The NFL appears to be going all-in on maximizing its ratings this season, slotting the Chiefs to turbocharge what is usually the most-watched window of the season — the Cowboys Thanksgiving Day game.
The Chiefs have been named the Cowboys’ opponent for their Thanksgiving Day game, which will air on CBS, it was announced Wednesday. Kansas City has not played on Thanksgiving in the Patrick Mahomes era, their last appearance on the holiday coming in 2006 against the Broncos (the first NFL game on NFL Network).
The Cowboys Thanksgiving game is a foolproof TV window that would deliver the largest audience of an NFL season regardless of the opponent. Last year’s matchup against the Giants was the most-watched of the season despite the teams’ combined 6-16 record. As a result, the NFL has tended to avoid scheduling blockbuster matchups for that window — instead opting for divisional rivals (the Commanders and Giants) or up-and-coming teams (the 2019 Bills and the 2021 Raiders).
Though it was the top game of the season, Giants-Cowboys was also the least-watched Dallas game on Thanksgiving since 2020, and the first since that year not to hit the 40 million mark. Scheduling the Chiefs means not only that the league will avoid a repeat of last year’s four-year low, but creates the possibility of a new record-high.
The current Thanksgiving record of 42.1 million was set by Giants-Cowboys in 2022, when New York had an unexpectedly good season and the matchup determined supremacy in the NFC East. (It did not hurt that FOX had the FIFA World Cup as a promotional platform.)
That is not the only evidence of a change in strategy this season. The league has also scheduled Cowboys-Eagles for Opening Night, marking just the third time Dallas has been set for the annual Kickoff Game. While the Kickoff Game is not foolproof in the same vein as Thanksgiving, the league has generally avoided scheduling its best possible matchups for that window.
The NFL is coming off of a minuscule two percent decline in viewership for last year’s regular season.
