Updated 13 Nov 2026.
Thanksgiving NFL games 2026: Bears at Lions, Eagles at Cowboys and Chiefs at Bills on 26 November, Broncos at Steelers on Black Friday, with 8 years of results.
What are the Thanksgiving NFL games in 2026?
The 2026 Thanksgiving NFL schedule has 3 games on Thursday 26 November: Bears at Lions at 1:00 PM ET, Eagles at Cowboys at 4:30 PM ET and Chiefs at Bills at 8:20 PM ET. A 4th game, Broncos at Steelers, kicks off at 3:00 PM ET on Black Friday, 27 November.
All 4 games are part of Week 12 on the NFL Week 12 schedule, the first week since Week 4 with no byes, so all 32 teams play 16 games between Wednesday 25 November and Monday 30 November. The records below are after Week 9; all 8 holiday teams play at least 1 more game, in Week 10 or Week 11, before Thanksgiving.
| Day | Kickoff (ET) | Kickoff (UK) | Game | Records | Stadium |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thu 26 Nov | 1:00 PM | 18:00 | Bears at Lions | 7-2 at 6-2 | Ford Field |
| Thu 26 Nov | 4:30 PM | 21:30 | Eagles at Cowboys | 2-7 at 4-5 | AT&T Stadium |
| Thu 26 Nov | 8:20 PM | 01:20 (Fri) | Chiefs at Bills | 6-2 at 7-1 | Highmark Stadium |
| Fri 27 Nov | 3:00 PM | 20:00 | Broncos at Steelers | 7-2 at 6-2 | Acrisure Stadium |
4 of the 8 holiday teams lead their division on the NFL standings, and 7 of the 8 have at least 6 wins. The Buffalo Bills (7-1) hold the AFC 1 seed and the Denver Broncos (7-2) the AFC 2 seed on the NFL playoff picture.
Bears at Lions: what do the numbers say?
Bears at Lions opens Thanksgiving 2026 at 1:00 PM ET with the top 2 teams in the NFC North: the Chicago Bears lead the division at 7-2, the NFC 2 seed, and the Detroit Lions are 2nd at 6-2. It is the 2 teams' first meeting of 2026.
The Bears score 26.8 points a game and allow 20.4 (+57); the Lions score 27.8 and allow 23.6 (+33). Detroit is 4-0 at home. The Lions won 5 of the 6 meetings from 2023 to 2025, including 52-21 and 19-16 in 2025. Both teams are on the NFC North standings.
| Category | Bears | Lions |
|---|---|---|
| Passing yards | Caleb Williams 1,546 in 6 games (22nd) | Jared Goff 2,134 in 8 (9th) |
| Rushing yards | D'Andre Swift 576 (14th) | Jahmyr Gibbs 847 (3rd) |
| Receiving yards | Luther Burden III 644 (13th) | Amon-Ra St. Brown 657 (10th) |
Eagles at Cowboys: what do the numbers say?
Eagles at Cowboys is the 4:30 PM ET Thanksgiving game, and the 2 NFC East teams meet for the 2nd time in 2026: the Dallas Cowboys won 38-21 in Philadelphia in Week 7. Dallas is 4-5, 2nd in the division; the Philadelphia Eagles are 2-7 and have lost 7 in a row.
The Cowboys score 27.3 points a game, 6th in the NFL, but allow 26.2, and they are 1-3 at home. The Eagles score 16.4 and allow 24.6 (-73). Dak Prescott is 3rd in the NFL with 2,381 passing yards and CeeDee Lamb 2nd with 904 receiving yards on the receiving yards leaders board. For Philadelphia, Jalen Hurts has 933 passing yards in 5 games and Saquon Barkley 296 rushing yards in 7. The division is on the NFC East standings.
Chiefs at Bills: what do the numbers say?
Chiefs at Bills is the 8:20 PM ET Thanksgiving night game, between the AFC 1 seed and 5 seed after Week 9. The Bills are 7-1, 4-0 on the road and have won 4 in a row; the Kansas City Chiefs are 6-2 and allow 17.9 points a game, 3rd fewest in the NFL.
Buffalo scores 32.0 points a game, the most in the NFL, and allows 23.4 (+69). The Bills won the 3 regular-season meetings from 2023 to 2025, the last 28-21 in Buffalo in 2025; the Chiefs won both playoff meetings in that span. Kenneth Walker III is 2nd on the rushing yards leaders board with 872 for Kansas City, and James Cook III 5th with 814 for Buffalo. Patrick Mahomes (2,037 passing yards, 14 touchdowns) and Josh Allen (2,027, 12) are 11th and 12th on the passing yards leaders board.
What is the Black Friday NFL game in 2026?
The 2026 Black Friday NFL game is Broncos at Steelers, at 3:00 PM ET on Friday 27 November at Acrisure Stadium. It is the 4th Black Friday game, after Dolphins 34-13 Jets in 2023, Chiefs 19-17 Raiders in 2024 and Bears 24-15 Eagles in 2025.
