The Lead
The Broncos will receive a unique surprise for Christmas this year: slime.
On Tuesday, CBS Sports provided more details about the special Nickelodeon broadcast of the Broncos and Rams' Week 16 matchup on Dec. 25 at 2:30 p.m. MT. While there will be a traditional broadcast option on CBS, the "NFL Nickmas Game" will provide a treat for fans of all ages with special tie-ins that only Nickelodeon could bring to an NFL game.
The broadcast booth will feature CBS Sports' Nate Burleson, Noah Eagle and actress Gabrielle Nevaeh Green, star of Nickelodeon's "That Girl Lay Lay," while Dylan Gilmer of "Tyler Perry's Young Dylan" will serve as the sideline reporter. Patrick Star from "SpongeBob," voiced by Bill Fagerbakke, will also appear virtually during the game to contribute live commentary.
This will be the first regular-season game to air on Nickelodeon, after the network hosted simulcasts with CBS for the Bears-Saints wild card game in 2021 and the 49ers-Cowboys wild card game in 2022.
Just like for those games, fans can expect the usual Nickelodeon effects, including virtual cannons launching slime and — for the holidays — snow and gifts onto the field. There will also be holiday-themed augmented reality effects, including "snowmen, gingerbread men and other wintry surprises" on the field. In addition, the broadcast will include special guests, a virtual Nickelodeon blimp and more.
And at halftime, Nickelodeon will air a halftime shop that provides a look at its new "Paw Patrol" spinoff show, "Rubble & Crew."
Below the Fold
After a quiet past few weeks, tight end Greg Dulcich was a major contributor to the Broncos' passing game in their matchup with the Ravens, recording six receptions for 85 yards — including a key 22-yard catch on third-and-11 to move the chains. This was the rookie's second time recording more than 80 receiving yards in a game this season, and Head Coach Nathaniel Hackett said after the game that the team used him in more of a wide receiver role against Baltimore.
"We thought we were going to be able to gain an advantage with having Dulcich play kind of like a wide receiver," Hackett said. "Being able to run the football, do some play[-action] pass and some dropbacks out of it to utilize him as a wide receiver. I thought he did a great job. [It's] something we started experimenting with this week, and we did some great stuff."
While Dulcich has not found the end zone since scoring a touchdown in his first career game in Week 6, the young tight end has been developing strong chemistry with quarterback Russell Wilson.
"We're definitely getting some good chemistry," Dulcich said. "Everyone on the offense is, so as this thing progresses, we're all getting a little bit tighter."
