Thanksgiving Classic - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

National Football League

The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...

's Thanksgiving Classic is a series of games played during the Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving (United States)

Thanksgiving, or Thanksgiving Day, is a holiday celebrated in the United States on the fourth Thursday in November. It has officially been an annual tradition since 1863, when, during the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed a national day of thanksgiving to be celebrated on Thursday,...

holiday in the United States. It has been a regular occurrence since the league's inception in 1920. Since 2006, three games are played every Thanksgiving. The first two are hosted by the Detroit Lions

Detroit Lions

The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit, Michigan. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League , and play their home games at Ford Field in Downtown Detroit.Originally based in Portsmouth, Ohio and...

and the Dallas Cowboys

Dallas Cowboys

The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football franchise which plays in the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference of the National Football League . They are headquartered in Valley Ranch in Irving, Texas, a suburb of Dallas...

, with one team from each conference playing either team on a rotating basis; a third game, with no fixed opponents, has been played annually since 2006.

Broadcasting

The game with an NFC

National Football Conference

The National Football Conference is one of the two conferences of the National Football League . This conference and its counterpart, the American Football Conference , currently contain 16 teams each, making up the 32 teams of the NFL.-Current teams:Since 2002, the NFC has comprised 16 teams,...

team as the visitors airs on Fox

NFL on FOX

NFL on Fox is the brand name of the Fox Broadcasting Company's coverage of the National Football League's National Football Conference games, produced by Fox Sports...

, as it has the rights to the NFC; CBS

NFL on CBS

The NFL on CBS is the brand name of the CBS television network's coverage of the National Football League's American Football Conference games, produced by CBS Sports.-Market coverage and television policies:...

airs the game with the AFC

American Football Conference

The American Football Conference is one of the two conferences of the National Football League . This conference and its counterpart, the National Football Conference , currently contain 16 teams each, making up the 32 teams of the NFL....

team as a visitor, as it has the rights to the AFC. Since 2006, there has been a third NFL game on Thanksgiving that airs on NFL Network

NFL Network

NFL Network is an American television specialty channel owned and operated by the National Football League . It was launched November 4, 2003, only eight months after the league's 32 team owners voted unanimously to approve its formation...

as part of its Thursday Night Football package.

The NFL on Westwood One

NFL on Westwood One

The NFL on Westwood One is the brand name given to weekly National Football League games carried on the radio over the Dial Global Radio Network...

holds national radio broadcast rights to all three games. The team's usual Thursday night announcers handle the evening game, with a mix of other Westwood One announcers handling the Cowboys game. The Detroit game, however, uses other announcers not normally employed by Westwood One; Detroit-area broadcasters were used until 2008, but in 2009, Sports USA Radio Network

Sports USA Radio Network

The Sports USA Radio Network is the largest independent nationwide sports broadcasting radio network, specializing in live broadcasts of American football, specifically of the NCAA football Division I-A and National Football League...

took over the announcing duties for the Lions game.

History

Football games being played on Thanksgiving day all the way back to 1887, when high schools Boston Latin and Boston English first met on Thanksgiving. Professional football on Thanksgiving came soon after and is a tradition that predates the league's formation itself. Records of pro football being played on Thanksgiving date back to as early as the 1890s, with the first pro–am

Pro–am

Pro–am , short for but rarely written out as professional–amateur, is a concept that describes a blurring of the distinction between professional and amateur competition within a sport...

team, the Allegheny Athletic Association

Allegheny Athletic Association

The Allegheny Athletic Association was an athletic club that fielded the first ever professional American football player and later the first fully professional football team. The organization was founded in 1890 as a regional athletic club in Allegheny, Pennsylvania, which is today the North...

of Pittsburgh. In 1902, the "National" Football League

National Football League (1902)

The National Football League was the first attempt at forming a national professional football league in 1902. The league has no ties with the modern National Football League. In fact the league was only composed of teams from Pennsylvania, which was hardly "national". Two of the teams were based...

, a Major League Baseball

Major League Baseball

Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...

-backed organization based entirely in Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...

and unrelated to the current NFL, attempted to settle its championship over Thanksgiving weekend; after the game ended in a tie, eventually all three teams in the league claimed to have won the title. Members of the Ohio League

Ohio League

The Ohio League was an informal and loose association of American football clubs active between 1903 and 1919 that competed for the Ohio Independent Championship . As the name implied, its teams were based in Ohio...

, during its early years, usually placed their marquee matchups on Thanksgiving Day. For instance, in 1905 and 1906 the Latrobe Athletic Association

Latrobe Athletic Association

The Latrobe Athletic Association was a professional football team located in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, from 1895 until 1909. The team is best known for being the first football club to play a full season while composed entirely of professional players...

and Canton Bulldogs

Canton Bulldogs

The Canton Bulldogs were a professional American football team, based in Canton, Ohio. They played in the Ohio League from 1903 to 1906 and 1911 to 1919, and its successor, the National Football League, from 1920 to 1923 and again from 1925 to 1926. The Bulldogs would go on to win the 1917, 1918...

