NFL Thanksgiving 2025 Shatters Viewership Records, Chiefs-Cowboys Game Sets All-Time Mark
If Thanksgiving is football’s holiday, then 2025 might go down as the year the NFL turned the volume all the way up. From the first whistle in Detroit to the final snap under the lights in Baltimore, fans showed up in record-breaking numbers - and the numbers weren’t just big, they were historic.
The headline? The Kansas City Chiefs and Dallas Cowboys delivered the most-watched regular-season game in NFL history.
Let that sink in. A matchup that was already dripping with star power and playoff implications became a television juggernaut, drawing 57.2 million viewers in the late afternoon CBS window.
That’s not just a new Thanksgiving record - it blew past the previous high of 42.1 million (Giants-Cowboys, 2022) like a Mahomes deep ball.
But that was just the main course.
Across all three Thanksgiving Day games - Packers vs. Lions, **Chiefs vs.
Cowboys**, and Bengals vs. Ravens - the NFL averaged 44.7 million viewers, the highest Thanksgiving Day average since records began in 1988.
That’s a full 10 million more than last year’s previous high of 34.5 million, and it marks the fourth straight year the league has set a new Thanksgiving viewership record.
Let’s break it down game by game:
Early Game: Packers vs. Lions (FOX)
The day kicked off with a classic NFC showdown between Green Bay and Detroit, and fans were locked in from the start. The game drew 47.7 million viewers, making it the most-watched early Thanksgiving game ever.
That’s a 27% jump from last year’s Bears-Lions matchup, which previously held the top spot for the early window.
Afternoon Game: Chiefs vs. Cowboys (CBS)
This one was always going to be a heavyweight bout - two flagship franchises, two massive fanbases, and two quarterbacks who know how to light it up. The result?
57.2 million viewers, the most ever for a regular-season NFL game. That’s not just a win for CBS or the league - it’s a statement about the NFL’s place in the American sports landscape.
Primetime Game: Bengals vs. Ravens (NBC)
Even after a full day of football (and probably a second helping of pie), fans still had room for more. The AFC North rivalry between Cincinnati and Baltimore pulled in 28.4 million viewers, a 7% increase over last year’s Dolphins-Packers nightcap.
Not bad for the third game of the day.
Streaming Surges Too
It wasn’t just traditional TV getting the love.
Digital streaming across platforms hit an all-time Thanksgiving high, with an average minute audience of 2.2 million - that’s a 58% increase over last year. Whether fans were watching on their phones between bites of turkey or streaming from the couch, the digital numbers show the NFL is thriving across every screen.
NFL’s Dominance on TV
If it feels like the NFL is everywhere on your screen, that’s because it is.
Since the start of the 2025 season, 48 of the top 50 most-watched shows on television have been NFL games. That’s not just dominance - that’s complete control of the American entertainment landscape.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell summed it up best: “Thanksgiving and NFL football have become synonymous. We are grateful to our teams and broadcast partners for these incredible games, and honored to be a part of so many families’ holiday tradition.”
It’s hard to argue with that. The NFL didn’t just win Thanksgiving - it owned it.
And if this is any indication of what’s to come as the playoff race heats up, buckle up. Football season just hit another gear.