The NFL’s Christmas Day lineup is lacking serious holiday magic this year
Christmas Day 2025 is already looking like a bust for the NFL due to injuries and teams already eliminated from playoff contention.
What do you get when you cross a Norse warrior with the king of the jungle? The second Christmas matchup of 2025.
The Minnesota Vikings host the Detroit Lions on Dec. 25 in a matchup to help kick off Week 17 action. It’s the second of three games that will take place on Christmas this year, and it’s the later of the two games that will be broadcast on Netflix.
Detroit enters the Week 17 matchup on the brink of elimination from playoff contention. The NFL’s Next Gen Stats give them a 7% chance to make the postseason – the lowest chances of every NFC team that hasn’t yet been mathematically eliminated. The Lions need to win both of their final two games and hope the Green Bay Packers – current owners of the NFC’s No. 7 seed – lose their final two games to make the playoffs.
Minnesota has already been eliminated from postseason contention, but it’s won three straight games to keep its chances of a winning season alive. The Vikings defeated the Lions in their first divisional clash in Week 9 and can play spoiler in Week 17, crushing Detroit’s playoff hopes with another win.
Here’s what to know about the second NFL Christmas face-off, including how to watch on TV and streaming:
What time is the Vikings-Lions game? Week 17 start time
The Vikings and Lions will kick off at 4:30 p.m. ET on Christmas, Dec. 25.
Only fans living in the local markets of the Vikings and Lions will be able to watch the Christmas game between the two teams on cable television.
Here’s where those fans can tune in on Dec. 25:
TV channel:Detroit: WWJ-TV (CBS 62 in Detroit)Minneapolis/St. Paul: WCCO-CBS
The Vikings vs. Lions matchup is one of the three games kicking off on Christmas, making up the Thursday slate of Week 17. The game can be streamed on Netflix.
NBC Sports’ Noah Eagle will be the play-by-play announcer, former NFL quarterback and Fox Sports analyst Drew Brees will provide color commentary, and AJ Ross of CBS Sports and The Athletic’s Dianna Russini will be the sideline reporters.
Vikings vs. Lions live stream
Netflix will stream both of the early games live on Christmas.
NFL fans in the United States outside of the competing teams’ markets will need to sign into their Netflix account – or subscribe to the streaming service – to watch. Both matchups will be available with any Netflix plan.
2025 Minnesota Vikings schedule2025 Minnesota Vikings regular season recordMinnesota Vikings: 7-8; fourth place in NFC North2025 Detroit Lions schedule2025 Detroit Lions regular season recordDetroit Lions: 8-7; third place in NFC North2025 NFL team schedules: complete team-by-team schedule of games
AFC East: Buffalo Bills − Schedule | Miami Dolphins − Schedule | New England Patriots − Schedule | New York Jets − Schedule AFC North: Baltimore Ravens − Schedule | Cincinnati Bengals − Schedule | Cleveland Browns − Schedule | Pittsburgh Steelers − ScheduleAFC South: Houston Texans − Schedule | Indianapolis Colts − Schedule | Jacksonville Jaguars − Schedule | Tennessee Titans − ScheduleAFC West: Denver Broncos − Schedule | Kansas City Chiefs − Schedule | Las Vegas Raiders − Schedule | Los Angeles Chargers − Schedule NFC East: Dallas Cowboys − Schedule | New York Giants − Schedule | Philadelphia Eagles − Schedule | Washington Commanders − ScheduleNFC North: Chicago Bears − Schedule | Detroit Lions − Schedule | Green Bay Packers − Schedule | Minnesota Vikings − ScheduleNFC South: Atlanta Falcons − Schedule | Carolina Panthers − Schedule | New Orleans Saints − Schedule | Tampa Bay Buccaneers − ScheduleNFC West: Arizona Cardinals − Schedule | Los Angeles Rams − Schedule | San Francisco 49ers − Schedule | Seattle Seahawks − Schedule
Complete 2025 NFL regular season schedule: every team’s games, week-by-weekWhen do the NFL playoffs start?
This year’s playoffs will start with a three-day wild-card round slate. Two games will take place on Saturday, Jan. 10; two more on Sunday, Jan. 11; and the wild-card round will conclude with a single game on Monday, Jan. 12.