According to predictions, one of the NFL games played on Thanksgiving Day this year is set to break records. The matchup between the Kansas City Chiefs and Dallas Cowboys is projected to not only be the most-viewed game in the holiday’s history, but the most-viewed regular-season game in the history of the league.
Some experts are even saying that viewership could reach a staggering 50 million people.
What Is The Most Watched Thanksgiving NFL Game Ever?
Which are the most-watched Thanksgiving NFL games ever? Here are the top-five heading into this Thursday:
5. Bears @ Lions — 2024
37.4 million viewers
This is the only time that the Lions appear in the top of the rankings for most-watched NFL Thanksgiving games of all time. After years of uneventful and low-expectation holiday games, the Lions were one of the Super Bowl favorites in 2024, and were taking on a highly-touted rookie quarterback who played for a division rival.
That recipe made it the most-watched Lions game of all-time, and the 5th-most watched Thanksgiving Day game ever. 37.4 million people tuned in, and saw a close contest that was lost on an offensive blunder by Chicago. Detroit picked up the 23-20 victory.
4. Giants @ Cowboys — 2024
38.5 million viewers
This game is perhaps the most interesting of the bunch in terms of why ratings were so high. The Giants were 2-9 coming into the contest, and the Cowboys were struggling themselves at 4-7, so it wasn’t a marquee matchup by any means. Maybe the large viewership numbers are simply accounted to the growth of the NFL, as each of the Thanksgiving games in the top-5 have taken place in the last three years.
Or maybe everyone just wanted to tune in to watch the elite quarterback battle between Cooper Rush and Drew Lock.
3. Raiders @ Cowboys — 2021
40.8 million viewers
The Raiders have a strong fan base no matter which city they reside in, and they don’t play on Thanksgiving all that often. So when they were featured in the prime holiday window against the Cowboys in 2021, there was a huge boost in viewership. 40.8 million people tuned in that day, and were treated to an excellent game.
After being down 27-19 to start the fourth quarter, the Cowboys stormed back and forced overtime on a 45-yard Greg Zuerlein field goal. The Raiders prevailed, however, coming away with the victory in extra time.
2. Commanders @ Cowboys — 2023
41.4 million viewers
The Commanders and Cowboys were headed in opposite directions when they met on Thanksgiving 2023, but that didn’t hamper the viewership numbers. The long and storied rivalry held up to “command” the second-most holiday viewers ever, though there wasn’t much excitement in the 45-10 drubbing by Dallas.
There was, however, a notable moment. Cowboys defensive back DaRon Bland was able to set the single season mark for interceptions returned for touchdowns with his big play in the 4th quarter. It was his record-breaking 5th of the season, and put the punctuation mark on his team’s victory.
1. Giants @ Cowboys — 2022
42.06 million viewers
The Cowboys are always the main draw on Thanksgiving, but their 2022 holiday game held some extra weight. They entered their contest against the Giants tied with New York in the NFC West with a 7-3 record, and needed a win to keep up with the Eagles in first place. The game ended in a 28-20 score in favor of the Cowboys.
The game attracted 42 million viewers, which isn’t just the highest in Thanksgiving history. It is, to this day, the most-watched regular season NFL game of all-time.
