Nate Tice reacts to the Christmas Day NFL slate and looks ahead to the NFL playoff race. Nate gives his instant takeaways from the Dallas Cowboys win over the Washington Commanders, a wild Minnesota Vikings upset win to knock the Detroit Lions out of playoff contention and the Denver Broncos taking care of the Kansas City Chiefs on Thursday night in their quest for the top seed in the AFC.

Kickoff from U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis is set for 4:30 p.m. ET. The latest Vikings vs. Lions odds have Detroit favored by 7 points, while the over/under for total points scored is 44.5 via DraftKings Sportsbook. Before making any Lions vs. Vikings picks, check out the NFL predictions from the SportsLine Projection Model .

Here are the takeaways from the NFL's Christmas tripleheader, which saw the Lions get eliminated from playoff contention.

Bo Nix helped the Denver Broncos avoid an upset loss to Travis Kelce and a Kansas City Chiefs squad without Patrick Mahomes on Christmas Day, securing a 20-13 win.

The pop star brought her star power to the NFL, sending fans into a major frenzy as she witnessed her fiancé Travis Kelce light up the field with another spectacular performance. On Thursday, the “Bad Blood” hitmaker was spotted walking towards the VIP suite of Arrowhead Stadium in a striking gameday look.

A lot can change in a year. Just ask the Lions and Vikings, whose Christmas Day game was expected to amount to much more.

PHILADELPHIA - The best ability in the NFL remains availability. The NFL’s usurping of the NBA on Christmas Day is evidence of that, with quarterbacks like Josh Johnson, Max Brosmer, and Chris Oladokun serving as the coal in the average streaming viewer's stocking.

"The NFL got greedy and started adding Christmas games," Barkley said on Inside the NBA, via Colin Salao on Inside The NBA. "We used to have this day to ourselves, but Roger Goodell and them pigs at the NFL always want to hog every day of the week now. Christmas is an NBA day."