Cowboys-Chiefs Thanksgiving Day Game Could Smash All Viewership Records

Jim Nantz is confident that the Thanksgiving Day game between the Chiefs and the Cowboys will set a new viewership record for the NFL.

Cowboys-Chiefs Thanksgiving Day Game Could Smash All Viewership Records

Dak Prescott, Jim Nantz, and Patrick Mahomes (Image Credits: L-IMAGO, R-IMAGO, C-via Associated Press)

This year, the NFL has promised viewers an absolute cinematic showdown on Thanksgiving Thursday. The Patrick Mahomes-led Kansas City Chiefs will be playing against a new-look Dallas Cowboys led by Dak Prescott. Irrespective of what team wins that night, the NFL will get to call it a significant milestone as the matchup will not disappoint in terms of viewership numbers.

It is not just fans who are excited for this game. Iconic announcer Jim Nantz, who has called hundreds of NFL games throughout his career, is looking forward to the Week 13 matchup between America’s most popular football teams.

In his recent appearance on The Rich Eisen Show, Jim Nantz shared his thoughts on the NFL’s calendar for the upcoming season. The Chiefs, arguably the new America’s Team, have the privilege of appearing on CBS for nine games out of their 17 games, a first for any team. However, it is the Week 13 game that Nantz is particularly looking forward to.

On Thanksgiving Day, Kansas City at Dallas, you could argue two of the biggest brands right now in the NFL. The Cowboys have obviously been the brand, the national team moniker, for 40 years at least, and now Kansas City is trying to lay claim to that. They are trying to get a piece of Christmas Day on a full-time basis.

The announcer believes the game will be historic because fans will witness the reigning claimant to the ‘America’s Team’ branding, the Cowboys, defend their rights to the name against the Chiefs, a team that has continually made the Super Bowl five times since Patrick Mahomes became the starter, and won three championships since.

The Dallas Cowboys have recorded historic viewership numbers on Thanksgiving Thursday for years

Historically, the Cowboys rank second to the Lions in terms of Thanksgiving game appearances. So far, Dallas has played in 54 Thanksgiving games. The last time that the Chiefs and Cowboys went at it on Thanksgiving Thursday was in 1995, and that game set a record with a viewership of 35.72 million viewers.

Jim Nantz (2)
Jim Nantz (via NBC)

KC and Dallas, to put those two gigantic brands together on the most-watched day of the regular season in the NFL. It’s gonna set records. That’s not what I’m out for it to do. I just hope it’s a great football game. It will be a wonderful matchup to call on Thanksgiving. KC at Dallas, it’s the game we wanted. We wanted KC and Buffalo, also, I think those are the headlines on our schedule.

Nantz concluded

While it would have been exciting for fans to witness the fiery Chiefs-Bills rivalry while enjoying a slice of turkey, the Cowboys-Chiefs game will not be any less entertaining to witness.

The NFL has continued to break viewership records on Thanksgiving Day. Here’s a list of the most iconic Thanksgiving Day games that have garnered the most views to date:

YEARTEAMSVIEWERSHIP (IN MILLIONS)
2022Giants vs. Cowboys42.06
2021Raiders vs. Cowboys40.80
2024Giants vs. Cowboys38.80
1993Dolphins vs. Cowboys38.41
2024Bears vs. Lions37.50
1995Chiefs vs. Cowboys35.72
2016Washington vs. Dallas35.11
1992Giants vs. Cowboys33.79
1996Washington vs. Dallas32.71
1998Vikings vs. Cowboys32.68
2019Bills vs. Cowboys32.64
2015Panthers vs. Cowboys32.49

It will be interesting to see if the 2025 Thanksgiving game can beat the 2022 record of 42.06 million set by the Cowboys in their matchup against divisional rivals, the New York Giants. Jim Nantz’s instinct indicates that the game can shatter all prior records.

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