, considered at the time to be two of the best teams in professional football (along with the Massillon Tigers

Massillon Tigers

The Massillon Tigers were an early professional football team from Massillon, Ohio. Playing in the "Ohio League", the team was a rival to the pre-National Football League version of the Canton Bulldogs. The Tigers won Ohio League championships in 1903, 1904, 1905, and 1906, then merged to become...

), played on Thanksgiving. A rigging scandal with the Tigers

Canton Bulldogs-Massillon Tigers Betting Scandal

The Canton Bulldogs–Massillon Tigers betting scandal was the first major scandal in professional football in the United States. It refers to a series of allegations made by a Massillon newspaper charging the Canton Bulldogs coach, Blondy Wallace, and Massillon Tigers end, Walter East, of conspiring...

leading up to the 1906 game led to severe drops in attendance for the Bulldogs and ultimately led to their suspension of operations. During the 1910s, the Ohio League stopped holding Thanksgiving games because many of its players coached high school teams and were unavailable. This was not the case in other regional circuits: in 1919, the New York Pro Football League

New York Pro Football League

The New York Pro Football League was a professional American football league active in the 1910s and based in upstate New York, primarily Western New York. Between 1920 and 1921, the league's best teams were absorbed into the National Football League, though none survive in that league today...

featured a Thanksgiving matchup between the Buffalo Prospects

Buffalo (NFL)

Buffalo, New York had a turbulent, early-era National Football League team that operated under three different names and several different owners between the 1910s and 1920s...

and the Rochester Jeffersons

Rochester Jeffersons

The Rochester Jeffersons from Rochester, New York played in the National Football League from 1920 to 1925.Formed as an amateur outfit by a rag-tag group of Rochester-area teenagers after the turn of the century , the team became known as the Jeffersons in reference to the locale of their playing...

. The game ended in a scoreless tie, leading to a rematch the next Sunday for the league championship.

The first owner of the Lions, G.A. Richards, started the tradition of the Thanksgiving Day game as a gimmick to get people to go to Lions football games, and to continue a tradition begun by the city's previous NFL teams.

Several other NFL teams played regularly on Thanksgiving in first eighteen years of the league, including the Chicago Bears

Chicago Bears

The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...

and Chicago Cardinals

Arizona Cardinals

The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in Glendale, Arizona, a suburb of Phoenix. They are currently members of the Western Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...

(1922-33; the Bears played the Lions from 1934 to 1938 while the Cardinals switched to the Green Bay Packers

Green Bay Packers

The Green Bay Packers are an American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Packers are the current NFL champions...

for 1934 and 1935), Frankford Yellow Jackets

Frankford Yellow Jackets

The Frankford Yellow Jackets were a professional American football team, part of the National Football League from 1924 to 1931, though its origin dates back to as early as 1899 with the Frankford Athletic Association. The Yellow Jackets won the NFL championship in 1926...

, and the New York Giants

New York Giants

The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in East Rutherford, New Jersey, representing the New York City metropolitan area. The Giants are currently members of the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...

(1929–38, who always played a crosstown rival

Crosstown rivalry

In sports, a crosstown rivalry is a rivalry between two teams in the same metropolitan area. It is a term primarily used in the United States and Canada. They are called "crosstown rivalries" because in most cases, they are held in large cities or metropolitan areas where each team represents a...

). During the Franksgiving

Franksgiving

Franksgiving is a portmanteau of "Franklin" and "Thanksgiving", coined by Atlantic City mayor Thomas Taggart to describe the American Thanksgiving holiday from 1939–1941....

controversy in 1939 and 1940, the only two teams to play the game were the Pittsburgh Steelers

Pittsburgh Steelers

The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional football team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The team currently belongs to the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Founded in , the Steelers are the oldest franchise in the AFC...

and Philadelphia Eagles

Philadelphia Eagles

The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They are members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...

, as both teams were in the same state (Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania

). (At the time, then-president Franklin Roosevelt wanted to move the holiday for economic reasons

Great Depression

The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...

and many states were resistant to the move; half the states recognized the move and the other half did not. This complicated scheduling for Thanksgiving games. Incidentally, the two teams were also exploring the possibility of a merger at the time.) Because of the looming World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

and the resulting shorter seasons, the NFL did not schedule any Thanksgiving games in 1941, nor did it schedule any in the subsequent years until the war ended in 1945. When the Thanksgiving games resumed in 1945, only one game would be played each year (except 1950 and 1952), and only the Lions would have a permanent Thanksgiving game. In 1951, the Packers resumed its regular role on Thanksgiving, becoming the perpetual opponent to the Lions each year through 1963.

