Thanksgiving football: a tradition as American as turkey and stuffing, but this year, there's a slight twist! The Detroit Lions and Dallas Cowboys are still the main courses on the NFL's Thanksgiving Day menu, but the kickoff time for the Lions' game against the Green Bay Packers is shifting.
Instead of the usual 12:30 p.m. ET start, the Lions and Packers will now battle it out at 1 p.m. ET. Why the change? NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell explained on 'The Pat McAfee Show' that the adjustment aligns the holiday kickoff times with the standard Sunday game schedule.
Following the Lions-Packers showdown, the Dallas Cowboys will host the Kansas City Chiefs at 4:30 p.m. ET, with the Cincinnati Bengals and Baltimore Ravens rounding out the evening with an 8:20 p.m. ET kickoff.
But here's where it gets interesting... Mike North, the NFL's vice president of broadcast planning, suggests this Thanksgiving could break viewership records. He believes the league might see the two most-watched regular-season games in NFL history.
The Lions have been hosting Thanksgiving games since 1934, with the Cowboys joining the tradition later. For years, the Cowboys' late-afternoon game drew a larger audience than the Lions' early game. For instance, in 2021, the Cowboys-Raiders game drew 40.8 million viewers, while the Lions-Bears game had 28.2 million.
And this is the part most people miss... The gap has been shrinking. Last year, the Cowboys-Giants game drew 38.8 million viewers, while the Lions-Bears game was close behind at 37.5 million.
The 12:30 p.m. ET start time for the Lions' game in previous years aimed to prevent overlap, but it may have limited viewership. NFL executive vice president for media distribution Hans Schroeder noted that more fans are home and ready to watch later in the day.
Here's a thought-provoking question: Could the later kickoff time truly boost viewership, or will the change impact the tradition? Share your thoughts in the comments!
Furthermore, there's more at stake than just bragging rights. The winner of the Lions-Packers game will climb to second place in the NFC North, trailing the 8-3 Bears, who play the Philadelphia Eagles on Black Friday.
