Update (November 5): This article has been updated with the latest matchup information for 2027 NFL Black Friday game.
For the fourth straight season, an NFL game will take place on Black Friday, adding another matchup to the league’s traditionally packed Thanksgiving weekend. The Pittsburgh Steelers will host the Denver Broncos at Acrisure Stadium on Friday, November 27, at 3:00 pm ET.
Learn more about the history of the NFL on Black Friday and everything you need to know about this year’s game below, and find tickets to one of football’s newest traditions at Ticketmaster.
The NFL on Black Friday 2026
The fourth annual Black Friday football game features two historic AFC franchises in the Steelers and Broncos. The afternoon game will take place at the Steelers’ Acrisure Stadium in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Kickoff is set for 3:00 pm ET.
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What Game is Being Played on Black Friday 2026?
In 2026, the NFL’s Black Friday Football will feature a battle against two of the AFC’s top teams. Both the Steelers and Broncos are 6-2 entering Week 10. Currently, Pittsburgh is in first place in the AFC North, while the Broncos are atop the AFC West. Considering the Steelers and Broncos haven’t played each other in Pittsburgh since 2021, the semi-rare inter-division faceoff is highly anticipated.
History of the NFL on Black Friday
In 2023, the introduction of an NFL game on Black Friday expanded the league’s long-standing Thanksgiving celebration, which has boasted at least one matchup on the holiday for more than a century. The Detroit Lions have played on Thanksgiving Day every year since 1934 (except between 1939 and 1944 during World War II), while the Dallas Cowboys began competing in a second Thanksgiving Day game in 1966; the Cowboys have played every year except 1975 and 1977. A third holiday matchup launched in 2006 with no anchor team. Read more about the NFL’s Thanksgiving history on the Ticketmaster Blog.
The first Black Friday game was initially announced in October 2022, with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell declaring the “entire” Thanksgiving weekend “a football weekend” and later adding that “there’s room for the NFL on Friday.” The first two competitors were confirmed by the NFL in May 2023, priming a faceoff between the New York Jets and the Miami Dolphins.
The NFL’s vice president of broadcast planning Mike North revealed to ESPN that several other teams were in contention, including the Cincinnati Bengals, Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens. The New York Giants were also considered due to Amazon’s desire to tie the Black Friday match to the country’s largest retail market, but the league ultimately landed on the Jets.
For the 2024 game, the NFL arranged a rematch between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Las Vegas Raiders after the Raiders’ Christmas Day upset in 2023. Throughout its brief history, Black Friday Football games have held conference and divisional implications, continuing in 2025 with two surging NFC teams: the Philadelphia Eagles and the Chicago Bears.
NFL Black Friday Game Results
Since Black Friday Football was introduced in 2023, here are the teams that have claimed victory:
- For the inaugural game on November 24, 2023, the Miami Dolphins beat the New York Jets, 34-13, at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
- In the second edition on November 29, 2024, the Kansas City Chiefs bested the Las Vegas Raiders, 19-17, at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium.
- For its third running on November 28, 2025, the Chicago Bears won against the Philadelphia Eagles, 24-15, at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
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