For much of NFL history, teams could expect to spend the holidays at home. Christmas Day games were few and far between and generally only held if Dec. 25 fell on a day of the week on which the league typically played. That changed in 2021 when the NFL began a new tradition of holding multiple contests on the holiday, and now there are three games on the Christmas Day slate.
In the earliest years of the annual tradition, television networks rotated their coverage of the Christmas games. Netflix was the exclusive home of Christmas football in 2024 and has featured two contests every year since. That continues in 2026, while Fox will show the nightcap of the tripleheader. Both of the Netflix games will also be available on local, over-the-air broadcast channels in team markets.
Last year’s showdown between the Detroit Lions and Minnesota Vikings was the most-streamed NFL regular-season game to date. Netflix will try to beat its own record in 2026 and has a strong chance to do so considering both games feature marquee matchups.
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In addition to the games on Christmas Day, the final week of the 2026 calendar year will also feature a pair of “Thursday Night Football” games on Amazon Prime that happen to fall on holidays. The Houston Texans travel to face the Philadelphia Eagles at 8:15 p.m. ET on Christmas Eve, while the Cincinnati Bengals host the Baltimore Ravens at 8:15 p.m. on New Year’s Eve.
Below are the three games scheduled for Christmas Day.
Packers at Bears
Date: Friday, Dec. 25 | Time: 1 p.m. ET
Location: Soldier Field (Chicago)
TV: Netflix
The two best teams in last year’s NFC North will square off in a rivalry showdown to get the holiday started. It’s a rubber match between the Chicago Bears and Green Bay Packers, who are 1-1 against each other on Christmas Day. The Bears took the 2005 contest and the Packers responded in 2011.
With both squads expecting to compete for postseason berths, there should be significant playoff implications in this early-window contest. Their battles in Week 14 and Week 16 last season helped shape both the division race and playoff bracket, so it would be nothing new if Ben Johnson and Matt LaFleur find themselves coaching for something more than just bragging rights.
The Bears took two of three games from the Packers a year ago with Caleb Williams pulling off some of his patented heroics in both victories. After throwing a game-sealing interception in the 28-21 Week 14 loss, he orchestrated a pair of late comebacks in the next two meetings. In Week 16, the Bears trailed by 10 points with about five minutes left in regulation but stormed back to win in overtime.
A few weeks later in the wild card round, they faced an even larger deficit: down 21-3 at halftime. Williams willed Chicago to its first playoff win since 2010, however, when he sparked a 25-point fourth quarter and spearheaded the franchise’s largest comeback in a playoff game since 1933.
Bills at Broncos
Date: Friday, Dec. 25 | Time: 4:30 p.m. ET
Location: Empower Field at Mile High (Denver)
TV: Netflix
In the middle window is a meeting between a Christmas Day regular and a holiday newbie. The Denver Broncos are set to play their sixth Dec. 25 game and, in doing, so will tie the Kansas City Chiefs and Dallas Cowboys for the most contests played on that date in NFL history. Meanwhile, the Buffalo Bills will make their Christmas debut.
The last two meetings between these teams came in the playoffs. Buffalo won a wild card matchup during the 2024 season in blowout fashion, and Denver returned the favor last year in an absolute thriller of an AFC divisional round game. That postseason triumph — a 33-30 victory that was equal parts entertaining and controversial — came at a cost for the Broncos, as Bo Nix broke his right ankle in overtime and proceeded to miss the AFC Championship.
Denver is set to play on Christmas Day for the second time in as many years. In last season’s holiday nightcap, the Broncos survived against an injury-plagued Chiefs squad that was down to third-string quarterback Chris Oladokun.
Rams at Seahawks
Date: Friday, Dec. 25
Time: 8:15 p.m. ET
Location: Lumen Field (Seattle)
TV: Fox (Fubo – try for free)
The NFL schedule-makers should take a bow for this one. There might not be a better way to finish off the Christmas Day action than a heavyweight bout between the Seattle Seahawks and Los Angeles Rams. This may prove to be the decisive game in what promises to be a spectacular NFC West race.
On one sideline are the reigning Super Bowl champions. On the other is a team that has gone all-in on winning Matthew Stafford another ring. These are arguably the two best teams in football heading into the campaign, and one could have said the same thing about them a year ago when they met in the NFC Championship. The Seahawks, of course, won that battle to reach the Super Bowl.
The Seahawks have never played on Christmas Day. The Rams will make just their second appearance, and they set a high bar for themselves in their 2022 debut. The 51-14 blowout of the Broncos that holiday gave the Rams the second-most points scored in a Dec. 25 game behind only the New Orleans Saints‘ 52 points two years prior.
