In many ways, Thanksgiving is Christmas for NFL fans. The day is steeped in tradition for the league, and football has almost become as synonymous with the holiday as turkey at this point.
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The Lions and Cowboys will return to their standard Thanksgiving slots this season, but each has a different opponent than last year. In prime time, a key divisional battle is on tap as fans across America try their hardest to stay awake after a day of food, food and more food.
This season, the biggest Thanksgiving storyline might be the Lions' success. Detroit was beginning to show a pulse when Thanksgiving rolled around last season, and the franchise has fully delivered on high expectations this year with one of the NFC's best records. A win on Thanksgiving would push the Lions closer to a playoff berth in what could be a dream season for the franchise.
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Here's what you need to know about this year's NFL Thanksgiving slate, including the full schedule and how to watch the games.
What teams are playing on Thanksgiving 2023?
| Game | Kickoff time | TV channel |
| Packers at Lions | 12:30 p.m. ET | Fox, Fubo |
| Commanders at Cowboys | 4:30 p.m. ET | CBS, Fubo |
| 49ers at Seahawks | 8:20 p.m. ET | NBC, Fubo |
The Thanksgiving slate begins at Ford Field, as usual. The Lions will host the NFC North-rival Packers at 12:30 p.m. ET, and for the first time in quite a while, Detroit enters the game fully expecting a victory.
The Lions are leaders of the NFC North, while the Packers are struggling to stay afloat in the NFC in a total reversal of fate from two years ago, when Green Bay had the best record in the conference and the Lions didn't win a single game until December.
This time, the pressure will be on quarterback Jordan Love to lead the Packers to a road win and avoid putting Green Bay's hopes totally out of reach.
At 4:30 p.m. ET, the Cowboys will host their usual Thanksgiving game, welcoming in the Commanders for the fourth time in the last eight years on turkey day.
The Commanders have been trending in the wrong direction since a 2-0 start to the year, but second-year QB Sam Howell has looked promising in his first season as starter. Whether Washington's defense has enough in the tank to slow down the Cowboys' passing game after trading both Chase Young and Montez Sweat is the burning question entering the game.
In the prime-time slot, the Seahawks will host the 49ers in a key NFC West showdown. The Seahawks briefly led the division after San Francisco lost three consecutive games in October, but the 49ers have come out of their bye strong and are looking to extend their dominance of Seattle.
San Francisco won three games over the Seahawks last season, including a wild-card matchup in the playoffs. If Seattle wants to seriously compete for the division crown, at least one win over the 49ers is likely necessary.
MORE: Why do the Cowboys and Lions always play on Thanksgiving?
What channel is Thanksgiving football on?
Lions vs. Packers TV channel
(12:30 p.m. ET kickoff)
After CBS broadcast last season's Lions game on Thanksgiving, Fox will do the honors in 2023. Kevin Burkhardt (play-by-play) and Greg Olsen (color analyst) will be on the call from Ford Field in Detroit, with Erin Andrews serving as sideline reporter.
Cowboys vs. Commanders TV channel
(4:30 p.m. ET kickoff)
The Cowboys are sticking to their typical 4:30 p.m. ET slot on Thanksgiving, with CBS broadcasting their game against the Commanders this season.
Jim Nantz (play-by-play) and Tony Romo (color analyst) will be on the call from AT&T Stadium, with Tracy Wolfson serving as sideline reporter.
This game marks the fourth time in the last eight seasons that Dallas and Washington have met on Thanksgiving.
49ers vs. Seahawks TV channel
(8:20 p.m. ET kickoff)
While most Thursday night games are broadcast on Amazon Prime, this game can be watched on NBC with "Sunday Night Football" play-by-play broadcaster Mike Tirico on the call.
Cris Collinsworth had Thanksgiving off last season, with Tony Dungy and Jason Garrett filling in alongside Tirico. Whether Collinsworth will be on the call from Seattle isn't yet clear.
Melissa Stark will serve as NBC's sideline reporter for the NFC West battle at Lumen Field.
What football teams always play on Thanksgiving?
The Detroit Lions and Dallas Cowboys are the two teams that always play on Thanksgiving Day. Both teams have played on the holiday consecutively since 1978, but Detroit's tradition dates back much further.
The Lions began playing on Thanksgiving in 1934 and only took a break during World War II.
