Cowboys-Chiefs Thanksgiving Thriller Draws Record 57.2 Million Viewers - The Most-Watched Regular-Season Game in NFL History
Thanksgiving football is always a marquee event on the NFL calendar, but this year’s late-afternoon matchup between the Dallas Cowboys and Kansas City Chiefs delivered something truly historic - a staggering 57.2 million viewers tuned in to CBS and Paramount+ to watch the Cowboys edge out the Chiefs, 31-28, in a back-and-forth battle that lived up to the hype.
That number isn’t just big - it’s record-breaking. We’re talking about the most-watched regular-season NFL game ever.
Not just this season. Not just this decade.
Ever. The previous high-water mark?
That was back in 2022, when the Cowboys faced the Giants on Thanksgiving and pulled in 42 million viewers. This year’s showdown blew past that by more than 15 million.
So how did we get here? It wasn’t an accident.
This was a calculated move by the NFL - a perfect storm of timing, branding, and high-stakes football. Thanksgiving is already the league’s biggest regular-season stage, and this year, they stacked the deck: the Cowboys, the Chiefs, and a national holiday built around food, family, and football.
It’s the kind of matchup that transcends fan allegiances. Whether you root for Dallas, Kansas City, or neither, this was must-see TV.
And the rest of the Thanksgiving slate didn’t disappoint either. Earlier in the day, the Packers took down the Lions 31-24 in a game that also made history.
That one averaged 47.7 million viewers on Fox and Tubi - the most-watched early Thanksgiving Day game on record. It helped that the NFL pushed kickoff back 30 minutes to 1:00 p.m.
ET, giving more fans time to settle in. On any other day, that number would’ve shattered records.
But this wasn’t just any day.
Even the nightcap delivered. The Ravens and Bengals closed out the triple-header with a primetime showdown on NBC, Peacock, and Telemundo that drew 28.4 million viewers - the most ever for a Thanksgiving night game.
The numbers are massive, no doubt helped by Nielsen’s Big Data + Panel Technology, which now captures out-of-home viewership more effectively - a key factor on a holiday when fans gather in living rooms, bars, and anywhere with a screen. But let’s not overlook the product on the field. The Cowboys and Chiefs didn’t just bring name recognition - they brought drama.
Dallas came in riding the high of a wild comeback win over the Eagles. Kansas City, meanwhile, had just pulled off an overtime win against the Colts that kept their season alive.
Both teams were playing for more than pride. The stakes were real, and the game delivered - a tight contest that stayed competitive deep into the fourth quarter.
That’s the kind of football that keeps fans glued to the screen.
And while both franchises are household names, their playoff paths are anything but guaranteed. According to The Athletic’s NFL Playoff Simulator, the Chiefs currently have a 37% shot at making the postseason.
The Cowboys? Just 23%.
So while the ratings are sky-high, the pressure is too. Every game from here on out matters.
One more game’s viewership still looms: the Bears-Eagles Black Friday matchup on Prime Video. Those numbers are expected to drop Thursday, and it’ll be interesting to see how they stack up against the Thanksgiving trifecta.
But no matter what happens next, this Thanksgiving will go down as a landmark moment for the NFL. The league didn’t just win the day - it set a new gold standard for regular-season viewership. And with the way this season is shaping up, this might not be the last record to fall.