Error code: %{errorCode}

American Football

New York Jets vs. Miami Dolphins on Black Friday: How many Friday NFL games have there been?

Philip Marsh
New York Jets vs. Miami Dolphins on Black Friday: How many Friday NFL games have there been?Getty Images
The NFL does not usually have games on a Friday.

This year the NFL will have its first ever Black Friday game as the New York Jets host the Miami Dolphins in an AFC East divisional match-up.

While this game will be an NFL first on Black Friday, a few games since the AFL-NFL merger in 1970 have cropped up on a Friday.

The vast majority of NFL Friday games have fallen in the week around Christmas, with the two most recent examples happening on Christmas Day.

The last non-festive NFL game to take place on a Friday was the Dolphins vs. Kansas City Chiefs in 2005 which was rescheduled due to Hurricane Wilma.

In total, there have been just 11 NFL games to take place on a Friday since 1970 - with this season's Black Friday game becoming the 12th.

The first of which was back in 1970 as the Rams beat the Cardinals 34-13 before a 13-year wait for the next Friday game.

Each season between 1983 and 1986 contained one Friday game - two of which saw the San Francisco 49ers beat the Rams.

Since the rescheduled Dolphins vs. Chiefs game in 2005 there have been just two Friday games.

The Chargers had a blow-out 42-17 win over the Titans on Christmas Day in 2009 before a memorable Saints-Vikings game on Christmas Day three years ago.

On that day, Saints running back Alvin Kamara broke the NFL record for the most rushing touchdowns in a single game with six.

Kamara also tied the NFL record for the most touchdowns scored of any type in a game by a single player - joining Gale Sayers (1965) and Dub Jones (1951) with six.