Ahead of the full 2025 NFL schedule release, the league has confirmed another blockbuster game for Andy Reid, Patrick Mahomes, and Travis Kelce as the Kansas City Chiefs will play on Thanksgiving against none other than Dak Prescott and the Dallas Cowboys. With this showdown, the Chiefs could help break a record already held by Jerry Jones‘ team.
The game, scheduled for November 27 at 4:30 PM (ET), is expected to catch everyone’s attention during the national holiday. Fans may have gotten used to watching the Cowboys play on Thanksgiving, but seeing them against Mahomes and company will be something completely different.
And while there’s still a long way to go, it doesn’t feel too early to tell that the Chiefs and Cowboys could set a new record for the most-watched regular season game in NFL history.
The Cowboys already lead the list of games with the largest audience, when 42.1 million tuned in to witness Prescott and company beat the New York Giants 28-20 on Thanksgiving Day in 2022.
Dak Prescott #4 of the Dallas Cowboys reacts after a touchdown during the second half in the game against the New York Giants at AT&T Stadium on November 24, 2022 in Arlington, Texas.
The franchise owned by Jones, already known as America’s Team for its popularity even after decades of frustration, attracts viewers by itself. Pitting them against the Chiefs—who have become a team to watch thanks to their success with Reid, Mahomes and Kelce—should make the Cowboys’ Thanksgiving game in 2025 even more interesting.
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The most-watched regular season games in NFL history
According to Front Office Sports, the second most-watched NFL regular season game came in 1990, when the San Francisco 49ers’ 7-3 win over the Giants attracted 41.5 million viewers.
Prescott and the Cowboys eventually claimed the first place with the aforementioned win over New York. Jones‘ team came close to surpassing the 1990 game again in 2023, further consolidating its presence among the top 10 regular season games with largest audience.
- November 24, 2022 – Cowboys (28) vs Giants (20) – 42.1 million viewers
- December 3, 1990 – 49ers (7) vs Giants (3) – 41.5 million
- November 23, 2023 – Cowboys (45) vs Washington (10) – 41.4 million
- November 25, 2021 – Raiders (36) vs Cowboys (33) – 40.8 million
- December 2, 1985 – Bears (24) vs Dolphins (38) – 39 million
- November 28, 2024 – Giants (20) vs Cowboys (27) – 38.5 million
- November 28, 2024 – Bears (20) vs Lions (23) – 37.4 million
- November 24, 2016 – Washington (26) vs Cowboys (31) – 35.1 million
- November 23, 2023 – Packers (29) vs Lions (22) – 33.7 million
- October 5, 1992 – Cowboys (7) vs Eagles (31) – 32.9 million
A highly-anticipated Thanksgiving game in 2025
While the list shows the Cowboys’ dominance in terms of viewership, seven of those game came on Thanksgiving. With Mahomes and company set to play Dallas on Turkey Day, the expectation is that Kansas City not only cracks the top 10 but also sets a new record.
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“Anything under 45 million will be a disappointment. Fifty million isn’t out of the question,” wrote Pro Football Talk‘s Mike Florio, who is confident that the Chiefs-Cowboys Thanksgiving game in 2025 will set unprecedented numbers of viewers.