In 1966, the Dallas Cowboys

Dallas Cowboys

, who had been founded six years earlier, adopted the practice of hosting Thanksgiving games. It is widely rumored that the Cowboys sought a guarantee that they would regularly host Thanksgiving games as a condition of their very first one (since games on days other than Sunday were uncommon at the time and thus high attendance was not a certainty). Incidentally, Texas was the last state to recognize the "fourth Thursday" rule for Thanksgiving that had been imposed as a result of the Franksgiving compromise two decades prior, and had just adopted the rule (as opposed to the previous last Thanksgiving rule) in 1961, five years before Dallas started hosting Thanksgiving games. (The fourth and final Thursdays were the same between 1957 and 1960; the last time Texas had celebrated Thanksgiving on the week after the rest of the country was 1956.) The two "traditional" Thanksgiving Day pro football games have then been in Detroit and Dallas. Because of TV network commitments, to make sure that both the AFC-carrying network and the NFC-carrying network got at least one game each, one of these games was between NFC opponents, and one featured AFC-NFC opponents. Thus, the AFC could showcase only one team on Thanksgiving, and the AFC team was always the visiting team.

Since 2006, a third NFL game on Thanksgiving has been played at night, airing on the NFL Network

NFL Network

as part of its Thursday Night Football package. The Thanksgiving night game has no fixed opponents or conferences, enabling the league to freely choose whatever marquee match-up to feature on that night.

Throwback uniforms

From to , teams playing on Thanksgiving wore throwback uniform

Throwback uniform

Throwback uniforms and jerseys are one-time or limited-time variations on a sports team's uniforms styled to resemble uniforms from that team's past. They have proven popular in all major pro and college sports in the USA, not only with fans, but with the teams' marketing and merchandising...

s to celebrate the teams' heritage, similar to those adopted in the 1994 season

1994 NFL season

The 1994 NFL season was the 75th regular season of the National Football League. To honor the NFL's 75th season, a special anniversary logo was designed and each player wore a patch on their jerseys with this logo throughout the season...

when the league celebrated its 75th anniversary. As the traditional home teams Detroit and Dallas were, naturally, the most notable. Detroit always wore uniforms based on those of its early years. Therefore, the Lions had to remove all decals from their helmets to reflect the absence of helmet logos in that earlier era, and for the 2008 season

2008 NFL season

The 2008 NFL season was the 89th regular season of the National Football League, themed with the slogan "Believe in Now."Super Bowl XLIII, the league's championship game, was at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida on February 1, 2009, with the Pittsburgh Steelers coming out victorious over the...

, revived that tradition against the Tennessee Titans

Tennessee Titans

The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. They are members of the South Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Previously known as the Houston Oilers, the team began play in 1960 as a charter...

on November 27. The Lions and New England Patriots

New England Patriots

The New England Patriots, commonly called the "Pats", are a professional football team based in the Greater Boston area, playing their home games in the town of Foxborough, Massachusetts at Gillette Stadium. The team is part of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National...

both wore throwbacks for their November 25, 2010 matchup.

From 2001–, Dallas chose to represent the 1990s Cowboys dynasty who won three Super Bowls in a four-year span by wearing the navy "Double-Star" jersey not seen since the 1995 season

1995 NFL season

The 1995 NFL season was the 76th regular season of the National Football League. The league expanded to 30 teams with the addition of the Carolina Panthers and the Jacksonville Jaguars...

. In , the team went further back into its history by wearing uniforms not seen since the team's inception in . The 2007 season marked the first time since 2000 that the Cowboys chose to wear their home white uniforms for their annual Thanksgiving game.

Since the 2005 season, teams have been permitted to wear their throwback jersey on any two weeks of the year, not necessarily Thanksgiving. In 2009, to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the fourth American Football League

American Football League

The American Football League was a major American Professional Football league that operated from 1960 until 1969, when the established National Football League merged with it. The upstart AFL operated in direct competition with the more established NFL throughout its existence...

, both the Dallas Cowboys and the Oakland Raiders played in a "AFL Legacy Game" as both teams began play in 1960

1960 in sports

1960 in sports describes the year's events in world sport.-Alpine skiing:* The men's Olympic Gold Medal:** Downhill: Jean Vuarnet, France** Slalom: Ernst Hinterseer, Austria** Giant Slalom: Roger Staub, Switzerland** The women's Olympic Gold Medal:...

.

Though the San Diego Chargers

San Diego Chargers

The San Diego Chargers are a professional American football team based in San Diego, California. they were members of the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...

have not played on Thanksgiving itself since the AFL-NFL merger, they also wore their throwback white helmets and "powder blue" jerseys on Thanksgiving weekend during this time. The popularity of the throwback jerseys led to the team returning to white helmets in 2007 as well as several other teams (beginning with the Buffalo Bills

Buffalo Bills

The Buffalo Bills are a professional football team based in Buffalo, New York. They are currently members of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...

in 2005 and subsequently with many other teams in 2007) adopting throwback uniforms as their third jersey

Third jersey

A third jersey or alternate jersey is a sports team's alternate and/or throwback design for the previously established other two jerseys, the home and away outfits. Alternate jerseys are used in all four of the North American major professional sports leagues as well as college sports, semipro...

