Dec 26, 2025
3 min read
Injuries to Patrick Mahomes, Jayden Daniels and other NFL quarterbacks put three backups in the spotlight on Christmas Day.
The Athletic will broadcast live NFL Christmas games between Lions vs. Vikings and Broncos vs. Chiefs.
When the NFL scheduled its Christmas games, it expected a parade of playoff-bound teams led by marquee quarterbacks.
He is trying to achieve something completely different.
Of the six teams playing Thursday, the Dallas Cowboys, Minnesota Vikings, Washington Commanders and Kansas City Chiefs have been eliminated from playoff contention, putting the Detroit Lions in jeopardy.
As for the quarterbacks, Kansas City's Patrick Mahomes and Washington's Jayden Daniels are both injured and out for the season, and Minnesota's J.J. McCarthy will miss the Vikings' Christmas game with a hand injury.The Kings and Chiefs will also be without their popular backups.
Gardner Minshew suffered a broken collarbone in Kansas City's loss to Tennessee on Sunday and is out for the year.Marcus Mariota will miss Washington's game Thursday against the Cowboys, after he left the Commanders' Week 16 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles with a hand injury that required stitches, along with a quad injury.
So while Detroit's Jared Goff, Denver's Bo Nix and Dallas' Dak Prescott will be familiar faces to many fans preparing for the Christmas game, three starters are likely to remain relatively unknown.Here's what you need to know about each:
Chris Oladokun, Kansas City Chiefs
Oladokun replaces Minshew, who was injured in the second quarter of Sunday's 26-9 loss to the Titans.In nearly three-quarters of play, Oladokun completed 11 of 11 passes for 111 yards.The 28-year-old signal caller was selected in the seventh round of the 2022 NFL Draft by the Pittsburgh Steelers.The Steelers cut him loose, and Oladokun left the Chiefs' coaching staff.
He threw for 2,058 yards and 18 touchdowns in his junior season with the Bulldogs in 2019. There he began his college career at South Florida. He transferred to South Dakota State for his final collegiate season in 2021, going 13-16 for the Jackrabbits in the 2021 quarter with 3,164 yards and 25 touchdowns.
Before Sunday, Omaokan attempted an NFL password.I, it is replaced with principles to get a rolcos.
Josh Johnson, Washington Chiefs
There's almost a 50-50 chance that Johnson played for your favorite team at some point. The legendary pass rusher was a member of an NFL-record 14 different franchises.
The 39-year-old began his pro career as a fifth-round pick of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2008. Since then, he's started for nearly half the teams in the league and spent this season as the Commanders' third-string quarterback.After Miota left in the third quarter against Philadelphia on Saturday, Johnson came on to finish the game, completing 5-of-9 passes for 43 yards and one interception in a 29-18 loss.
Johnson played in 45 games over a decade and more in the league.He started just nine of those games, posting a 1-8 record in those starts.In all, he threw for 2,340 yards with 13 touchdowns and 17 interceptions.
Max Brosmer, Minnesota Vikings
The Vikings' undrafted rookie out of the University of Minnesota has already started one game this season and thrown four passes.In his lone start, Brozmer went 19-for-30 for 126 yards and four interceptions in a 26-0 loss to the Seattle Seahawks in Week 13. When McCarty left at halftime of Sunday's Vikings-Giants game, Brozmer completed 7 of 529 passes in the 16-13 win.
Brosmer, 24, spent five seasons at the University of New Hampshire.As a redshirt junior in 2023, he threw for 3,464 yards and 29 touchdowns, earning first-team All-American honors from the American Football Coaches Association.He then transferred to Minnesota for the 2024 season, where he threw for 2,828 yards and 18 touchdowns with six interceptions in his only year in the Big Ten.
