Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes looks to pass as Dallas Cowboys outside linebacker Micah Parsons Denny Medley-Imagn Images

Cowboys-Chiefs 'strategic' Thanksgiving game could make NFL history

Originally posted on Dallas Cowboys on SI
By Matt Galatzan | Last updated May 15, 2025 12:16 PM ET

The NFL released the entirety of its 2025 schedule on Wednesday night, with plenty of star-studded and intriguing matchups dispersed across the league.

However, there might be one game that stands out above the rest in terms of popularity, matchup, and anticipation - the Dallas Cowboys vs. the Kansas City Chiefs on Thanksgiving Day.

In fact, this is such a highly-anticipated matchup, that the NFL believes it could set new records in terms of viewership.

"The NFL made a strategic decision to schedule the Chiefs versus the Cowboys in Dallas on Thanksgiving Day," The Athletic's Richard Deitsch wrote. "The game will air at 4:25 p.m. ET on CBS and stream live on Paramount. The thinking, based on talking to a number of people at different networks, is that the NFL thinks the game can set a record for the most-viewed NFL regular-season game in history."

Outside of the obvious star-studded talents that will be taking part in the game, such as Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce, Dak Prescott and Micah Parsons, the game also holds special significance in the sense that the Chiefs and Cowboys are arguably the two most popular franchises in the NFL today.

in fact, last season the Chiefs were the NFL's most watched team with 25.5 million viewers per game in the regular season, while Dallas was third with 23.14 million per contest, despite missing their biggest star in Prescott for much of the season.

Add that to the fact that Thanksgiving NFL football is already typically the most watched regular season game of the season - last year it had a record-high 141 million viewers across all three games - and there is no reason to believe the matchup between Dallas and Kansas City won't be an absolute home run.

This article first appeared on Dallas Cowboys on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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