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As for the Cowboys, they have played on Thanksgiving since 1978, but they originally joined the Thanksgiving fray in 1966. Their streak was interrupted from 1975-77 because the NFL wanted the St. Louis Cardinals to play on Thanksgiving to boost their popularity
The Cowboys are now set to play on Thanksgiving for the 46th consecutive time, and they have become a holiday staple that draws in a massive audience.
The Lions have a career record of 37-44-2 on Thanksgiving. They haven't won a game since 2016 against the Vikings, but with expectations rising and Detroit leading the NFC North, Dan Campbell's team will be favored to win this season's game against the Packers.
The Cowboys are 32-22-1 on Thanksgiving and snapped a three-game losing streak on the holiday with a win over the Giants last season.
What teams have never played on Thanksgiving?
There remains just one team that the NFL hasn't yet played on Thanksgiving: the Jaguars.
Jacksonville has had an NFL team since 1995 but hasn't yet enjoyed much success. The Jaguars finished with the No. 1 pick in back-to-back drafts in 2021 and 2022, and given that they are in a smaller market, it makes sense that the NFL would look to schedule other teams for these marquee spots.
Despite the Jaguars' surprise run to an AFC South title and the divisional round last season, the league didn't put Jacksonville in a Thanksgiving slot this year. With Trevor Lawrence and Doug Pederson restoring credibility to the franchise, however, it's certainly possible the opportunity comes along at some point in the near future.
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There are three other teams — the Buccaneers, Bengals and Panthers — that have played just once on Thanksgiving Day. Below is a list of NFL teams in order by the number of Thanksgiving game appearances, including 2023's games.
| Team | Thanksgiving games |
| Detroit Lions | 84 |
| Dallas Cowboys | 56 |
| Chicago Bears | 37 |
| Green Bay Packers | 37 |
| Arizona Cardinals | 21 |
| New York Giants | 16 |
| Washington Commanders | 13 |
| Denver Broncos | 11 |
| Buffalo Bills | 11 |
| Kansas City Chiefs | 10 |
| Minnesota Vikings | 9 |
| Pittsburgh Steelers | 8 |
| New York Jets | 8 |
| Las Vegas Raiders | 8 |
| Philadelphia Eagles | 7 |
| Miami Dolphins | 7 |
| Tennessee Titans/Houston Oilers | 7 |
| San Francisco 49ers | 6 |
| New England Patriots | 6 |
| Los Angeles Chargers | 5 |
| Los Angeles Rams | 5 |
| Seattle Seahawks | 5 |
| Indianapolis Colts | 4 |
| Atlanta Falcons | 4 |
| New Orleans Saints | 4 |
| Cleveland Browns | 3 |
| Baltimore Ravens | 2 |
| Houston Texans | 2 |
| Carolina Panthers | 1 |
| Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 1 |
| Cincinnati Bengals | 1 |
| Jacksonville Jaguars | 0 |
Do people watch football on Thanksgiving?
Yes, people do watch football on Thanksgiving. In fact, more people watch football on Thanksgiving than at any other point in the regular season.
In 2019, the Bills-Cowboys Thanksgiving game averaged 32.5 million viewers, which made it the most watched game since the 2019 Super Bowl between the Patriots and Rams.
In 2020, the trend of the Cowboys being a big draw continued. They averaged 30.3 million viewers for their 41-16 loss at the hands of the Washington Football Team. It didn't quite compare to the previous season's numbers, but it was still impressive considering the ongoing COVID pandemic and rise of streaming alternatives.
The Lions-Texans game in 2020 drew 23.2 million viewers on average during the game. Neither team had playoff chances, so that broadcast did well, all things considered.
In 2021, the overtime game between the Cowboys and the Raiders drew an average of a whopping 37.8 million viewers on CBS. That was the league's best Thanksgiving performance since a Cowboys-Dolphins game in 1993.
Records were set again in 2022, when 31.63 million viewers tuned in for Bills-Lions, making it the most-watched Thanksgiving in the early slate. Not to be outdone, Fox reported a regular season-record 42 million viewers for Giants-Cowboys in the afternoon slot. NBC said Patriots-Vikings received 26 million viewers in the prime-time slot, the second-most in the history of that slot.
While the Cowboys' slot historically draws in the largest audience on Thanksgiving, all three games will have eyes on them as families gather,
