Cowboys Set Record-Breaking Thanksgiving NFL Viewership in Arlington

Published on December 09, 2025

By National Football League

The Dallas Cowboys once again proved their star power on Thanksgiving Day, drawing a record-breaking audience to their home turf at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. The late afternoon matchup on CBS between the Cowboys and the Kansas City Chiefs averaged 57.2 million viewers, making it the most-watched NFL regular-season game on record. This historic viewership surpasses the previous high of 42.1 million for the Cowboys-Giants Thanksgiving game in 2022, also hosted in Arlington.

The Cowboys’ presence helped elevate the entire day’s NFL programming to new heights. Across all three games – Packers vs. Lions, Chiefs vs. Cowboys, and Bengals vs. Ravens – the average viewership reached 44.7 million, the highest Thanksgiving Day average since records began in 1988. This marks the fourth consecutive year the NFL has set a Thanksgiving Day viewership record.

Digital streaming also saw unprecedented growth, with an average minute audience of 2.2 million across platforms – up 58% from last year and the highest ever for Thanksgiving Day.

“Thanksgiving and NFL football have become synonymous,” said NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell. “We are grateful to our teams and broadcast partners for these incredible games, and honored to be a part of so many families’ holiday tradition.”

With the Cowboys at the center of the action and Arlington’s AT&T Stadium serving as the stage for this historic showdown, the 2025 Thanksgiving Day games reaffirmed the NFL’s place as the most valuable content in sports and entertainment. NFL programming continues to dominate television, ranking as 48 of the top 50 shows since the start of the 2025 season.