57 Fun Facts About Thanksgiving Football

In which Ohio city was the NFL founded in 1920, weeks before its first Thanksgiving games?

Canton: team representatives met in a car showroom there in 1920 and formed the American Professional Football Association, which played its first Thanksgiving games ten weeks later and became the NFL in 1922.

Since 2022, the NFL's Thanksgiving games have carried the name of which coach turned broadcaster?

John Madden called 20 Thanksgiving games for CBS and Fox, so after his death in December 2021 the league renamed its holiday slate the John Madden Thanksgiving Celebration, with a Madden Player of the Game in each one.

Which business owned by Lions owner George Richards put the 1934 Thanksgiving game before a national audience?

A radio station: Richards owned WJR, an NBC affiliate, and talked the network into carrying the game on 94 stations coast to coast, which helped a new team that had struggled for crowds sell out and turn fans away.

Whom did the Lions host in their first Thanksgiving game in 1934?

The Chicago Bears, unbeaten at 11-0, won 19-16 in front of a sellout crowd while thousands more were turned away at the gate; that success persuaded the Lions to make the holiday game an annual event.

Which president moved Thanksgiving a week earlier to lengthen the Christmas shopping season, upending football's holiday schedules?

Franklin D. Roosevelt moved the holiday up a week in 1939 to help retailers; many states refused, so until Congress fixed the date in 1941 the country kept two Thanksgivings, throwing football's long-scheduled holiday games into confusion.

Which stadium hosted the Cowboys' first Thanksgiving game in 1966, before Texas Stadium opened?

Cotton Bowl: 80,259 came to watch the Cowboys beat Cleveland 26-14 on 24 November 1966, a club record at a time when Thursday games were rare and a big holiday gate was far from certain.

Which Cowboys boss volunteered the team as host when the NFL added a second Thanksgiving game in 1966?

Tex Schramm, the general manager, volunteered because national television could sell a young team that had never had a winning season; that year the Cowboys went 10-3-1 and reached the NFL title game.

Which team replaced Dallas as Thanksgiving host in 1975 and 1977?

The St. Louis Cardinals were Commissioner Pete Rozelle's choice to take over from Dallas, but they lost their two holiday home games 32-14 and 55-14, and the Cowboys got the date back for good in 1978.

Which team hosted the first Thanksgiving night game when the NFL added a third holiday fixture in 2006?

The Kansas City Chiefs beat Denver 19-10 at Arrowhead Stadium on 23 November 2006; the night game was never given a permanent host, so unlike the two afternoon dates it moves from team to team.

The Thanksgiving MVP drumstick tradition began in 1989 with which player?

Reggie White, the Eagles' defensive end, got the first turkey leg after Philadelphia's 27-0 win at Dallas in 1989; later broadcasts featured birds with extra drumsticks so that a whole offensive line could share.

Which Cajun chef trademarked the name of the turducken that became a broadcast-booth staple?

Paul Prudhomme, the New Orleans chef, trademarked the name in 1986, though Louisiana butchers also claim to have invented the dish; it reached football's broadcast booth in the 1990s.

Which unknown Cowboys backup replaced Staubach in 1974 and hit Drew Pearson to beat Washington 24-23?

Clint Longley came on when Staubach was knocked out of the game and threw a 50-yard touchdown to Pearson late in the fourth quarter; 'the Mad Bomber' later punched Staubach in training camp and was traded to San Diego.

Which running back ran for a then-record 273 yards against the Lions on Thanksgiving 1976, yet lost?

O.J. Simpson carried 29 times for 273 yards and two touchdowns, but his quarterback completed only 4 of 21 passes for 29 yards and the Lions won 27-14.

Which Bears coach was fired a day after his team let the clock run out at Detroit on Thanksgiving 2024?

Matt Eberflus kept a timeout in his pocket as the final seconds drained away in a 23-20 loss, and the club dismissed him the next day, the first time the franchise had fired a head coach in mid-season.

Which team was the Lions' Thanksgiving opponent every year from 1951 through 1963?

