their next six games, including a loss to the 4-11 NY Jets and 3-12 Tennesse Titans.

Against the spread this year, the Texans are 9-6 overall and have covered in three of their last four games.

Long story short, this Texans team has been a rollercoaster of results but appears to be trending in the right direction.

Ravens vs Texans Free Betting Pick

In six of the Ravens eight road games, they have allowed a team to score at least 21 points.

This week, the Texans team total has been set at 20.5 points.

Texans Team Total	DraftKings	FanDuel	Bet365
Houston +20.5	Over 20.5 | +100	Over 20.5 | -113	Over 20.5 | +105

It’s hard not to like Baltimore to find a way to win this game, but the -5 point spread doesn’t interest me very much.

Despite thinking they will lose the game, I do like the Texans to go OVER 20.5 points.

If you shop around for your Best Odds, you can find Houston at +105 to go over their team total at Bet365.