2025 NFL schedule release: Cowboys-Commanders, Lions-Vikings headline Netflix Christmas slate

• WHERE: Northwest Stadium (Landover, Md.)
• WHEN: Week 17 | Christmas Day | 1 p.m. ET
• HOW TO WATCH: Netflix

Christmas with the Cowboys and Commanders should feature another memorable chapter in the age-old NFC East rivalry.

Washington won when these teams last faced off, collecting a Week 18 victory over Dallas to forge a season split. With the Commanders already assured a playoff spot, reigning AP NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year Jayden Daniels only played in the first half of that game, while Cowboys franchise QB Dak Prescott missed both rivalry matchups in 2024 after he suffered a season-ending hamstring injury in Week 9.

With this yule tide affair scheduled for Week 17, there could be major playoff implications on top of the enticing nature of a Prescott-Daniels matchup.

Along with welcoming a healthy Prescott back into the fold, the Cowboys have wide receiver George Pickens coming to town via trade from the Pittsburgh Steelers and rookie head coach Brian Schottenheimer. There's also new Cowboys defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus, who was on the wrong end of a Daniels Hail Mary last season as the Chicago Bears head coach.

Schottenheimer will face off with former Cowboys defensive coordinator Dan Quinn, who led Washington to the NFC Championship Game for the first time since the 1991 season in his first year as the Commanders' head coach.

Quinn and Daniels are embarking on their second seasons in D.C. looking to prove they’re not one-hit wonders, while Micah Parsons, CeeDee Lamb and the Cowboys contingent are aiming for a return to the postseason.

By Week 17, there is a chance one or both of the teams’ playoff fates will have been determined, but in the Dallas-Washington rivalry, any game is a must-watch no matter the implications.  

• WHERE: U.S. Bank Stadium (Minneapolis)
• WHEN: Week 17 | Christmas Day | 4:30 p.m. ET
• HOW TO WATCH: Netflix

These two NFC North heavyweights went down to Week 18 to decide the division -- and the NFC's top seed -- last season.

Here's wishing much the same is on the line Christmas afternoon.

Minnesota has largely dominated the rivalry and owns an all-time advantage, 80-45-2. However, these are not the Lions of old, as Detroit has won the last five, including last season's 31-9 Week 18 lambasting.

Much remains the same for Dan Campbell's Lions and Kevin O'Connell's Vikings.

Quarterback Jared Goff , wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown and running backs Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery portend to drive a high-octane Detroit offense, while standouts Kerby Joseph and Brian Branch are back as one of the top safety tandems there is.

The Vikings will counter with a sensational WR duo of Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison, along with former Lions tight end T.J. Hockenson.

However, there is plenty of change afoot, as well. Lions defensive end Aidan Hutchinson, who missed both games versus Minnesota last season, should be back from a broken leg, but Campbell's highly regarded staff, most notably offensive coordinator Ben Johnson (Chicago Bears head coach) and defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn (New York Jets head coach) have moved on.

Meanwhile in Minnesota, its largest change is under center, where 2024 first-round draft choice J.J. McCarthy is coming back from a season-ending knee injury and expected to take the starting reins held last season by Sam Darnold, who's now with the Seattle Seahawks.

If the Lions and Vikings are able to replicate something close to their 2024 tidings, one of these teams might well be unwrapping a division title on Christmas.