The Green Bay Packers were the Lions' holiday guests for thirteen straight years, 1951 to 1963, ending with a 13-13 tie; the best-remembered game, a 26-14 defeat in 1962, cost the eventual champions a perfect season.

Whose illegal challenge flag let Justin Forsett's 81-yard touchdown run stand on Thanksgiving 2012?

Jim Schwartz, the Lions' head coach, threw his challenge flag even though scoring plays were reviewed automatically; the penalty cancelled the review, so Forsett's run, on which he was clearly down, stood, and Houston won 34-31 in overtime.

In the 1989 'Bounty Bowl', the Eagles were accused of putting a bounty on which Cowboys player?

The kicker, Luis Zendejas, had been cut by Philadelphia weeks earlier; Jimmy Johnson claimed Buddy Ryan's Eagles put a bounty on him after he was flattened on a kickoff, and Ryan mocked the charge as Dallas lost 27-0.

How did Leon Lett turn a blocked field goal into a Dolphins win in the 1993 snow game at Texas Stadium?

Touching the live ball was the blunder: Jimmie Jones had blocked Pete Stoyanovich's kick and Dallas only had to leave it alone, but Lett slid into it, the Dolphins recovered at the 1 and Stoyanovich won it 16-14 from 19 yards.

Which rookie receiver caught three passes, all long touchdowns, against Dallas on Thanksgiving 1998?

Randy Moss turned three catches into 163 yards and three touchdowns of more than 50 yards each in a 46-36 Vikings win, against a Dallas team that had passed on him in that year's draft.

Which Steelers player called the botched overtime coin toss on Thanksgiving 1998?

Jerome Bettis, 'The Bus', insisted he called tails, but the referee announced heads; the Lions took the ball, drove into range, and Jason Hanson's field goal won it 19-16.

After the 1998 Thanksgiving coin-toss controversy, when did the NFL rule a captain must call?

Before the flip: after the uproar the league had captains state heads or tails before the coin goes up, with the referee confirming the choice aloud, so that a call made in mid-air can never be disputed again.

Which referee awarded the Lions the disputed 1998 Thanksgiving overtime toss on live television?

Phil Luckett said the captain began 'hea-' before switching to 'tails', so he took the first call and gave the Lions the ball; enhanced audio later bore him out, though fans still voted it among the worst calls ever.

Which Lions defensive tackle was ejected for stomping on a Packers lineman's arm on Thanksgiving 2011?

Ndamukong Suh shoved Evan Dietrich-Smith's helmet into the turf and stamped on his arm after the whistle; the ejection handed the visitors a first down and a quick touchdown, and the league banned him for two games.

Which Jets quarterback ran face-first into his own lineman in the 2012 Thanksgiving blunder known as the Butt Fumble?

Mark Sanchez missed a handoff, scrambled and slid into the backside of guard Brandon Moore; the ball popped loose and Steve Gregory ran it in, one of three New England touchdowns in 52 seconds.

Which ESPN show's viewers voted the Butt Fumble 'Worst of the Worst' 40 weeks running?

SportsCenter ran the vote in its Friday 'Not Top 10' blooper reel, and nothing could unseat the play for nearly ten months, so in September 2013 the producers retired it to give other blunders a chance.

In 2008, the 0-11 Lions lost 47-10 on Thanksgiving to which 10-1 team?

The Tennessee Titans led 35-10 by half-time, amid calls to take the holiday game away from the Lions; the league kept it, and that team went on to lose all 16 games, a first for the NFL.

On which day of the week was the COVID-postponed 2020 Thanksgiving Ravens–Steelers game eventually played?

Wednesday 2 December was the third new date: a COVID-19 outbreak among the Ravens pushed the game from Thursday to Sunday, then Tuesday, then Wednesday afternoon, and Pittsburgh won 19-14 with Baltimore's Lamar Jackson missing.

Which channel first carried the Thanksgiving prime-time game when it was introduced?

NFL Network got the new night game in 2006 as the opener of the league's own prime-time package, but it then reached well under half of American TV homes, so most fans could not watch; a broadcast network took the game over in 2012.

