NFL Thanksgiving games 2025: Cowboys-Chiefs will mark Patrick Mahomes' first start at AT&T Stadium
The NFL announced the first of its three Thanksgiving games Wednesday, and it threatens to break all the ratings records. The Dallas Cowboys will play the Kansas City Chiefs on the holiday, the league announced.
It will mark the first time in his career that Patrick Mahomes - a Texas native - will start a game at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
The game, which will air on CBS, will take place Thursday, Nov. 27 at 4:30 p.m. ET. It will be Week 13 of the 2025 NFL season.
Kansas City is heading to Dallas for a Thanksgiving showdown
- NFL (@NFL) May 14, 2025
: NFL Schedule Release - Tonight 8pm ET on NFLN/ESPN2
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The NFL typically holds three games on Thanksgiving each year. The Cowboys and the Detroit Lions always play on the holiday. The Lions are expected to host the early Thanksgiving game in 2025, but their opponent has not been announced yet. The NFL has not announced the two teams playing in the third Thanksgiving game yet.
The league will release its full schedule at 8 p.m. ET on Wednesday.
While the two teams won't play on Thanksgiving, the Chicago Bears and Philadelphia Eagles will face off the following day for a Black Friday game.
The Thanksgiving clash between the Chiefs and Cowboys promises to be an exciting contest. The Cowboys remain one of the NFL's premier franchises, and the Chiefs have been a perennial Super Bowl contender under Mahomes.
The game should mean something more to the Chiefs superstar. Mahomes grew up in Tyler, Texas, roughly an hour and a half drive away from Dallas. He grew up a Cowboys fan, and while he likely doesn't retain that fandom today, he still roots for the Dallas Mavericks.
Thanksgiving will mark the first time in his career Mahomes will start a game at AT&T Stadium in Arlington. Mahomes technically had a game there in 2017, his rookie season, but did not play in the contest, which the Chiefs lost 28-17.
Mahomes has played against the Cowboys just once since taking over as the Chiefs' starter. He beat the team 19-9 in Kansas City in 2021. Mahomes threw for 260 yards and an interception in the win. He was held without a touchdown.
Chiefs 2025 scheduleWith Wednesday's reveal, two of the Chiefs' regular-season games have been announced for the 2025 NFL season. Both are holiday games. In addition to the team's Thanksgiving matchup against the Cowboys in Week 13, the team is also slated to take on the Denver Broncos on Christmas. The game against Denver will air on Prime Video, and is scheduled for 8:15 p.m. ET on Dec. 25.
It marks the first time since 2016 an NFL team has played on both Thanksgiving and Christmas. The Pittsburgh Steelers are the last franchise to accomplish the feat. The Steelers were a perfect 2-0 in those contests.