. The Chargers wore the 1963 throwbacks as part of the 2009 celebration of the AFL's 50th Anniversary, but not on Thanksgiving.

During the years when throwbacks were used regularly, NFL.com altered its team logo frame to have the logos of each team be retro.

Memorable games

A legend states that the Chicago Tigers

Chicago Tigers

The Chicago Tigers of the American Professional Football Association played only in the first year of the league and, because of this, have the distinction of being the first official NFL team to fold. They had a record of 2 wins, 5 losses and 1 tie...

and Decatur Staleys

Chicago Bears

The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...

challenged each other to a Thanksgiving duel, in Chicago, in the league's inaugural season, with the loser being relegated out of the league

Promotion and relegation

In many sports leagues around the world, promotion and relegation is a process that takes place at the end of each season. Through it, teams are transferred between divisions based on their performance that season...

at the end of the season and the winners getting shared NFL franchise rights to the city of Chicago (along with the Chicago Cardinals

Arizona Cardinals

). The legend purports to explain why the Tigers were the only NFL team to fold after the 1920 season (no other team would fold until 1921) and why the Staleys relocated to Chicago that year, later adopting their current name, the "Chicago Bears." However, though in fact the two did meet that year (with Decatur winning 6-0), the claims of it being a duel are unsubstantiated. Staleys owner George Halas

George Halas

George Stanley Halas, Sr. , nicknamed "Papa Bear" and "Mr. Everything", was a player, coach, owner and pioneer in professional American football. He was the iconic longtime leader of the NFL's Chicago Bears...

, by all indications, was looking to move to Chicago all along (but in fact did not do so until a week into the 1921 season). Furthermore, and more importantly, there's no evidence that the Tigers were at any of the league's organizational meetings and is widely believed to have never joined the league at all; the only reason that they are listed as such today is because they played all of their games up to that point against NFL teams. (Some sources claim that it was the Cardinals-Tigers matchup on November 7, 1920 that was the subject of the duel, though this is even more suspicious because they played two more league games after that point.) The Tigers, after a 27-0 win over the non-league Thorn Tornadoes the next week, never played football again.

The 1921 Thanksgiving matchup between the same Chicago Staleys

Chicago Bears

The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...

and the Buffalo All-Americans

Buffalo (NFL)

Buffalo, New York had a turbulent, early-era National Football League team that operated under three different names and several different owners between the 1910s and 1920s...

was notable in that the two teams were undefeated; after Buffalo defeated Chicago, the Staleys (who had refused to play any games outside of their home stadium at all that year) demanded a rematch. Buffalo agreed, on the condition that the rematch be considered an exhibition game and not be counted in the standings. After Chicago won the December 4 rematch, Halas turned to the league and demanded the game be counted. The league agreed with Chicago, and furthermore instituted a now-obsolete tiebreaker saying the rematch actually counted more than the original game, giving the championship to Chicago in a decision referred to as the "Staley Swindle

Staley Swindle

The 1921 NFL Championship controversy, known among Buffalo sports historians and fans as the Staley Swindle, is a dispute in which the Buffalo All-Americans unintentionally surrendered the 1921 APFA Championship title to the Chicago Staleys...

" by some Buffalo sports fans.

DuMont

NFL on DuMont

The NFL on DuMont was an American television program that broadcast National Football League games on the now defunct DuMont Television Network. The program ran from 1951 to 1955.-1951-1952:...

was the first network to televise

NFL on television

The television rights to broadcast National Football League games are the most lucrative and expensive rights of any American sport. It was television that brought professional football into prominence in the modern era after World War II...

Thanksgiving games in ; CBS

NFL on CBS

took over in , and in , the first ever color television

Color television

Color television is part of the history of television, the technology of television and practices associated with television's transmission of moving images in color video....

broadcast of an NFL game was the Thanksgiving match between the Lions and the Baltimore Colts

Indianapolis Colts

The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. They are currently members of the South Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League ....

. NFL Network's "Top 10 Thanksgiving Day Moments" incorrectly recognized the 1965 Dallas-Washington game as being a Thanksgiving Day game, it was played Sunday November 28th.

Some memorable Thanksgiving Day games include the 1962 Lions handing the 10-0 Green Bay Packers their lone defeat of the season and the 1974 Cowboys-Redskins

Washington Redskins

The Washington Redskins are a professional American football team and members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team plays at FedExField in Landover, Maryland, while its headquarters and training facility are at Redskin Park in Ashburn,...

game in which unknown Cowboys backup quarterback Clint Longley

Clint Longley

Howard Clinton "Clint" Longley, Jr. is a former American football quarterback in the National Football League and Canadian Football League. He played two seasons for the Dallas Cowboys and one for the San Diego Chargers...

