This is not exactly what the NFL and Netflix had in mind when they thought they would be getting big-name quarterbacks Jayden Daniels vs. Dak Prescott and a high-stakes matchup of NFC East rivals Washington Commanders and Dallas Cowboys in the Christmas Day spotlight.
As things stand now, it is hard to imagine many folks eagerly anticipating a meeting Thursday between bad teams that will miss the playoffs — and with Daniels, who has been shut down for the season after a series of injuries limited him to just seven appearances, doing no more than appearing on the sideline in street clothes.
“When you do circle those matchups, that’s exactly what you’re thinking: This is going to be cool. How it’s all laid out — division games right here at the end between two games of Philadelphia with a Dallas game in between,” said Washington coach Dan Quinn, whose team dropped to 4-11 by losing to the Eagles last Saturday and will close against that same club in Week 18.
“Playing these division games, they still mean a lot. They mean a lot to the players, the coaches and the fans,” Quinn said, perhaps trying to persuade himself and his locker room as much as anyone. “And so that part is still good, but not to the level that you wanted it to be.”
Or anyone would, really.