The Broncos (7-2) have won 5 in a row and lead the AFC West; the Pittsburgh Steelers (6-2) lead the AFC North, are 4-0 at home and allow 18.0 points a game. Denver's point differential is +12, Pittsburgh's +36. Aaron Rodgers has 1,871 passing yards and 13 touchdowns in 8 games; Bo Nix 1,730 and 11 in 9. Jaylen Warren is 6th in the NFL with 704 rushing yards. The teams last met in Week 2 of 2024, a 13-6 Steelers win in Denver.
What is the Lions' Thanksgiving record?
The Lions are 1-7 on Thanksgiving in the 8 seasons we hold, 2018 to 2025, all at Ford Field. Their only win was 23-20 over the Bears in 2024; they lost to the Bears in 2018, 2019 and 2021, to the Texans in 2020, the Bills in 2022 and the Packers in 2023 and 2025.
Detroit scored 25 points or fewer in all 8 of those games. The Bears are 3-1 against them on Thanksgiving in that span. The table lists every Lions and Cowboys Thanksgiving game we hold; each score links to its box score page.
| Season | Lions game | Lions result | Cowboys game | Cowboys result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Bears 23-16 Lions | L | Commanders 23-31 Cowboys | W |
| 2019 | Bears 24-20 Lions | L | Bills 26-15 Cowboys | L |
| 2020 | Texans 41-25 Lions | L | Commanders 41-16 Cowboys | L |
| 2021 | Bears 16-14 Lions | L | Raiders 36-33 Cowboys (OT) | L |
| 2022 | Bills 28-25 Lions | L | Giants 20-28 Cowboys | W |
| 2023 | Packers 29-22 Lions | L | Commanders 10-45 Cowboys | W |
| 2024 | Bears 20-23 Lions | W | Giants 20-27 Cowboys | W |
| 2025 | Packers 31-24 Lions | L | Chiefs 28-31 Cowboys | W |
What is the Cowboys' Thanksgiving record?
The Cowboys are 5-3 on Thanksgiving from 2018 to 2025 and have won the last 4, from 28-20 over the Giants in 2022 to 31-28 over the Chiefs in 2025. Their 3 losses came in a row, from 2019 to 2021, the last 36-33 in overtime to the Raiders.
Dallas scored 45 points against the Commanders in 2023, the most by any team on Thanksgiving in those 8 seasons. The Eagles have not played the Cowboys on Thanksgiving in that span; their one holiday game we hold is the 24-15 Black Friday loss to the Bears in 2025.
Which 2026 holiday teams have played on Thanksgiving before?
6 of the 8 teams playing on Thanksgiving or Black Friday in 2026 played a holiday game from 2018 to 2025; the Broncos and Steelers did not. The Bills are 3-0 on Thanksgiving in that span, all on the road, and the Bears are 4-1 across both days.
| Team | Thanksgiving | Black Friday | Last holiday game |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bears | 3-1 | 1-0 | 2025: won 24-15 at Eagles |
| Lions | 1-7 | 0-0 | 2025: lost 31-24 to Packers |
| Eagles | 0-0 | 0-1 | 2025: lost 24-15 to Bears |
| Cowboys | 5-3 | 0-0 | 2025: won 31-28 over Chiefs |
| Chiefs | 0-1 | 1-0 | 2025: lost 31-28 at Cowboys |
| Bills | 3-0 | 0-0 | 2022: won 28-25 at Lions |
| Broncos | 0-0 | 0-0 | None in 2018-2025 |
| Steelers | 0-0 | 0-0 | None in 2018-2025 |
How do home teams do on Thanksgiving?
Home teams are 9-14 in the 23 Thanksgiving Day games from 2018 to 2025, so the visitors won 14 of 23, or 61%. The Lions and Cowboys host every year, and they are a combined 6-10 at home on the day; the 3rd game's hosts are 3-4.
The 23 games averaged 49.4 total points. The best year for hosts was 2024, when the Lions, Cowboys and Packers all won; in 2019 and 2021 all 3 home teams lost, and in 2020, the season of 2 Thanksgiving games, both did. On Black Friday the road team won 2 of the 3 games, from 2023 to 2025.
Is there an NFL game the night before Thanksgiving?
Yes: Week 12 of 2026 starts on Wednesday 25 November with Packers at Rams at 8:00 PM ET (01:00 UK, Thursday) at SoFi Stadium, the night before Thanksgiving. The Green Bay Packers (6-3) and Los Angeles Rams (5-4) both come off a Week 11 bye.
The Packers won all 3 of their Thanksgiving games from 2023 to 2025, 2 at Detroit and 1 at home. Jordan Love leads the NFL with 2,618 passing yards. The game page is Packers at Rams, and the rest of the week, including 10 Sunday games and Panthers at Buccaneers on Monday 30 November, is on the Week 12 schedule. Which teams rest in Weeks 10 to 14 is in our NFL bye weeks 2026 article.