took over for an injured Roger Staubach

Roger Staubach

Roger Thomas Staubach is a businessman, Heisman Trophy winner and legendary Hall of Fame former quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys from 1969 until 1979. Staubach was instrumental in developing the Cowboys into becoming one of the best teams of the 1970s and led the team to nine of the Cowboys'...

with the team down 16-3 and rallied them to an improbable victory on two deep passes. A similar experience occurred in 1994 when Troy Aikman

Troy Aikman

Troy Kenneth Aikman is a former American football quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys in the National Football League. The number one overall draft pick in 1989, Aikman played twelve consecutive seasons as quarterback with the Cowboys...

was injured and third-string Cowboys quarterback Jason Garrett

Jason Garrett

Jason Calvin Garrett is an American former National Football League player and the current head coach of the Dallas Cowboys...

was forced to start against the Green Bay Packers

Green Bay Packers

and won in a shoot-out with Brett Favre

Brett Favre

Brett Lorenzo Favre is a former American football quarterback who spent the majority of his career with the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League . He was a 20-year veteran of the NFL, having played quarterback for the Atlanta Falcons , Green Bay Packers , New York Jets and Minnesota...

42-31. Furthering this a decade later, Drew Henson

Drew Henson

Drew Daniel Henson is a retired Major League Baseball third baseman and National Football League quarterback. He was drafted by the Houston Texans in the sixth round of the 2003 NFL Draft. He played college football at Michigan....

started for the Cowboys in 2004 against the Bears

Chicago Bears

The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...

; after showing no performance in the first half, he was benched in favor of Vinny Testaverde

Vinny Testaverde

Vincent Frank Testaverde is a former NFL quarterback. Testaverde last played for the Carolina Panthers and had previously played for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Cleveland Browns, Baltimore Ravens, New York Jets, Dallas Cowboys and New England Patriots. Testaverde holds the NFL record for having...

. Testeverde, with the help of then-rookie running back Julius Jones

Julius Jones

Julius Andre Maurice Jones is an American football running back who played college football at the University of Notre Dame and is currently a member of the Free Agent Class of the National Football League. Before signing with the Saints on October 12, 2010, Julius had stints with the Dallas...

, led the Cowboys to a 21-7 win.

In the 1976 Thanksgiving matchup between the Lions and the Buffalo Bills

Buffalo Bills

The Buffalo Bills are a professional football team based in Buffalo, New York. They are currently members of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...

, the Bills put forth at the same time one of the best and the worst performances in Thanksgiving history. On the positive side, running back O. J. Simpson

O. J. Simpson

Orenthal James "O. J." Simpson , nicknamed "The Juice", is a retired American collegiate and professional football player, football broadcaster, and actor...

set the league record for most rushing yards in a single game, with 273. However, Simpson achieved this feat due in large part to the fact that the Bills' backup quarterback, Gary Marangi, gained only 29 yards passing and completed only 4 out of 21 passes, in addition to throwing an interception affording a passer rating

Passer rating

Passer rating is a measure of the performance of quarterbacks or any other passers in American football and Canadian football. There are at least two formulae currently in use: one officially used by the National Football League and the Canadian Football League, and one used in college football...

of 19.7. Despite Simpson's record-setting performance, the Bills lost the game, 27-14. Simpson's record would later be surpassed numerous times (the current record is 296, set by Adrian Peterson in 2007).

In 1980, Chicago Bear David Williams returned the opening kickoff in overtime for a touchdown against Detroit, the only time that has happened on a Thanksgiving game.

1986's Thanksgiving matchup between the Lions and the Packers, the highest scoring game in Thanksgiving history, was the best day of receiver Walter Stanley

Walter Stanley

Walter Stanley is a former professional American football wide receiver for Ten seasons in the National Football League for the Green Bay Packers, the Detroit Lions, the Washington Redskins, the New England Patriots, and the San Diego Chargers...

's career; Stanley netted 207 all-purpose yards and three touchdowns in the contest, including an 83-yard punt return to win the game for the Packers, 44-40. Stanley had an otherwise undistinguished career in the NFL.

The 1989 Bounty Bowl

Bounty Bowl

The Bounty Bowl was the name given to two notorious NFL games held in 1989 between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Dallas Cowboys. The first, the 1989 Thanksgiving Classic game in Dallas was most noted for allegations that the Philadelphia Eagles put a $200 bounty on Dallas Cowboys kicker Luis...

between the Cowboys and Philadelphia Eagles

Philadelphia Eagles

, a 27-0 drubbing of the home team, led to allegations that the Eagles had placed a bounty on the Cowboys kicker, thus becoming the first of a string of three bitterly-contested games between the two teams, the other two being Bounty Bowl II later that year and the Porkchop Bowl the next season.

Some of the games have been infamous for other reasons. In , the Cowboys led the Dolphins

Miami Dolphins

The Miami Dolphins are a Professional football team based in the Miami metropolitan area in Florida. The team is part of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...

