In recent years, the National Football League has turned Christmas Day into one of their most anticipated dates on the schedule. What used to be a quiet holiday for the league quickly has become a showcase of major matchups, huge audiences, and rare opportunities for some selected teams to play. The 2025 season is another big step into this trend, with a Christmas Day tripleheader on national television.
This year’s matchups include three highly anticipated rivalry games: Dallas Cowboys vs. Washington Commanders, Detroit Lions vs. Minnesota Vikings, and Denver Broncos vs. Kansas City Chiefs. Each matchup features teams with strong fanbases, division rivals, and playoff implications. It is believed the league intentionally selects teams who are either part of long rivalries, major brands, or teams who are playing at their best.
What makes Christmas games truly special is how rare they are for many franchises. Only six teams get chosen each year, which means many organizations can go years without playing on Christmas. Thanksgiving is a holiday that is dominated annually by the Detroit Lions and Dallas Cowboys, but Christmas has no permanent hosts. For coaches and players, playing on Christmas could give them extra meaning.
This can show that a certain team is viewed as relevant, marketable, and competitive at a national level. An example of this is the Kansas City Chiefs, who have appeared on Christmas multiple years in a row. This has made them become one of the league’s unofficial holiday teams thanks to their massive fanbase. Meanwhile, teams like the Dallas Cowboys are getting their first Christmas appearance in a while, which highlights how selective the scheduling is.
The NFL’s decision to expand Christmas games has come from the massive increase in viewership. In recent seasons, Christmas Day football has reeled in some of the highest television audiences of the year. With playoff races tightening this late in the season, these jolly games can carry real consequences on teams, making their matchups more intense than holiday matchups in other sports. As the league continues building Christmas into a signature event, being picked for December 25th is becoming an honor for teams. Not many of them get this opportunity, but for the ones that do, the stakes are higher, the lights are brighter, and the atmosphere of these games is something fans and players may never forget.
