The presence of Christianity in America’s National Football League (NFL) appears to be intensifying. AJ Gomez reports
Much has been made of the apparent move of God among football players in the Premier League. These days, all it takes is a quick scroll through Sky Sports’ YouTube channel to find a post-match interview in which glory is being attributed to Jesus.
Professional footballer and founder of Ballers in God, John Bostock recently told this magazine, ”We’ve baptised players, won many to the Lord, sowed even more seeds.”
But this isn’t just a trend in English football. It’s happening on the other side of the Atlantic in a different, though similarly named sport.
That’s because American football has been experiencing a similar phenomenon, and perhaps to a more intense degree.
Earlier this month, a Pittsburgh priest made headlines after a video circulated showing him blessing the end zone of the Pittsburgh Steelers’ Acrisure Stadium ahead of their playoff-clinching game against the Baltimore Ravens. In the clip, Father Maximilian Maxwell of Saint Vincent Archabbey is seen sprinkling holy water over the turf.
Unaware that this was a tradition dating back more than 20 years, many online speculated that Father Maximilian Maxwell had brought forth divine intervention in favour of the Steelers after the Ravens kicker missed a relatively straightforward field-goal attempt that would have won them the game.
A priest just blessed the field with Holy Water pic.twitter.com/nspQ299tam
— Jenna Harner (@JennaHarner11) January 4, 2026
As attention grew, Saint Vincent Church were quick to provide clarification, confirming the blessing was not a divine attempt to sway the scoreboard. Rather, the field is routinely blessed and prayers offered “for the safety and health of all the athletes who compete there.”
The moment was less about miraculous intervention and more a reminder that Christianity has long been a visible thread within NFL culture. Saint Vincent College later highlighted the deep relationship between one of American football’s most storied franchises and a small local monastery: “This gesture reflects the broader pastoral outreach of our monastic community and the longstanding relationship between Saint Vincent and the Steelers. We have walked together for 60 years and will continue to be faithful to each other.”
Christ-like community outreach
On 18 December, players from the Baltimore Ravens visited a nearby elementary school to wash students’ feet and gift them new shoes. Among those present were Lamar Jackson and Derrick Henry, two of the most esteemed players in their respective positions.
When asked about the initiative, Lamar Jackson explained he had heard about it during chapel the week prior from Ravens chaplain Johnny Shelton and decided he was going to partake.
“I felt like it was cool to do,” Jackson said. “I didn’t do it for [any] special reason. I was just trying to do something for the community and do something Christlike.”
The post-game pulpit
As in the Premier League, expressions of faith have found a recurring space in the post-game interviews and press conferences.
After a late-December win against the Los Angeles Chargers, the Houston Texans’ head coach DeMeco Ryans – whose team was riding a nine-game win streak – opened his press conference by redirecting the praise he and his players had been receiving for their success.
“The light is shining bright on the Texans, but that light is really reflective of our guys’ belief in our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. That’s what’s driven our team. I’m so proud of our guys and thankful to the Lord for allowing our lights to shine through him. All praise and honour goes to him.”
A week later, following their 12th win of the season, the quarterback C.J. Stroud responded to a reporter who suggested that God may be blessing the team because of the testimony they had been giving all-season. Had you tuned in mid-way through his answer you may have mistaken the post-game podium for a pulpit.
“I don’t want it to ever be confused – I don’t think God is like, ‘The Texans are going to win!’ Stroud explained.
“Regardless of win or loss, he gets the glory…and that’s up to us. That’s just worship. Him giving us our talents, our abilities — he is more than worthy of all our worship. That’s really why we do what we do. It’s not because we all follow Jesus that we’re winning every game. It shows the world when you lose and you’re not doing well, how you profess your faith is really the testament to your faith.”
C.J Stroud is not the first to use the platform watched by an average of 18 million people every game to share a sermon-like message.
New Orleans Saints linebacker Dermario Davis took took a post-game conference, quite literally re-purposing the platform to share a message following a Sunday game: “I started to realise something.” Davis told reporters. “We play this game on Sundays and the day we should be worshipping the Lord a lot of times, players are getting worshipped. So since so many of us didn’t get to go to church today, I have a word I want to share…”
What followed was a five-minute reflection prefaced with Revelation 3:20, centred around a moving testimony of his daughter ,who suffered an epileptic seizure but emerged stronger than she had been prior to it, before concluding with a call for listeners to open their hearts to Christ.
“I’ll be here to talk about football next week,” Davis concluded, walking away without taking questions. “Happy Sunday, and praise God.”
The post-game prayer
Such public expressions of faith are starting to feel familiar in the NFL. But the culture that has made space for them was shaped decades ago.
In 1990, the 49ers chaplain Pat Richie and New York Giants chaplain Dave Bratton arranged for the first joint post-game prayer between opposing teams in NFL history.
At the time, even acknowledging opponents after such fierce contests was uncommon. Brent Jones, tight end for the 49ers, recalled the climate in which these prospective prayers were being organised: “This was not something that happened at all,” Jones said.
“Even just shaking hands after games was brief… You stuck with your own team. So there was a lot of nervousness and quite a lot of fear about kneeling and praying with the other team. But we felt it was significant being Christians and letting people know there was something more important than sports.”
The tension Jones described was rather fittingly illustrated when those plans were disrupted by an on-field melee at the 50-yard line, precisely the place on the field where the prayer had been scheduled to take place.
Feeling as if the conflict and chaos had foiled their plans, Brent Jones and his teammates resigned to praying themselves, “So we said, ‘You know what, let’s kneel down and pray ourselves.’”
A photographer captured the moment six 49ers kneeled between the 30- and 40-yard line in a black and white photo. That picture would mark the NFL’s first post-game prayer because of what Brett Jones says happened next, “Literally one second after that picture was taken, a couple of Giants came flying into the huddle. We stood up, grabbed hands and prayed, thanking God for the opportunity to play pro football and to glorify him and Jesus.”
Fun fact: every NFL team does do this. Players and staff meet at the logo after shaking hands at the end of every NFL game and someone says a prayer, usually thanking God for His provision and blessing, asking for healing of all the injured players and safe travels home for the… https://t.co/3TyDoWbKpE
— Liam McCullough🇺🇸 (@LiamMcCullough2) January 5, 2026
Earlier this month, Atlanta Falcons centre Liam McCollough responded to a social media post suggesting that every NFL team should pray before games, clarifying that they already do. “All in Jesus’ name!”
Jesus tells us to, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.” (Mark 16:15). For some players, that looks like washing the feet of young people in their community; for others, it means using a national broadcast to share a testimony. For us, it should mean joining them in praying, in Jesus’ name, that the courage we see in their expressions of faith continue to grow, bold and unapologetic.
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