Which two colleges began an annual Thanksgiving Day football game in 1876?

Yale and Princeton met in Hoboken, New Jersey, on Thanksgiving 1876 and kept the date; when college football's championship game was fixed for the holiday in New York in the 1880s, Thanksgiving became the sport's showcase.

Which coach's Chicago team ended Michigan's 56-game unbeaten run 2-0 on Thanksgiving 1905?

Amos Alonzo Stagg's Chicago Maroons won 2-0 on a safety when Michigan's Denny Clark was tackled in his own end zone, ending a run of 56 games without defeat under Fielding Yost that stretched back to 1901.

Which historically Black college is Alabama State's traditional rival in the Turkey Day Classic?

Tuskegee was the opponent when Alabama State first staged the game in 1924, in what is considered the oldest Black college football classic; it stepped away in 2013 to enter the Division II playoffs and returned in 2021.

The Egg Bowl is the rivalry between Ole Miss and which team?

Mississippi State and Ole Miss play for the Golden Egg, a trophy created after their 1926 game ended with fans brawling over the goalposts; the game has often been played on Thanksgiving.

Wellesley and Needham, America's oldest public high school football rivals, play each Thanksgiving in which state?

Massachusetts: Wellesley was part of Needham until 1881, and a year later teams from the two newly separate towns met on Thanksgiving, starting a series, billed as the oldest of its kind, now past 130 games.

Texas and Texas A&M's Thanksgiving rivalry lapsed after 2011 because the Aggies left the Big 12 for which conference?

SEC membership took Texas A&M away after a 27-25 loss to Texas on Thanksgiving 2011, settled by a field goal as time expired; the series resumed in 2024 only once Texas had joined the SEC too.

The Lions played their Thanksgiving games in which suburban dome from 1975 to 2001?

The Silverdome in Pontiac was the Lions' home from 1975 until they moved downtown to Ford Field in 2002; when crews tried to implode it in 2017 the charges failed, and the stadium stood for another day.

Which Texas city has hosted the Cowboys' Thanksgiving games since their stadium opened in 2009?

Arlington: the Cowboys' stadium opened there in 2009, and in its first preseason game a visiting punter's kick struck the giant video board hanging over the field, so the down had to be replayed.

The Detroit Lions began life as the Spartans of which Ohio town before moving in 1934?

Portsmouth's Spartans were so deep in debt during the Depression that players took shares in the club instead of wages, and in 1934 new owners moved the team north and renamed it the Lions.

Which team beat Oklahoma 35-31 in the 'Game of the Century' on Thanksgiving 1971?

Nebraska, ranked No. 1, beat No. 2 Oklahoma in Norman, Johnny Rodgers' 72-yard punt return opening the scoring and Jeff Kinney's fourth touchdown winning it late; the Huskers went on to a second straight national title.

Which team beat the Cowboys 36-33 in overtime on Thanksgiving 2021?

The Las Vegas Raiders won 36-33 on Daniel Carlson's overtime field goal, surviving Tony Pollard's 100-yard kickoff return in a game slowed by 28 accepted penalties, 14 on each side.

Doug Flutie's 'Hail Flutie' pass beat which team the day after Thanksgiving in 1984?

Miami, the defending national champion, lost 47-45 when Flutie's last-play heave dropped into Gerard Phelan's arms in the end zone; the pass is often said to have won Flutie the Heisman, but the ballots were already in.

Which head coach was fined $100,000 for stepping toward the field during a kick return on Thanksgiving night 2013?

Mike Tomlin, the Steelers' coach, had his back to the play as Baltimore's Jacoby Jones raced up the sideline; Jones had to swerve inside and was tackled after 73 yards, short of a touchdown.

Which Cowboys quarterback threw five touchdown passes against Tampa Bay in his first Thanksgiving start, in 2006?

Tony Romo, an undrafted backup who had replaced Drew Bledsoe as starter only weeks earlier, completed 22 of 29 passes for 306 yards and five scores in a 38-10 win.

