4 reasons to watch a very NFL Christmas

Christmas falls on a Monday this year, and in celebration, the NFL is giving us double the games. The state of Pennsylvania will be heavily featured as the league throws two of its top teams in action to mark the holiday and give America an excuse to tip a couple extra glasses of eggnog.

A 4:30 p.m. ET tilt between the Steelers and Texans will help provide extra cover for awkward silences and post-dinner conversations with increasingly tipsy cousins as Pittsburgh continues its drive toward a top-two seed in the AFC. That’s followed by a Monday Night Football showdown between the NFC’s apex predator — the Philadelphia Eagles — and a Raiders team that fumbled its last, best shot at the postseason out of the end zone and into the hands of the Cowboys last week.

Seven hours of football should allow for plenty of time to digest and unwind after a busy holiday. Here are four reasons why you should watch Monday’s NFL slate.

Brown exited last week’s pivotal matchup with the Patriots with a torn calf muscle that will keep him from the lineup for the rest of the regular season. But while losing a game-changing MVP candidate is a major blow for any team to overcome, the Steelers are well insulated for his absence.

The first man up to replace his contributions will be All-Pro running back Le’Veon Bell. Bell has maintained elite status in 2017 with 1,849 yards from scrimmage so far. The fact that 627 of that comes in the receiving game helps showcase what makes him so dangerous. With Brown out, Bell will be option 1a AND option 1b for the Pittsburgh offense.

And he’s 101 total yards away from making history:

But Bell won’t have his normal support network behind him. Effective rookie James Conner will miss Monday’s game thanks to a knee injury suffered against New England. That leaves Fitzgerald Toussaint, he of the 2.9-YPC career average, to serve as the team’s change-of-pace back behind the Pro Bowl starter.

Depth is much less of a concern at wideout. The group tasked with replacing Brown’s aerial production is loaded with young talent. Rookie JuJu Smith-Schuster has emerged as the team’s second-leading receiver, showing off the pass-catching and run-blocking chops that have made him a perfect complement to Brown. While young, he looks entirely capable of filling big shoes in the Steelers’ offense.

Martavis Bryant, fresh off a four-catch, 59-yard, one-touchdown performance against the Patriots, has the top-end speed to create a passable impression of both the deep-threat and run-after-catch capabilities Brown brought to the table. Little-used slot receiver Eli Rogers, who has no shortage of confidence but plenty when it comes to 2017 production, will look to recreate last season’s solid rookie performance by stepping up into more offensive sets with the team.

There haven’t been many reasons to watch Houston since stars like J.J. Watt and Deshaun Watson were lost for the season to injury. However, one man will give Texans fans something to cheer for on Christmas.

Offensive lineman David Quessenberry will be active for his first game with the team since being diagnosed with lymphoma in 2014. The 2013 sixth-round draft pick missed the entirety of the next three seasons receiving treatment and returning to full strength before returning to the team this May. He’d spent the entirety of the 2017 regular season on Houston’s practice squad before earning the promotion to active duty Tuesday.

A spot in the lineup will mark a tremendous step forward in a long and trying journey. His first snap Monday will be the first of his NFL career.

Houston has been dealt a lot of bad cards this season and watched a potential postseason team struggle its way to a top-five pick that will be shipped to Cleveland as part of the trade that allowed the Texans to land Watson. That’s been hard to swallow, but the return of Quessenberry, a true inspiration on and off the field, will finally give this team and its fans something to root for.

And the atmosphere will make the occasion even more special for Quessenberry:

Philadelphia has already secured its place as the NFL’s latest turnaround story. The Eagles finished in last place in the NFC East in 2016 but needed only 13 games to lock down the division crown this fall. Carson Wentz rose from promising but inconsistent rookie to MVP candidate in his second season to make his team a midseason Super Bowl favorite.

But disaster struck while Philly was putting the finishing touches on a statement Week 14 win in Los Angeles. Wentz left the second half of his team’s shootout victory over the Rams with a torn ACL, though not without finishing up a scoring drive first (!). With their starter done for the season, the Eagles have to turn to a familiar face to lead them to postseason glory.

Nick Foles, a Pro Bowler in 2013 with the Eagles, has taken over Wentz’s spot — and with promising results. Though the team sweat through a 34-29 victory over a 2-12 Giants team last weekend, Foles can’t be blamed for a putrid defensive performance. Instead, he threw four touchdown passes to help his team win a firefight.

Foles has been solid in limited appearances the past two seasons. In eight games -- only two of them starts, he’s completed over 65 percent of his passes while throwing seven touchdown passes and zero interceptions. He’s 4-0 in games where he’s thrown the ball at least 10 times since 2016.

He’ll have the chance to up that record to 5-0 against a Raiders team that’s been deficient against the pass in 2017. Oakland has allowed opposing passers to post a rating of 102.6 against it this season — the second-worst mark in the league.

Last Sunday’s NFL action provided some of the best and most dramatic games of the season, but two losses have AFC teams scrambling to figure out what comes next. The Steelers lost their chance to upend the Patriots at Heinz Field thanks to an overturned touchdown catch and the frantic interception that followed. The Raiders had to watch the Cowboys take a late lead by the width of an index card and then had their effective two-minute drill negated when Derek Carr’s dive toward the pylon ended with a fumble out of the end zone.

While Pittsburgh can still look forward to redemption in the postseason, last week’s loss essentially crushed Oakland’s postseason hopes. At 6-8, the Raiders needed a miracle to extend their season — and wins from the Chiefs and Ravens ensured that prayer would go unanswered. That leaves the team stuck playing on Christmas in a meaningless game against one of the league’s toughest opponents.

So how does the team respond? The franchise has never been much for momentum, especially after wasting last year’s turnaround on this year’s disappointing slog through 14 games. Oakland has looked occasionally brilliant (like in its Week 7 win over the Chiefs or its 2-0 start) but mostly mediocre (for example, losses to the Broncos or Bills). A rebound win against the Eagles would fall firmly in the former category, but given the way the team squandered 2016’s goodwill, would it even matter?