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By Robert Read
Life & Trends Reporter
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The Detroit Lions and Dallas Cowboys, for football fans at least, are as much a part of Thanksgiving as turkey or the Macy's parade.
Detroit and Dallas are the only two NFL franchises to play annually on the holiday. The Lions have been hosting Thanksgiving games almost every year since 1934, while "America's Team" first started playing on Turkey Day in 1966. And in the years since, these holiday matchups have provided memorable moments, from a rookie Randy Moss scoring three touchdowns against the Cowboys 25 years ago to the late John Madden describing "turduckens."
"Thanksgiving and football," Madden once said. "Some things just go together."
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More standout holiday moments could be on the way this Thanksgiving. The Lions host the Green Bay Packers at 12:30 p.m. ET Thursday. Then, the Washington Commanders visit the Cowboys at 4:30 p.m. ET. The league's Thanksgiving slate will wrap up with an NFC West showdown between the San Francisco 49ers and Seattle Seahawks at 8:20 p.m. ET on NBC.
Detroit (7.5 points) and Dallas (10.5 points) both enter their games as heavy favorites, per Caesars Sportsbook. But how do the franchises usually fare on Thanksgiving? Here's a look.
Detroit Lions' Thanksgiving Record
The days of fans complaining about Detroit playing on Thanksgiving are over. At least for now.
Detroit is 8-2 for the first time since 1962 after a fourth-quarter comeback win over the Chicago Bears last weekend. The Lions trailed by 12 with just over four minutes to play, then scored two late touchdowns and closed the game out by forcing a safety in their 31-26 win. And now Detroit is one step closer to its first division title since 1993.
"We got a chance to do something special," head coach Dan Campbell said after the Bears game.
Heading into this week's NFC North matchup, Detroit is 37-44-2 on Thanksgiving. That includes a 6-17 mark while playing on the holiday since 2000. Detroit hasn't won on Turkey Day since 2016, which is also the last time the franchise made the playoffs. Campbell's squad lost to the Buffalo Bills on Thanksgiving, 28-25, after a last-second field goal last season.
The Lions already beat the Packers (4-6) 34-20 on Thursday Night Football in Week 4. The Lions-Packers game will air on Fox. Six-time Grammy-nominated artist Jack Harlow headlines the halftime musical performance in Detroit.
Green Bay is 14-20-2 in Thanksgiving games.
Dallas Cowboys' Thanksgiving Record
Dallas has seen a more successful holiday tradition than Detroit.
The Cowboys are 32-22-1 all-time on Thanksgiving, including a win over the New York Giants last year. But their last Turkey Day game against Washington didn't go so well. Washington is 4-8 all-time while playing on the holiday but trounced the Cowboys 41-16 during the franchise's last Thanksgiving appearance in 2020.
But that sort of performance out of the Commanders (4-7) would certainly be surprising this year. The franchise just lost 31-19 to a three-win Giants team with third-stringer Tommy DeVito at quarterback. The Cowboys (7-3) have won two games in a row, albeit against the Giants and one-win Carolina Panthers, by a combined score of 82-27. Cowboys linebacker Micah Parsons tallied 2.5 sacks last week against the Panthers despite dealing with an illness.
"Everyone is focused on a week-to-week basis," Parsons told reporters after the game in Carolina. "I know that as soon as we get on this plane, the focus is on the Commanders. I have three days to get my body right, so everything is maximized."
The second Thanksgiving game will air on CBS. Legendary country music artist Dolly Parton will perform during the game's halftime show.
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