The NFL season is still just over four months away, but with OTAs set to begin in the coming weeks and the full 2025 schedule released earlier this month, anticipation is already building.
Among the many intriguing matchups on the calendar, one game that stands out is the Thanksgiving Day showdown between the defending AFC champion Kansas City Chiefs and the Dallas Cowboys in Week 13
One high-profile voice who will be on the call for the marquee matchup is CBS Sports' Jim Nantz. During a recent appearance on “The Rich Eisen Show,” Nantz discussed the schedule release and shared a bold prediction about the Cowboys-Chiefs clash.
Despite several other highly anticipated games throughout the season, Nantz believes this one could be historic—not just for the football, but for the viewership numbers. With the NFL's two most popular franchises facing off on one of the most-watched days of the season, Nantz thinks the game has the potential to break regular season viewership records.
“On Thanksgiving Day, Kansas City at Dallas—you could argue \[those are] two of the biggest brands right now in the NFL,” Nantz said. “The Cowboys have obviously been the brand, the national team moniker, for 40 years at least. And now Kansas City is trying to lay claim to that. They’re trying to get a piece of Christmas Day on a full-time basis. They’re well in play anywhere because they are such a brand team—and they are so good.”
“But KC and Dallas, to put those two gigantic brands together on the most-watched day of the regular season in the NFL? It’s gonna set records. That’s not what I’m out for it to do—I just hope it’s a great football game. It will be a wonderful matchup to call on Thanksgiving. KC at Dallas—that’s the game we wanted. We wanted KC and Buffalo, also. I think those are the headlines on our schedule.”
CBS Sports broadcaster Jim Nantz during the final round of the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am golf tournament at Pebble Beach Golf Links.
CBS Sports broadcaster Jim Nantz during the final round of the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am golf tournament at Pebble Beach Golf Links.
Kyle Terada-Imagn Images
That said, the Cowboys and Chiefs are in very different places as organizations heading into the 2025 season. By Week 13, if the game is going to have that true "instant classic" feel, Dallas will need to be in playoff contention.
Last season, the Cowboys missed the playoffs and finished 7–10, while the Chiefs reached Super Bowl LIX before ultimately falling short against the Philadelphia Eagles.