2026 NFL schedule: A phenomenal slate for Thanksgiving, Black Friday and even Thanksgiving eve
As usual, the Lions and Cowboys highlight the Thanksgiving games this season.
For decades, Thanksgiving has been a huge day for the NFL . And it keeps getting bigger, in terms of adding more days and games to extend the holiday. The NFL held only two games on Thanksgiving for many years, then in 2006 added a third game in prime time, which has remained a part of the schedule.
In 2023, a game on Black Friday was added, and that has stuck as well. This season, the NFL is expanding the Thanksgiving schedule a bit more. There will be a game on Wednesday, the day before Thanksgiving.
That means five games between Wednesday and Friday. Hope you don’t have many family or travel plans, because the games the NFL scheduled are tremendous. On the whole, it’s arguably the best Thanksgiving lineup the NFL has set.
Every game is compelling, from Wednesday through Friday. Thanksgiving eve: Green Bay Packers at Los Angeles Rams The NFL pushing this game as a “Thanksgiving eve” game is odd because “Thanksgiving eve” isn’t really a thing. Anyway, it’s another way for the NFL to fill up the calendar, and their first foray into the day before Thanksgiving is a premier matchup.