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Jamison Hensley, ESPN Staff Writer
Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes vividly remembers his reaction seven months ago when the NFL released the 2024 schedule and he saw a grueling December stretch that featured three games in 11 days.
“Not a good feeling,” Mahomes said.
When the focus should be on the Chiefs seeking the NFL’s first Super Bowl three-peat, Kansas City and three other AFC playoff contenders — the Baltimore Ravens, Houston Texans and Pittsburgh Steelers — face something nearly as unprecedented. Only once since 1933 has an NFL team played three games in 11 days in December: the 2011 Jacksonville Jaguars.
“You never want to play this many games in this short of time,” Mahomes said. “It’s just not great for your body. But at the end of the day, it’s your job, your profession. You have to come to work and do it.”
A stretch of three games in 11 days never happened from 2019 to 2023. This season, four teams have already done it: the New York Jets, Seattle Seahawks, New Orleans Saints and Dallas Cowboys.
But this is a different challenge. It comes at a time when players have felt the bumps and bruises of 14 games played and now suit up for games that could determine the AFC playoff landscape.
Since the start of this demanding span of games, the Steelers have lost their two-game lead in the AFC North as the Ravens surge, while the Chiefs have strengthened their grip on the conference’s No. 1 seed.
“It’s crazy,” Ravens tight end Mark Andrews said. “But at the end of the day, everybody that’s in that boat is in that boat, so we’re all going through the same things. And Coach Monk [offensive coordinator Todd Monken] said it: ‘If you’re in that type of position, it means you’re a good team, and everybody in that category is playing well.'”
Steelers coach Mike Tomlin often will ask his players if they’re thriving or surviving. For the last full month of the regular season, it’s more about adapting.
With fewer days to recover in between games, teams will hold fewer full-speed practices and more walk-throughs. The Ravens put on helmets for only two practices between their Dec. 15 game at the New York Giants and Wednesday’s game at Houston.
There is also an increased focus on body maintenance, which includes massages, diet, hot and cold tubs and cryotherapy.
“We’re still trying to get our bodies back right, and it’s a quick turnaround,” Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud said. “Getting your mental back is just as important. So, you probably do less active things and it’s more mental than physical. So, I feel like that’s the way you can save your body. But at the same time, get those good practices in and those good habits throughout the week.”
NO ONE HAS had a more laborious season than Steelers wide receiver Mike Williams. If Williams suits up for Pittsburgh for the last two games, he and teammate Preston Smith will join Seahawks defensive end Leonard Williams as the only players in the modern era to play 18 regular-season games.
This stretch is the result of an in-season trade. Williams was traded from the Jets on Nov. 5 before their bye week, and he joined the Steelers after their bye. Williams has played every week since Sept. 9.
“I can use some of these rest days,” Williams said.
Williams also understands what it takes to play three games in 11 days better than anyone — it’s the second time he has had to do it this season. He played with the Jets when they began the season with that stretch of games.
Is it different managing this stretch early in the season as opposed to December?
“No, no, no,” Williams said. “I mean some show up early, some show up late. We all got a job to do though, so yeah, know your schedule, know your plan and stick to it.”
The Steelers have the most difficult span of games as they’re the only team to play three opponents with winning records: the Philadelphia Eagles, Ravens and Chiefs. The road losses at the Eagles and Ravens in a span of six days took a toll on the Steelers’ standing in the AFC North.
If the Steelers lose to the Chiefs on Wednesday and the Ravens win at the Texans, Pittsburgh will fall one game behind Baltimore.
“We have aspirations going, playing in February,” Steelers cornerback Donte Jackson said. “We look at every day as a day to keep our body in shape, keep our body going and feeling right. So being my seventh year in the league, I kind of have a really good routine that I fall back on … just doing my normal thing and going to be ready to play.”
WHEN RAVENS PLAYERS entered their team meeting Dec. 9, coach John Harbaugh had a message for them on the screen.
“December Football Season. Commit Everything. Save Nothing.”
Baltimore and Houston had an advantage when playing December football this year. Before the three-game stretch, the Ravens and Texans had a Week 14 bye.
Not only did the players get extra rest — quarterback Lamar Jackson described the week off as a “breath of fresh air” — but the coaching staff received more time to work ahead and do some advance scouting.
“It’s good in a sense that we’ll see who is most prepared down the stretch, and it’s really challenging for teams — everybody that’s involved,” Ravens safety Kyle Hamilton said. “It all comes down to culture. We could play the next day; we don’t really care. Just, we’re going to show up and do well.”
