Chiefs record on Thanksgiving: Full list of wins, losses for Kansas City on NFL holiday originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
The Kansas City Chiefs organization was established in August 1959. For the first three years of its existence, it operated as the Dallas Texans before moving to Kansas City in 1962.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementThe NFL has played at least one football game on Thanksgiving since 1920, outside of 1941-1944 due to World War II. In 1934, it was determined that the Detroit Lions would always host a home game on Thanksgiving. The Dallas Cowboys later joined this movement and have hosted a home game on Thanksgiving since 1966. In 2006, the NFL added a third annual game to the night of Thanksgiving.
Despite first playing football in 1960, the Chiefs organization has only played on Thanksgiving a total of 10 times. Here is more on how the Chiefs have played on Thanksgiving.
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Chiefs' record on Thanksgiving
The Chiefs have played 10 Thanksgiving games and are 5-5 in those games. The Kansas City organization was known as the Dallas Texans before 1962, and under that identity, the team went 0-1 on Thanksgiving.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementMORE: Which teams always play on Thanksgiving?
How many times have the Chiefs played on Thanksgiving?
The Chiefs have played on Thanksgiving 10 times since being established in Kansas City in 1962. They have gone 5-5 in those games.
Kansas City has a limited chance to be featured on Thanksgiving, and trying to figure out the exact math will make your head spin. The NFL started playing three games on Thanksgiving in 2006. The Cowboys and the Lions, who both have played on Thanksgiving every year since 1966 for Dallas and 1934 for Detroit, are always home teams for two of the games.
Both the Cowboys and the Lions are in the NFC, meaning that the Chiefs will play them once every four years. With that metric, Kansas City would play on the road in Dallas or Detroit once every eight years. Then the schedulers have to make sure the game takes place on Thanksgiving. This is why, despite being one of the NFL's older franchises, the Chiefs have played on Thanksgiving only nine times since moving to Kansas City.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementThe third game that isn't conference-dependent would give the Chiefs another option, but despite the Thanksgiving slate expanding to three teams in 2006, Kansas City hasn't been picked for that matchup outside of the inaugural year.
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When was the last time the Chiefs played on Thanksgiving?
The last time that Kansas City played on Thanksgiving was 2025 against the Cowboys. Prior to then, it was in 2006. This is notable because it was the year that the league decided to play three games on Thursday instead of just two games featuring the Cowboys and the Lions.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementThe third game in 2006 wasn't team locked. The Chiefs played the Denver Broncos and won 19-10.
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Chiefs Thanksgiving history
Date
Matchup/Result
Chiefs Thanksgiving Record
Nov. 24, 1960
Titans def. Texans 41-35 (AFL)
0-1
Nov. 23, 1967
Raiders def. Chiefs 44-22 (AFL)
0-2
Nov. 28, 1968
Chiefs def. Oilers 24-10 (AFL)
1-2
Nov. 27, 1969
Chiefs def. Broncos 31-17 (AFL)
2-2
Nov. 25, 1971
Lions def. Chiefs 32- 21
2-3
Nov. 26, 1981
Lions def. Chiefs 27-10
2-4
Nov. 26, 1987
Chiefs def. Lions 27-20
3-4
Nov. 23, 1995
Cowboys def. Chiefs 24-12
3-5
Nov. 28, 1996
Chiefs def. Lions 28-24
4-5
Nov. 23, 2006
Chiefs def. Broncos 19-10
5-5
Nov. 27, 2025
Chiefs vs. Cowboys
5-6
MORE: Who has the most wins on Thanksgiving?
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