The NFL played its first Christmas Day game in 1971, but since 2020 the league has held at least one game on this holiday. Since 2022, the league has scheduled a Christmas Day tripleheader every season, something that makes checking the early NFL injury report a must-add to your holiday week to-do list.
The league has taken an approach much like it does on Thanksgiving and loaded this schedule with games between some of the highest profile teams. That is certainly the case in 2025, with Dallas and Detroit, two Thanksgiving go-to franchises, playing on Christmas Day. These matchups have been impacted by the NFL news that Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes is out for the season, but they are must-see games nonetheless.
Another standout element of these games is that they are being broadcast on streaming services. The first two games are on Netflix, with the prime-time contest being available on Amazon Prime. This online presence is comfortable for fantasy managers who are used to accessing tools such as custom fantasy football rankings online.
NFL Christmas Games Schedule
Here's your listing of when and where to watch the trio of NFL games on Christmas Day:
- Game 1 (Early slot): Dallas Cowboys vs. Washington Commanders — 1 p.m. ET on Netflix
- Game 2 (Mid-afternoon): Detroit Lions vs. Minnesota Vikings — 4:30 p.m. ET on Netflix
- Game 3 (Primetime/Thursday Night slot): Denver Broncos vs. Kansas City Chiefs — 8:15 p.m. ET on Prime Video (TNF)
How to Watch the 2025 NFL Christmas Games
Netflix doesn't want to be a full-time sports broadcasting entity, but it has an initiative to broadcast event games such as Christmas Day games. This allows Netflix to reach the NFL's huge audience on a targeted basis. For Amazon, this is the continuation of their Thursday Night Football broadcast agreement. In each case there are in-market/local broadcast rules that allow the local teams to be broadcast on a local network rather Netflix or Amazon. Check your local listings for clarification.
Netflix paid top dollar for the right to show the first two Christmas Day games, so it's no surprise that they put together topnotch broadcast crews to call these games. Ian Eagle, Nate Burleson and Matt Ryan are calling the Dallas vs Washington contest. Noah Eagle and Drew Brees call the action in the Detroit vs Jacksonville game. Amazon has its usual TNF cast of Al Michaels and Kirk Herbstreit.
NFL Christmas Games & Fantasy Football
This trio of games will be very popular among fantasy managers because many of the players in today's game will rate high on the fantasy football rankings. In the early game that list includes Dak Prescott, CeeDee Lamb, George Pickens, Terry McLaurin and Deebo Samuel.
The middle game is so stocked with quality scoring prospects that many fantasy managers will have to utilize an NFL start-sit tool to make their choices. Common names on that list will be: Amon-Ra St. Brown, Jameson Williams, Jahmyr Gibbs, David Montgomery, Justin Jefferson, T.J. Hockenson, Aaron Jones and Jordan Addison.
The late game should be very popular among DFS players since there are higher volatility prospects such as Bo Nix, RJ Harvey, Courtland Sutton, Evan Engram, Isiah Pacheco, Rashee Rice, Xavier Worthy and Travis Kelce. That volatility makes using an NFL lineup optimizer an absolute must when putting together a DFS lineup.
NFL Christmas Day Games Storylines
Here are some of the most important things to watch for on Christmas Day.
- Who will play at quarterback for Washington? If Marcus Mariota can't play, the Commanders will likely start third-stringer Josh Johnson.
- Minnesota faces a similar question. Can J.J. McCarthy come back from the hand injury he suffered against the Giants, or will the Vikings once again turn to Max Brosmer?
- How aggressive will the Cowboys offense be? Dallas is comfortable in scoreboard shootouts and will be doubly so vs a shaky Washington secondary.
- Will the Detroit vs Minnesota game go into scoreboard shootout mode? Both teams have shown an ability to win these types of games, and the Lions banged-up secondary and the Vikings' QB situation should make for an interesting contest.
- What type of game plan will Andy Reid use? He's on a third-string quarterback with Chris Oladokun. Reid prefers the passing game, but he's a very creative run play caller.
