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Why the Detroit Lions and Dallas Cowboys always play on Thanksgiving
Americans have been playing football on Thanksgiving Day for more than a century. In 1891, Yale beat Princeton 19-0 in the first college football game played on the holiday. Professional football started playing official games on Thanksgiving in 1920, starting with six American Professional Football Association (APFA) matchups.
Those six games marked the first Thursday games in professional football history, per the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Here’s how the day’s slate of games ended:
- Akron Pros 7-0 Canton Bulldogs
- Decatur Staleys 6-0 Chicago Tigers
- Elyria Athletics 0-0 Columbus Panhandles
- Dayton Triangles 28-0 Detroit Heralds
- Chicago Boosters 27-0 Hammond Pros
- All-Tonawanda 14-3 Rochester Jeffersons
In the 104 years since, professional football has become a fixture on Thanksgiving, save for a break from 1941 to 1944 due to World War II. Two teams have played more games on the holiday than any other: the Detroit Lions and Dallas Cowboys.
Both will be in action again this Thursday and hosting division rivals. The Lions kick the day off against the Chicago Bears before the Cowboys face off against the New York Giants in the second game of the day.
NFL STATS CENTRAL: The latest NFL scores, schedules, odds, stats and more.
Here’s why they’re always playing on Thanksgiving.
Why do the Lions always play on Thanksgiving?
The Lions played their first Thanksgiving game in 1934, their first season in Detroit. Then-owner George A. Richards, a local radio executive, wanted the team to play on the holiday to bring more fans to the stadium. The city’s MLB team, the Detroit Tigers, were the most popular sports team at the time and Richards thought this could get more fans to watch the Lions.
A sold-out crowd at University of Detroit Stadium saw a close game between the Lions and the Bears. The Bears won 19-16 and Richards ensured the game was broadcast across 94 radio stations, per the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
That game was so popular it became a permanent part of the schedule through 1938. The Lions didn’t play on the holiday from 1939 through 1944 but came back when the NFL reinstated Thanksgiving games in 1945 after World War II. They’ve played on the holiday every year since.
Lions’ Thanksgiving record
Detroit has played 84 total games on Thanksgiving, by far the most in the NFL, and they’re 37-45-2 on the holiday. Here are the most common matchups they’ve had:
- Lions-Packers (22 games): Lions lead 12-9-1
- Lions-Bears (19 games): Bears lead 11-8
- Lions-Vikings (5 games): Vikings lead 3-2
Why do the Cowboys always play on Thanksgiving?
Dallas is second to the Lions for the most games on the holiday in NFL history. In the 1960s, NFL viewership was growing rapidly, and the league added a second Thanksgiving game in 1966. Then-Dallas Cowboys president Tex Schramm volunteered the Cowboys to play on the second game, so long as the the team could host the game each year.
The Cowboys won their Thanksgiving debut 26-14 over the Cleveland Browns the tradition continued the following season. The St. Louis (now Arizona) Cardinals took over as a host team for the Cowboys in 1975 and 1977 but Dallas was reinstated in 1978 and have had a permanent place on the holiday ever since.
Cowboys’ Thanksgiving record
Dallas has played 56 total games on Thanksgiving with a 33-22-1 record on the holiday entering 2024. Unlike the Lions, they’ve don’t have popular rivalries for the game; Dallas has played 24 different teams on the holiday. Here are their most common opponents:
- Cowboys-Commanders (11 games): Cowboys lead 9-2
- Cowboys-Dolphins (5 games): Dolphins lead 3-2
- Cowboys-Cardinals (4 games): Cowboys lead 4-0
Have any NFL teams never played on Thanksgiving?
The Jacksonville Jaguars are the only active franchise to have never played on Thanksgiving. Three teams have had one game on the holiday: the Carolina Panthers (2015), Cincinnati Bengals (2010), and Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2006).
NFL team Thanksgiving records
- Arizona Cardinals: 6-15-2
- Atlanta Falcons: 1-3
- Baltimore Ravens: 2-0
- Buffalo Bills: 6-4-1
- Carolina Panthers: 1-0
- Chicago Bears: 20-15-2
- Cincinnati Bengals: 0-1
- Cleveland Browns: 0-3
- Dallas Cowboys: 33-22-1
- Denver Broncos: 4-7
- Detroit Lions: 37-45-2
- Green Bay Packers: 15-20-2
- Houston Texans: 2-0
- Indianapolis Colts: 2-1-1
- Jacksonville Jaguars: 0-0
- Kansas City Chiefs: 5-5
- Las Vegas Raiders: 4-4
- Los Angeles Chargers: 3-1-1
- Los Angeles Rams: 4-1
- Miami Dolphins: 5-2
- Minnesota Vikings: 7-2
- New England Patriots: 3-3
- New Orleans Saints: 3-1
- New York Giants: 7-6-3
- New York Jets: 4-4
- Philadelphia Eagles: 6-1
- Pittsburgh Steelers: 2-6
- San Francisco 49ers: 3-2-1
- Seattle Seahawks: 2-3
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers: 0-1
- Tennessee Titans: 5-2
- Washington Commanders: 4-9
O programa de interiorização da Pró-Reitoria de Graduação (Prograd), da Ufac, realizou a aula inaugural dos cursos de Sistemas de Informação, em Xapuri (AC), de Ciências Biológicas, em Brasileia (AC), na terça-feira, 28, e de Nutrição, em Sena Madureira (AC), na quarta-feira, 29. Os alunos receberam kits estudantis.
Com a oferta desses cursos, a universidade passa a estar em 16 dos 22 municípios acreanos. “A interiorização da Ufac tem ampliado o acesso à educação pública, gratuita e de qualidade em todas as regiões do Acre, contribuindo para formação de profissionais, fortalecimento das economias locais e redução das desigualdades educacionais”, disse a reitora Guida Aquino, que esteve em todas as solenidades.
Em Xapuri e Brasileia, também participaram dos eventos a pró-reitora de Graduação, Ednaceli Damasceno; e o diretor de Apoio à Interiorização e de Programas
Especiais, Marcelo Feliciano de Melo. Em Xapuri a solenidade contou com a presença do diretor do CCET, Macilon Araújo Costa Neto; do coordenador de Sistemas de Informação, Claudionor Alencar do Nascimento; e da secretária municipal de Educação, Aucelina da Silva Oliveira.
Em Brasileia, também participaram a coordenadora do campus Fronteira do Alto Acre, Gláucia Dinis da Silva; a coordenadora de Ciências Biológicas, Hellen Sandra Freires da Silva Azêvedo; a coordenadora do polo UAB, Rosimari Ferreira da Silva; e, representando a Seme, Adriana Moura.
Em Sena Madureira, também participaram a coordenadora do curso de Nutrição, Danila Torres de Araújo Frade Nogueira; a representante do CA Josué de Castro, Érica de Paiva; o representante da atlética Devoradora, Abraão Fernande Taveira; o prefeito Gerlen Diniz (PP); e a secretária adjunta de Educação Municipal, Alciléia Maia.
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