2026 NFL schedule: A phenomenal slate for Thanksgiving, Black Friday and even Thanksgiving eve

As the Lions improved the past few seasons, the calls for them to not host the Thanksgiving opener anymore have subsided. Detroit is now a fantastic draw for the NFL on Thanksgiving. That and a television coverage change — allowing networks to swap AFC and NFC games — gives the league some flexibility when it comes to scheduling. The NFL had scheduled divisional games for the Lions each of the last three seasons, and four of the last five. They stuck with that theme this season, giving them a fun matchup against the Bears. That was the matchup for the first game of Thanksgiving in 2024, and the Bears nearly upset the Lions, running out of time at the end in a 23-20 loss. Bears coach Matt Eberflus was fired after a clock management fiasco at the end of the game, leading to Chicago hiring Ben Johnson, who was the Lions’ offensive coordinator in that game.

A Detroit Lions fan wearing a knitted turkey hat watches last season's Thanksgiving game against the Packers. (Photo by Scott W. Grau/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

(Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Thanksgiving: Philadelphia Eagles at Dallas Cowboys

The Cowboys on Thanksgiving is a ratings monster for the NFL. Last season, 57.2 million viewers watched Dallas beat the Kansas City Chiefs. That was the most-watched regular season game in NFL history.

The NFL seems like it wants to break that record. The league could have picked just about any team for this game and got monster ratings, but it chose one of the league’s biggest draws. If the Cowboys improve and are in the NFC East race, this game could surpass last year’s record for viewership. And from a football aspect, it’s an easy sell as long as Dallas is improved.

Thanksgiving night: Kansas City Chiefs at Buffalo Bills

Hope you’re not tired for the night game, because the NFL gave us a great one to cap the day. The Chiefs and Bills have developed a rivalry, with Patrick Mahomes on one side and Josh Allen on the other. The two teams have had some classic games. This one, in the Bills’ new Highmark Stadium, should be another fantastic one. Considering there are four playoff teams from last season on Thanksgiving, and the other two are the Chiefs and Cowboys, on paper this three-game slate might be the best we’ve seen on the NFL’s big holiday.

Black Friday: Denver Broncos at Pittsburgh Steelers

The Black Friday game is no throwaway this season. The Broncos and Steelers both won their divisions last season. There are some questions about whether the Steelers can maintain that, with Mike McCarthy replacing Mike Tomlin at head coach and Aaron Rodgers’ situation in limbo, but it has been a long time since Pittsburgh was bad. And if this is the fifth-best matchup of the three days, we’re doing pretty good.