Washington Commanders head coach Dan Quinn looks on during warmups prior to the game against the New York Giants. Robert Deutsch-Imagn Images

Commanders getting into Christmas spirit vs. Cowboys

Originally posted on Washington Commanders on SI
By Jeremy Brener | Last updated Dec 22, 2025 9:00 AM ET

The Washington Commanders may be out of the postseason, but they are still headlining the NFL's Christmas Day slate in Week 17 against the Dallas Cowboys.

While there isn't much to play for other than bragging rights and pride, Washington Commanders head coach Ron Rivera is excited to play on a national stage on Christmas Day.

“Yeah, I'm glad that you brought up now that I think it's honestly definitely something that we circled and we thought, man, what a cool opportunity for us and then also to have it at home. That's a big deal. And so yeah, this is definitely one, division game on Christmas, pretty cool environment, so if you can get some snow mixed into there, all that would be good with us," Quinn said.

Geoff Burke-Imagn Images

Commanders looking forward to Christmas clash

There's plenty of reasons to be a scrooge about the Commanders given their 4-11 record this season, but the team is taking a different approach. The Commanders are excited to be playing one of their biggest rivals late in the season in front of a national audience.

"This is going to be cool how it's all laid out, division games right here at the end between two games of Philadelphia with a Dallas [Cowboys] game in between," Quinn said.

"Like that's pretty cool. And so, what I can say is that playing these division games and they still mean a lot, they mean a lot to the players, the coaches and the fans. And so that part is still good, but not to the level that you wanted it to be, I think that's really accurate."

The Commanders are in charge of drumming up their own Christmas spirit and that might be enough to keep them competitive against the Cowboys.

Kickoff between the Cowboys and Commanders is scheduled for Thursday at 12 p.m. ET inside Northwest Stadium. Fans can stream the game on Netflix.