Micah Parsons and Patrick Mahomes
Getty
Dallas Cowboys edge rusher Micah Parsons sacks Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes.
For all intents and purposes, the NFL has its own holiday with Super Bowl Sunday.
It’s not technically a holiday, but you get what we mean. When the NFL eventually gets its way and expands the regular season schedule to 18 games, everyone in America will have the day after the Super Bowl off with President’s Day the day after the Super Bowl from here ’til eternity.
It’s not the first holiday the NFL has decided to take over. It also owns Thanksgiving, where NFL games have become as synonymous with the day as turkey and gravy and falling asleep on the couch after you smash your third serving of your grandma’s apple pie.
No team is more synonymous with Thanksgiving than the NFL’s most popular team, the Dallas Cowboys, and this Thanksgiving could be one for the ages.
Several predictions have this year’s Thanksgiving afternoon game — 4 p.m. EST — between the Kansas City Chiefs and Cowboys in Week 13 pegged as having a shot at breaking the record for the most watched regular season game in NFL history.
The Cowboys have played the Thanksgiving Day game since 1966, with the only exceptions being in 1975 and 1977.
“I feel confident sayingChiefs–Cowboys on Thanksgiving will be the most-watched regular-season game in NFL history,” The 33rd Team’s Ari Meirov wrote on his official X account. “Both teams came back from double-digit deficits today, which only adds more to it. The currentrecord: 42.1 million for Giants–Cowboys on Thanksgiving in 2022.”
In 2022, not only did the Giants-Cowboys set the regular season record, but the 138.1 million people who watched the 3 games that day also set the Thanksgiving Day viewing record.
This year, there are 3 marquee games in a row for fans to watch on 3 different channels/streaming services: Green Bay Packers at Detroit Lions at 1 p.m. EST (FOX), followed by Chiefs-Cowboys at 4:30 p.m. EST (CBS/Paramount+) then a nightcap of Cincinnati Bengals at Baltimore Ravens at 8:20 p.m. EST (NBC/Peacock).
Looking at 10 Most Watched Regular Season Games
Of the 10 most watched regular season games in NFL history, the Cowboys are featured a staggering 6 times. It’s worth pointing out that since 1967, the most viewed television show every year has been the Super Bowl.
Here’s a look at the 10 most watched regular season games in NFL history, according to Front Office Sports:
Cowboys 27, Giants 20 (Nov. 24, 2022) — 42.1 million
49ers 7, Giants 3 (Dec. 3, 1990) — 41.5 millioon
Cowboys 45, Commanders 10 (Nov. 23, 2023) — 41.4 million
Raiders 36, Cowboys 33 (Nov. 25, 2021) — 40.8 million
Dolphins 38, Bears 24 (Dec. 2, 1985) — 39 million
Cowboys 27, Giants 20 (Nov. 28, 2024) — 38.5 million
Lions 23, Bears 20 (Nov. 28, 2024) — 37.4 million
Cowboys 31, Commanders 26 (Nov. 24, 2016) — 35.1 million
Packers 29, Lions 22 (Nov. 23, 2023) — 33.7 million
Eagles 31, Cowboy 7 (Oct. 5, 1991) — 32.9 million
Cowboys Also Most Valuable Team
It should come as no surprise that the most viewed team in NFL regular season history — the Cowboys — are also its most valuable.
The Cowboys became the first professional sports franchise to pass a $10 billion valuation in 2025, according to Forbes Magazine.
Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, an Arkansas native and former University of Arkansas offensive lineman who invested a vast insurance empire from his father, bought the Cowboys from Bum Bright in 1989 for $140 million.