14-13 with just seconds remaining in a snow-filled Texas Stadium

Texas Stadium

Texas Stadium was a football stadium in Irving, Texas, a suburb of Dallas. The stadium opened on September 17, 1971.Built to replace the aging Cotton Bowl, it was the home field of the NFL's Dallas Cowboys, and had a seating capacity of 65,675...

. Miami's Pete Stoyanovich

Pete Stoyanovich

Peter Stoyanovich and is an American football placekicker of Macedonian descent who played with the Miami Dolphins, Kansas City Chiefs and briefly the St. Louis Rams in the NFL. He attended college at Indiana University.A first-team all-pro in 1992, Stoyanovich finished his career in the top 35 in...

attempted a game winning 40-yard field goal that was blocked by the Cowboys' Jimmie Jones

Jimmie Jones

Jimmie Sims Jones is a former professional American football player who played defensive tackle in the National Football League for the Dallas Cowboys, the Los Angeles/St. Louis Rams, and the Philadelphia Eagles. He played in 121 games and had 32 sacks...

. Dick Enberg

Dick Enberg

Richard Alan "Dick" Enberg is an American sportscaster. He currently provides play-by-play for telecasts of San Diego Padres baseball on 4SD, following a long career calling various sports for such networks as NBC, CBS, and ESPN...

of NBC

NBC Sports

NBC Sports is the sports division of the NBC television network. Formerly "a service of NBC News," it broadcasts a diverse array of programs, including the Olympic Games, the NFL, the NHL, MLS, Notre Dame football, the PGA Tour, the Triple Crown, and the French Open, among others...

proclaimed "The Cowboys will win." However, Cowboys defensive lineman Leon Lett

Leon Lett

Leon Lett, Jr. , nicknamed The Big Cat, is a former American football defensive tackle in the National Football League who played for the Dallas Cowboys and the Denver Broncos , after playing college football at Emporia State University. Lett was a two-time Pro Bowler, with selections in 1994 and...

chased the ball and touched it, giving the Dolphins a chance to regain possession, and then kick a much shorter field goal to take a 16-14 victory.

In , the Steelers

Pittsburgh Steelers

and Lions

Detroit Lions

went to overtime

Overtime (sports)

Overtime or extra time is an additional period of play specified under the rules of a sport to bring a game to a decision and avoid declaring the match a tie or draw. In most sports, this extra period is only played if the game is required to have a clear winner, as in single-elimination...

. Pittsburgh's Jerome Bettis

Jerome Bettis

Jerome Abram "The Bus" Bettis is a retired American football halfback who played for the NFL's Los Angeles/St. Louis Rams and Pittsburgh Steelers. Bettis is considered one of the best big backs ever because his footwork and power, and is currently fifth on the National Football League's all-time...

called the coin toss in the air, but confusion surrounded the call. The officials misheard Pittsburgh's call and awarded Detroit the ball, who went on to win 19-16 on their first drive in overtime. As a result of the fiasco, team captains are now required to call the coin toss before the coin is tossed.

The 2008 season saw the 10-1 Titans (who finished with the league's best record that season at 13-3) on the road at the 0-11 Lions (who finished without a single win that season). Perhaps as expected, the game was a ridiculous blowout, as the Titans scored 35 points in the first half. The Titans finished the game winning 47-10, with two 100 yard rushers. It was one of the all time most lopsided results in Thanksgiving day football history.

The Thanksgiving game between the Cowboys and the New Orleans Saints

New Orleans Saints

The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans, Louisiana. They are members of the South Division of the National Football Conference of the National Football League ....

saw only the second attempted drop kick

Drop kick

A drop kick is a type of kick in various codes of football. It involves a player dropping the ball and then kicking it when it bounces off the ground. It contrasts to a punt, wherein the player kicks the ball without letting it hit the ground first....

since the 1940s. Punter Mat McBriar

Mat McBriar

Mat McBriar is an Australian American football punter in the National Football League for the Dallas Cowboys.-Early years:McBriar began as an Australian rules football player, playing Australian rules for Brighton Grammar School...

(who, having played Australian rules football

Australian rules football

Australian rules football, officially known as Australian football, also called football, Aussie rules or footy is a sport played between two teams of 22 players on either...

in his youth, was familiar with the maneuver) attempted a maneuver similar to a drop kick after a botched punt attempt, but the ball bounced several times before the kick and the sequence of events is officially recorded as a fumble, followed by an illegal kick, with the fumble being recovered by the New Orleans Saints

New Orleans Saints

29 yards downfield from the spot of the kick. The Saints declined the illegal kick penalty.

The 2011 trio of games is being lauded as perhaps the best Thanksgiving slate of games in NFL history and "appealing, for once." The Detroit Lions

Detroit Lions

hosted the Green Bay Packers

Green Bay Packers

, the Dallas Cowboys

Dallas Cowboys

the Miami Dolphins

Miami Dolphins

, and the Baltimore Ravens

Baltimore Ravens

The Baltimore Ravens are a professional football franchise based in Baltimore, Maryland.The Baltimore Ravens are officially a quasi-expansion franchise, having originated in 1995 with the Cleveland Browns relocation controversy after Art Modell, then owner of the Cleveland Browns, announced his...

the San Francisco 49ers

San Francisco 49ers

The San Francisco 49ers are a professional American football team based in San Francisco, California, playing in the West Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team was founded in 1946 as a charter member of the All-America Football Conference and...

