What NFL games are on Thanksgiving this year? Start times, viewing information

What NFL games are on Thanksgiving this year? Start times, viewing information originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

Thanksgiving and NFL football go hand-in-hand. At this point, can you even have one without the other? We don’t think so. The annual holiday NFL games provide an activity for families to share together while full of food, or they can provide a distraction for those individuals looking to avoid their families entirely.

The NFL has held games on Thanksgiving basically since the inception of the league, and the number of games played has actually been increased. The league used to have two games every year on Turkey Day, but back in 2006 they bumped that number up to three and haven’t looked back. That tradition will continue in 2025, as the league has three great games lined up for this year.

Start times, viewing information for 2025 NFL Thanksgiving games

Here's a look at the three NFL games that will be played on Thanksgiving this year, and what television channel they will be on:

1:00 p.m. ET: Green Bay Packers vs. Detroit Lions (Fox)

4:30 p.m. ET: Kansas City Chiefs at Dallas Cowboys (CBS)

8:20 pm. ET: Cincinnati Bengals at Baltimore Ravens (NBC)

All three of those games will have some serious playoff implications. That isn’t always the case with the Thanksgiving Day slate.

The Packers (7-3-1) and Lions (7-4) are in the midst of a tight battle for playoff positioning both in the NFC North and in the conference at large. The Bears (8-3) currently lead the division, but both the Packers and Lions are right on Chicago’s heels.

Meanwhile, the Chiefs (6-5) and Cowboys (5-5-1) will both be desperate for a win in order to remain in the playoff picture in their respective conferences. If the playoffs started today, both teams would be on the outside looking in.

Finally, we have an AFC North battle between the Bengals and Ravens. Cincinnati is probably already too far outside of the playoff picture to make a run, but they’d love nothing more than to mess things up for their division rival. The Ravens will need a win in order to maintain their position at the top of the division, as winning the North might be their only path to postseason play.

Overall, it should be a great day of food and football.