The NFL knows how to dominate the holidays.
The league has held games on Thanksgiving for decades, making it an iconic afternoon viewing activity for people trying to avoid family small talk. In recent years, the NFL has started to do the same a month later.
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Traditionally, the league would only force games on Christmas if it fell on a Saturday or Sunday. But lately, Roger Goodell has thrown a tripleheader on screen regardless of the day of the week. That will continue in 2026 with Christmas on a Friday — and don’t forget about the Christmas Eve Thursday Night Football game beforehand.
Here is a look at the NFL’s loaded Christmas slate for 2026:
NFL Christmas games 2026
A month after an action-packed week of Thanksgiving action, the league will once again dominate the holiday season on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.
The Philadelphia Eagles will host the Houston Texans on Thursday, Dec. 24 to kick things off. Then, on Friday, Dec. 25, there will be a tripleheader: Green Bay Packers at Chicago Bears, Buffalo Bills at Denver Broncos and Los Angeles Rams at Seattle Seahawks.
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The NFL will have games spread across Saturday, Dec. 26 and Sunday, Dec. 27, as well as a Monday Night Football game on Dec. 28.
NFL Christmas schedule 2026
Here is the full Christmas schedule for 2026:
Thursday, Dec. 24
- Texans at Eagles: 8:15 p.m. ET, Amazon Prime Video
Friday, Dec. 25
- Packers at Bears: 1 p.m. ET, Netflix
- Bills at Broncos: 4:30 p.m. ET, Netflix
- Rams at Seahawks: 8:15 p.m. ET, FOX
Who won the 2025 NFL Christmas games?
The Cowboys defeated the Commanders 30-23, the Vikings beat the Lions 23-10 and the Broncos edged out the Chiefs 20-13 on Christmas in 2025.
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