Which quarterback threw six touchdown passes against the Lions on Thanksgiving 2004?

Peyton Manning threw six touchdown passes on only 28 attempts, all in the first three quarters, and left the rest of the Colts' 41-9 rout to his backup, Jim Sorgi.

Which team beat the Cowboys 26-15 on Thanksgiving 2019?

The Buffalo Bills, in their first Thanksgiving game for 25 years, went ahead for good on a trick play, receiver John Brown throwing a 28-yard touchdown pass, and Josh Allen ran in another in the 26-15 win.

Which Lions quarterback ended a nine-game Thanksgiving losing streak with a 40-10 win in 2013?

Matthew Stafford threw for 330 yards and three touchdowns, shrugging off two interceptions, as the Lions fell 10-3 behind and then scored the last 37 points to win on the holiday for the first time since 2003.

Which brothers faced each other as NFL head coaches on Thanksgiving night in 2011?

The Harbaughs: John's Ravens beat Jim's 49ers 16-6 in Baltimore in a game dubbed the Harbaugh Bowl; they met again the following season in the Super Bowl, and John won that one too.

Which third-string quarterback led the Cowboys to a 42-31 Thanksgiving win in 1994?

Jason Garrett, starting because Troy Aikman and Rodney Peete were both hurt, threw for 311 yards and two touchdowns in a come-from-behind win; he later coached the Cowboys from 2010 to 2019.

Which team did the Cowboys beat 28-20 on Thanksgiving 2022?

The New York Giants led 13-7 at half-time before Dak Prescott threw two third-quarter touchdown passes to Dalton Schultz; the game drew 42 million viewers, a regular-season record at the time.

Which Washington quarterback threw for 449 yards in a 31-26 Thanksgiving loss at Dallas in 2016?

Kirk Cousins threw for 449 yards, yet rookie Dak Prescott and Ezekiel Elliott kept the Cowboys ahead in a 31-26 win that moved Dallas to 10-1.

Which Chicago Cardinals star scored all 40 points in a 1929 Thanksgiving rout of the Bears?

Ernie Nevers scored six touchdowns and kicked four of the six extra points, every Cardinals point in a 40-6 win; nobody has matched it since, and it was still the NFL's single-game record as of 2025.

Which network was the first to televise NFL Thanksgiving Day games, in 1953?

DuMont, the short-lived fourth network, televised the Lions' Thanksgiving games from 1953 to 1955, but with only a fraction of its rivals' affiliates it wound down its network soon after and CBS took over in 1956.

Which quarterback did the Lions sack again and again in the 1962 'Thanksgiving Day Massacre'?

Bart Starr was sacked ten or eleven times, depending on the account, and tackled in his own end zone for a safety as the Lions went 26-0 up; it was the only game the eventual champions lost all season.

Which AFL team owner lobbied for years to make his club a permanent Thanksgiving host?

Lamar Hunt, founder of the AFL, lobbied the NFL for 37 years for a holiday home game; when his team finally got one in 2006 he was in hospital and listened by telephone, and he died less than three weeks later.

The 1952 Dallas Texans got their only win on Thanksgiving at the Rubber Bowl, in which Ohio city?

Akron's Rubber Bowl hosted the league-run Texans as a nominal home game, and George Halas was so sure of winning that he started his second string; his team lost 27-23.

Which Cowboys cornerback set the NFL record for pick-sixes in a season on Thanksgiving 2023?

DaRon Bland returned his fifth interception of the season for a touchdown in a 45-10 rout of Washington, two months after Trevon Diggs's torn ACL had moved him into the starting outside cornerback job.

Which Bills kicker beat the Lions with a 45-yard field goal in the final seconds on Thanksgiving 2022?

Tyler Bass hit from 45 yards with two seconds left for a 28-25 win, minutes after his missed extra point had left the Lions close enough to tie the game with 23 seconds to go.

Which network took over the Thanksgiving prime-time game in 2012?

NBC added the Thanksgiving night game to its Sunday Night Football package in 2012, and its first holiday telecast caught the Butt Fumble as the Jets lost 49-19 to New England.