For most people this Thanksgiving is a perfect time to get together and watch football games in person or on the TV! So I’m always interested in what football games are on Thanksgiving!
If you’re anything like me, then you probably have quite a few work things on your plate this holiday season. But that doesn’t mean that it’s too late to take a break from work and relax with family.
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What Football Games Are on Thanksgiving
The first football games on Thanksgiving are played in the afternoon. Usually, there’s some sort of game that starts at 12:30 PM because, well, shouldn’t you get your pregame ready for a game that’s going to kick off later that day?
This can be good if you want to watch a morning NFL game and then switch over to college or even high school football later on.
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The majority of these games are on television, and most of the time they can be easy to find.
But you do need to keep in mind that football games aren’t always shown on Thanksgiving. There are also times when football isn’t shown at all, so it’s better to keep up with the schedule for your area.
Who Plays on Thanksgiving NFL
While most of the time there are multiple games that can be shown on Thanksgiving, there are some exceptions. In 2015 for instance, there was just one game to watch—the Green Bay Packers vs. Detroit Lions
But here’s a tip for all you fans of college football: don’t wait too late if you want to see some Big Ten action on holiday.
This would of course mean that you can’t watch Big Ten games on Thanksgiving. But don’t give up yet—there are still some other options available to you. For instance, there’s always the NFL draft and the College Football Playoff if you want to get a taste of Big Ten football!
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Who Plays on Thanksgiving NFL New Years Eve Weekends?
The only problem is that these games aren’t shown on TV. You’d have to have access to old broadcasts of games. Another option is to just wait and see who wins the Super Bowl, although that may be a long wait.
I’m sure you’ve heard of the NFL New Years Eve games, but these weren’t always played on Thanksgiving. They were originally played around Christmas time, but the league decided to move them back an hour so they could air on TV along with all the other game times.
When are the Thanksgiving NFL Games?
This has been a recent change, and one that’s caused some controversy among fans. Some people liked the fact that the games were played on Christmas Eve. Now they’re back to being shown on Thanksgiving. But at least you know what time everything will be happening!
One of the other interesting things about these games is that they’re not always played on Thanksgiving Day. In fact, in 2018 there were two games: The Seattle Seahawks vs. the Arizona Cardinals on Thanksgiving, which started at 12:30 p.m., and the Dallas Cowboys vs. the Oakland Raiders, which started at 4:30 p.m.
What’s also interesting is that this year’s games will be played on Thursday, November 25th! This is a bit weird because usually the Thanksgiving NFL games are played on either the 23rd or 24th of November.
The Site of the Thanksgiving NFL Games
For many years, the NFL played its games at the home stadiums of the two teams. But that’s not always possible, so ultimately they were moved to other sites that have been available. The biggest of these was Cleveland Browns Stadium. So in 2007, when the Cleveland Indians began construction on a new stadium across town, there was a dilemma: How was Nationwide Arena going to be used?
Enter FOX Sports Ohio and a unique partnership with the Indians. The Browns (and by extension, the Indians) will share their new stadium with FOX Sports Ohio, which is based out of Columbus, OH. It’s not a perfect deal for either side, but it should make for some interesting games!
When you buy NFL Game Pass, you also get access to their Thursday Night Football game broadcasts. It’s not as good as the CBS, NBC, FOX, ESPN, or NFLN packages, but it’s a great way to easily watch the game.
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2021 Thanksgiving NFL Game
As far as the actual games that you can watch, we’re still a year away from Thanksgiving in 2021. But it’s important to plan ahead so you know what games are on if you want to make sure you have time to watch them.
As of right now, you’ll have to wait until the Fall of 2021 for football on Thanksgiving. But that doesn’t mean you can’t start planning now so you can be ready to watch this awesome game!
Conclusion
If you want to be able to watch football games over the holiday season, then it’s important to know what football games are on Thanksgiving. Otherwise, you might have a tough time securing games for your team.
The Wednesday Night Football game that is currently on Thanksgiving night will be moved back one hour in 2020 because of the construction of the new Cleveland Browns Stadium and NFL Network’s broadcast agreement with FOX Sports Ohio.