Home team controversy

While it has remained a tradition to keep the games in their host cities every season, in recent years NFL fans as well as other teams have wanted the Thanksgiving games rotated on an annual basis. The NFL adopted a compromise position in 2006 when it added the third game to NFL Network

NFL Network

, rotated on an annual basis, while also allowing the Cowboys and Lions to keep their annual home games.

The issue once again came to a head in 2008, albeit solely focusing on the Lions, heading into that year's Thanksgiving games. Leading into the game, there was already some popular support (including from NFL.com columnist Nick Bakay and ESPN personalities Mike Ditka

Mike Ditka

Michael Keller Ditka, Jr. is a former American football NFL player, television commentator, and coach. Ditka coached the Chicago Bears for 11 years and New Orleans Saints for three years. Ditka and Tom Flores are the only two people to win Super Bowls as a player, an assistant coach, and a head...

, Mike Greenberg and Mike Golic

Mike Golic

Michael Louis "Mike" Golic is a co-host of ESPN Radio's Mike and Mike in the Morning and a former defensive lineman at Notre Dame and in the NFL. The NFL website lists him as and ....

) for removing the Lions from the Thanksgiving game and replacing it with a game with more of a playoff impact, either through rotation like the night game or one that is flexibly scheduled. The Lions matchup was with the Tennessee Titans

Tennessee Titans

, whose undefeated season

2008 Tennessee Titans season

The 2008 Tennessee Titans season was the 49th season for the team in the National Football League, their twelfth in Tennessee, and their tenth as the Titans. Despite being expected by most sportswriters to finish third or even fourth in the AFC South, they compiled a 13–3 regular season record and...

had come to an end in their regular Sunday game that week to the New York Jets

New York Jets

The New York Jets are a professional football team headquartered in Florham Park, New Jersey, representing the New York metropolitan area. The team is a member of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...

, while the Lions were entering the game winless

2008 Detroit Lions season

The 2008 Detroit Lions season was the 79th season for the franchise in the National Football League. Although the Lions had a flawless preseason with a 4-0 record, the Lions became the first team in NFL history to compile an 0-16 record in regular season play. They were mathematically eliminated...

and, by the end of the season, had become the first NFL team to lose every game in a season

Imperfect season

An imperfect season is defined as a team losing all of their games. It is the antithesis of a perfect season, and is often referred to as such in a tongue-in-cheek manner...

since the 1976 Tampa Bay Buccaneers

1976 Tampa Bay Buccaneers season

The NFL Tampa Bay Buccaneers played their debut season in 1976, making league history as the first team to play an entire 14-game season without winning or tying a single game. They did not score until their third game and did not score a touchdown until their fourth. They lost by a touchdown or...

finished 0–14 in their expansion season

Expansion team

An expansion team is a brand new team in a sports league. The term is most commonly used in reference to the North American major professional sports leagues, but is applied to sports leagues worldwide that use a closed franchise system of league membership. The term comes from the expansion of the...

. The team has also had three local blackouts heading into the game, the first non-sellouts for the team since 2001, and required an extension to sell out the Thanksgiving game in time for it to be televised locally. Indeed, the Titans improved to 11–1 for the year by crushing the Lions 47–10, dropping the Lions to 0–12 and handing them their worst loss ever (measured by margin of loss, 37 points) on Thanksgiving.

Following the 2008 season, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell

Roger Goodell

Roger S. Goodell is the Commissioner of the National Football League , having been chosen to succeed the retiring Paul Tagliabue on August 8, 2006. He was chosen over four finalists for the position, winning a close vote on the fifth ballot before being unanimously approved by acclamation of the...

confirmed that the Lions will be permitted to keep their Thanksgiving game for at least the 2009 season

2009 NFL season

The 2009 NFL season was the 90th regular season of the National Football League.The preseason started with the Pro Football Hall of Fame Game on August 9, 2009, and the regular season began September 10. The season ended with Super Bowl XLIV, the league's championship game, on February 7, 2010 at...

. Though league officials reserved the right to revisit the situation, this did not occur, and the Lions played on Thanksgiving as usual. Lions president Tom Lewand claims that their game is not in jeopardy, the controversy is media-generated and that the owners have never seriously talked about removing them; however, this contradicts Goodell who stated that "it's come up a few times." On March 23, 2009, the league owners officially kept the Lions on the Thanksgiving game with an announcement that the Lions would host the Green Bay Packers

Green Bay Packers

, one of their division rivals, on November 26.