The Texans have an edge over the Chiefs, Ravens and Steelers from a travel standpoint. Houston is the only one that has two home games in this three-game stretch.
“It is a heightened sense of focus on rest and recovery as best as we can, while also understanding the game plan and being able to get those mental reps in,” Texans coach DeMeco Ryans said.
The Texans haven’t practiced in pads since the Miami Dolphins game in Week 15 and even had a helmet-less practice on the Tuesday leading up to the Chiefs’ matchup. The Texans’ coaches made it clear their practices were going to focus on mental reps and nailing the details of the players’ assignments while emphasizing recovery.
“We take care of our guys and make sure their bodies are taken care of to recover because you are so soon removed from a game, and it takes a while to recover, especially on a short week,” Ryans said. “It is a heightened sense of focus on rest and recovery as best as we can, while also understanding the game plan and being able to get those mental reps in.”
The Texans’ receiver core took a hit when Tank Dell suffered a dislocated knee and torn ACL in Houston’s 27-19 loss to the Chiefs last week. Dell’s injury occurred during a touchdown catch from Stroud on the Texans’ first possession of the second half when Houston wideout Jared Wayne collided with Dell’s knee.
The Texans claimed veteran wide receiver Diontae Johnson off waivers from the Ravens on Monday to try to offset the loss. Baltimore waived Johnson on Friday after a drama-filled seven weeks that included a suspension and the organization excusing the receiver from team activities last week.
Houston will have to overcome the emotions of losing Dell, as he’s one of the most beloved players on the team.
“It’s life. You’ve got to keep chopping wood, keep carrying water. The position we’re in, it’s not a lot of times where you can sulk in your feelings for very long,” Stroud said. “You’ve got to just keep rolling. I think that’s a testament to just life in general. Everybody has stuff on their plate. Everybody is going through something. And just because we’re in this position, doesn’t mean you get to feel sorry for yourself, or anything like that.”
Wednesday games are rare. The last time a game was played on that day of the week occurred in 2021, when a COVID-19 outbreak forced the Ravens and Steelers to delay their planned Thanksgiving game until the following Wednesday.
But, with all four teams playing their previous games Saturday, it’s the same three days of rest that teams have before Thursday games.
The Ravens have a history of doing well during short weeks. Under Harbaugh, Baltimore is 11-5 on Thursday games, which is the third-best mark over that span.
“The key to being successful in that is sleep, recovery and leaning on the coaches, leaning on the people that are in-house to help you,” Ravens cornerback Marlon Humphrey said. “Doing as many things as you can here [before] you get home, because it’s turning around really quick, and the biggest thing is that you just have to be on the same page. Bodies will be feeling it, but I think it will be the same on both sides, but whoever can do the little things the best will come out the most successful.”
IF THIS IS part of another championship run for Chiefs, they would have earned it. But some players aren’t happy about playing this number of games in a short period, considering they haven’t had an extended break since the middle of October.
The two-time defending Super Bowl champions had the earliest bye — Week 6 — of the four teams playing Wednesday.
“This is one thing I’m doing this offseason is I’m going to the NFLPA especially with us having three games in a 11-day span that we’re mandatory to have a late bye week,” Chiefs defensive tackle Chris Jones said. “With our schedule, it’s kind of awkward, to say the least. … That’s a conversation to have this offseason. If a team has somewhat of a schedule like that, they should get a late-season bye.
“We don’t need a Week 6 bye. Give it to us in Week 8, Week 10, something like that.”
This will mark the first time the Chiefs, Ravens and Texans have played three games in 11 days. The last time the Steelers dealt with that type of stretch happened in 1939.
“I never played this many games in a short amount of time,” Chiefs wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins said. “I think the league should definitely do something about that, giving teams some kind of mini-bye. They coach or preach player safety. I don’t feel like this is the best situation for any team to play three games in this amount of days. “
The Chiefs and Ravens have won their first two games in a short span of games and can join a select group if they win Wednesday. The only teams in the Super Bowl era to have won all three games in the 11-day stretch are the 1992 Saints and the 2011 Green Bay Packers.
“I just kind of put myself in a basketball perspective,” Hamilton said. “Those guys play back to back, so I guess there’s a little merit behind us quote-unquote complaining about it. But they are playing 82 games, MLB players are playing 162 games, and we have 17, and we’re trying to fight them to go to 18 right now. I think it’s good in a sense that we’ll see who is most prepared down the stretch.”
NFL Nation reporters D.J. Bien-Aime, Brooke Pryor and Adam Teicher contributed to this report.