The National Football League is once again turning Christmas Day into a football mega-event, unveiling a 2026 holiday lineup packed with division rivalries, and playoff rematches. The league announced that Christmas Day 2026 will feature a tripleheader headlined by Green Bay Packers at Chicago Bears, Buffalo Bills at Denver Broncos, and Los Angeles Rams at Seattle Seahawks. The schedule continues the NFL’s aggressive expansion into holiday programming, with Christmas football now firmly planted beside Thanksgiving as one of the league’s showcase television events.
The day will begin with one of football’s oldest rivalries when the Packers travel to Soldier Field to face the Bears at 1 p.m. ET on Netflix. That matchup will be followed by Bills versus Broncos at 4:30 p.m. ET, also on Netflix, before FOX closes out the night with Rams versus Seahawks at 8:15 p.m. ET in a game already drawing attention as a potential NFC playoff preview. The league clearly leaned into cold-weather, postseason-style drama for this year’s slate, serving fans a Christmas menu heavy on playoff contenders, quarterback star power, and frozen-breath stadium atmospheres.
The NFL is also extending the holiday football marathon beyond Christmas Day itself. On Christmas Eve, the Houston Texans will visit the Philadelphia Eagles in a Thursday night matchup streaming on Amazon Prime Video. Meanwhile, Netflix continues expanding its NFL footprint after securing exclusive rights to several major holiday games. The streaming giant recently announced broader NFL partnerships that include Christmas games, special events and expanded football coverage moving forward. The NFL’s growing embrace of streaming platforms reflects the league’s confidence that fans will follow games anywhere, whether on cable, broadcast television or tablets balanced precariously beside a plate of cookies and wrapping paper scraps.
Ratings continue to justify the strategy, and league executives have made it clear they view Christmas as a permanent football showcase moving forward. For better or worse, the NFL has transformed Dec. 25 from a quiet afternoon of naps and leftovers into a full-fledged winter sports spectacle.
