NFL Thanksgiving 2026: Five Games, Three Days, and a Wednesday Kickoff

The NFL has done something in 2026 it has never done before. It scheduled a game on the Wednesday night before Thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving used to mean two games. Then three. Then a Black Friday game got added in 2023. For 2026, the league has built a five-game event spanning Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, with a different broadcaster in every window.

All five games fall in Week 12 — which is also why no team gets a bye that week. The league wants all 32 clubs available.

Here is the full slate.

The complete 2026 Thanksgiving schedule

Day	Date	Matchup	Venue	Kickoff (ET)	Watch on
Wednesday	Nov 25	Packers at Rams	SoFi Stadium, Inglewood	8:00 PM	Netflix
Thursday	Nov 26	Bears at Lions	Ford Field, Detroit	1:00 PM	CBS, Paramount+, NFL+
Thursday	Nov 26	Eagles at Cowboys	AT&T Stadium, Arlington	4:30 PM	FOX, FOX One, NFL+
Thursday	Nov 26	Chiefs at Bills	Highmark Stadium, Orchard Park	8:20 PM	NBC, Peacock, NFL+
Friday	Nov 27	Broncos at Steelers	Acrisure Stadium, Pittsburgh	3:00 PM	Prime Video

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Five games, five different broadcast homes. Netflix, CBS, FOX, NBC and Amazon each get one window. That is not an accident — it is the clearest illustration yet of how fragmented NFL rights have become.

Wednesday, 25 November: Packers at Rams

The first Thanksgiving Eve game in league history, and the first NFL game played on a Wednesday in November since the Super Bowl era began.

The matchup is not a throwaway. The Rams went 12-5 in 2025 and reached the NFC Championship Game, and they enter 2026 with a Super Bowl-or-bust outlook. Matthew Stafford is the reigning AP NFL MVP off the best statistical season of his career — a league-leading 4,707 passing yards and a career-high 46 touchdowns, at age 38.

Green Bay made the playoffs for a third straight season but lost five in a row to close the year and went one-and-done again. Jordan Love has Micah Parsons back from the ACL tear that ended his 2025, with Week 12 giving him ample runway to return.

There is a coaching subplot too. Sean McVay and Matt LaFleur worked together before either had a head job, and this is the kind of matchup the league wants for a new window.

One thing worth flagging: both these teams have their bye in Week 11, immediately before this game. A Wednesday kickoff cuts several days off the back end of a normal bye. Both staffs will be working a compressed week.

Thursday, 1:00 PM: Bears at Lions

Detroit has played on Thanksgiving since 1934 and every year since 1945. This will be the Lions’ 86th game on the holiday.

For the fourth straight season they host a division rival, and this year it is Chicago — the reigning NFC North champions under Ben Johnson, who was Detroit’s offensive coordinator before taking the Bears job. Johnson went 0-2 against his old team in his first year.

The holiday history here is deep. Only Detroit and Green Bay have met on Thanksgiving more often than Detroit and Chicago, and the Bears hold the edge in the series at 11-9. Detroit’s all-time Thanksgiving record is 38-46-2.

The last time these two met on the holiday, in 2024, Detroit won 23-20 after Chicago rallied from 23-7 down and then lost the game to a clock-management collapse. Bears head coach Matt Eberflus was fired the next day, which is what eventually opened the door for Johnson. That result was also Detroit’s first Thanksgiving win since 2016.

The Lions come in off a 9-8 season that missed the playoffs but still counted as their fourth consecutive winning year.

See also: Chicago Bears Football Schedule 2026: Printable PDF

Thursday, 4:30 PM: Eagles at Cowboys

Dallas has hosted a Thanksgiving game since 1966. What makes 2026 different is the opponent.

The Cowboys and Eagles have met on Thanksgiving only twice since 1966 — Philadelphia won 27-0 in 1989 and 33-10 in 2014. For two teams in the same division who have dominated it for five years, that is a remarkably thin holiday history.

Philadelphia arrives with back-to-back NFC East titles and a 3-2 edge in division crowns over Dallas since 2021. The Eagles’ problem in 2025 was an offence that descended into dysfunction again despite the division win.

Dallas finished 7-9-1 and has invested heavily in its defence for 2026, trying to build a team that can compete on both sides of the ball rather than out-scoring its problems.

This is the window most of the country will be watching — mid-afternoon on the east coast, plates cleared, nothing else on.

Thursday, 8:20 PM: Chiefs at Bills

The nightcap is the best game of the three, and it is not close.

Kansas City and Buffalo have played ten times since 2020 including playoffs. The Chiefs are 4-0 against the Bills in the postseason. Buffalo is 5-1 in the regular season and has won five straight. Six of the last seven meetings were decided by seven points or fewer.

Both teams arrive changed. Kansas City is coming off a six-win 2025, has signed Super Bowl LX MVP Kenneth Walker III, and has rebuilt its defensive backfield around free agent Alohi Gilman and first-round cornerback Mansoor Delane.

The bigger change is in Buffalo. Sean McDermott was fired after nine seasons and replaced by offensive coordinator Joe Brady, who at 36 becomes one of the league’s youngest head coaches. Brady matching wits with Andy Reid, 68, is the subplot of the night.

Late November in Orchard Park also means weather is in play. Highmark Stadium in the last week of November can produce anything from clear and cold to a full lake-effect event.

Friday, 3:00 PM: Broncos at Steelers

The fourth Black Friday game, and a matchup of two 2025 AFC playoff teams.

Denver reached the AFC Championship Game and returns most of its talent, with Bo Nix back from the ankle injury that ended his postseason. The defence, built around Patrick Surtain II and Nik Bonitto, has been among the league’s best for several years.

Pittsburgh is the more interesting story. Mike Tomlin stepped down after 19 seasons on the sideline, and Mike McCarthy has taken over — becoming a rare NFL head coach with a third franchise. T.J. Watt anchors a defence looking to rebound from an uncharacteristically difficult season.

A 3:00 PM Friday kickoff is an odd slot that works precisely because of the day. Nobody is doing anything productive on Black Friday afternoon.

See also: Highest Paid NFL Players 2026: Top 10 Salaries, Contracts, and Who Earns What

How Thanksgiving football got this big

The expansion happened in identifiable steps.

Detroit started hosting in 1934. Dallas joined as a host in 1966. The league added a third Thursday game in 2006. Black Friday arrived in 2023 as part of the Amazon deal. Thanksgiving Eve arrives in 2026, on Netflix.

The Thursday games carried the Thanksgiving Classic branding from 2001. Since 2022 they have been badged as the John Madden Thanksgiving Celebration, honouring the coach and broadcaster whose name is inseparable from the holiday.

Combined with the Sunday and Monday games in Week 11, the 2026 calendar delivers NFL football on seven of nine days from 22 to 30 November.

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