If a change were to be made, under current television contracts with CBS and Fox (which expire after the 2013 season), the early game (with a 12:30 start time) would have to be hosted by a team in the Eastern Time Zone and in the United States (if it were to be moved back a half-hour, the Central Time Zone would also be eligible to host, but because of numerous issues including extended halftime shows, this is unlikely; the annual game in Toronto

Toronto

Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...

is also out of the running because the date of American Thanksgiving is not a holiday in Canada), and their opponent be of the opposite conference of the one playing the Cowboys (as it is today). Furthermore, such a move would leave the Dallas Cowboys as the only team to always play on Thanksgiving, and with the Cowboys being the league's biggest television draw, there have been far fewer public calls to remove them. SI.com columnist Peter King

Peter King (sportswriter)

Peter King is an American sportswriter. He currently writes for Sports Illustrated and its Web site, including the weekly multiple-page column Monday Morning Quarterback. He is the author of five books, most notably Inside the Helmet, as well as a TV analyst and reporter...

had originally speculated during the controversy that when the current schedule rotation ends after 2009, both the Cowboys' and Lions' home Thanksgiving games will be reassessed by the league and possibly revoked-- the Lions' for their poor performance, and the Cowboys because of a perceived unfair home field advantage

Home Field Advantage

Home Field Advantage is a 2000 independent film starring Tony Award-winning actor Dan Fogler in the role of Charlie....

that requires the visiting team to both travel and prepare for a game only four days after their previous one. This never materialized, and the 2010 NFL season

2010 NFL season

The 2010 NFL season was the 91st regular season of the National Football League.The regular season began with the NFL Kickoff game on NBC on Thursday, September 9, at the Louisiana Superdome as the New Orleans Saints, Super Bowl XLIV champions, defeated the Minnesota Vikings 14–9.Tom Brady,...

featured no changes to the permanent hosting.

In 2010, the rotating host team was the New York Jets

New York Jets

, who hosted the Cincinnati Bengals

Cincinnati Bengals

The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional football team based in Cincinnati, Ohio. They are members of the AFC's North Division in the National Football League . The Bengals began play in 1968 as an expansion team in the American Football League , and joined the NFL in 1970 in the AFL-NFL...

in the New Meadowlands Stadium, which the two New York teams share. The Jets and Bengals played on the NFL Network

NFL Network

Thanksgiving evening. The traditional Thanksgiving Day participants - Detroit and Dallas - played in the afternoon. Detroit hosted the New England Patriots

New England Patriots

in the early game; Dallas hosted the defending Super Bowl

Super Bowl

The Super Bowl is the championship game of the National Football League , the highest level of professional American football in the United States, culminating a season that begins in the late summer of the previous calendar year. The Super Bowl uses Roman numerals to identify each game, rather...

champion New Orleans Saints

New Orleans Saints

in the late game.

2011 featured the defending Super Bowl champions playing on Thanksgiving - the Green Bay Packers

Green Bay Packers

visited the Lions. The nightcap featured the Baltimore Ravens

Baltimore Ravens

as they hosted the San Francisco 49ers

San Francisco 49ers

, who ended a long Thanksgiving drought, having last appeared in 1972.

Pre-1920

This is a partial listing of professional football games played on Thanksgiving Day between 1892 (the year the first known professional player debuted) and 1919 (the last season before the NFL's formation), featuring various teams from the Ohio League
Ohio League
The Ohio League was an informal and loose association of American football clubs active between 1903 and 1919 that competed for the Ohio Independent Championship . As the name implied, its teams were based in Ohio...

(1903-19), New York Pro Football League
New York Pro Football League
The New York Pro Football League was a professional American football league active in the 1910s and based in upstate New York, primarily Western New York. Between 1920 and 1921, the league's best teams were absorbed into the National Football League, though none survive in that league today...

(early 1900s-1919), National Football League (1902)
National Football League (1902)
The National Football League was the first attempt at forming a national professional football league in 1902. The league has no ties with the modern National Football League. In fact the league was only composed of teams from Pennsylvania, which was hardly "national". Two of the teams were based...

, the western Pennsylvania professional circuit (1892-1903), the eastern Pennsylvania pro-am circuit (1897-1919), and various other independent teams active at the time. Please note that during this era it was not unusual for professional football teams to play against college football teams or amateur local teams, touchdowns were worth only four points until 1896 and five points from 1897 to 1912, and that Thanksgiving was celebrated on the last Thursday in November at the time.

{| class="wikitable"
|- bgcolor="#efefef"
! Season !! Visiting Team !! Score !! Home Team !! Score
|-
|Nov. 24, 1892||Lehigh Mountain Hawks

Lehigh Mountain Hawks

The Lehigh Mountain Hawks are the athletic teams representing Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, United States. The Hawks participate in NCAA Division I competition as a member of the Patriot League...

||21||Pittsburgh Athletic Club

Pittsburgh Athletic Club (football)

The Pittsburgh Athletic Club football team, established in 1891, was based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. In 1892 the intense competition between two Pittsburgh-area clubs, the Allegheny Athletic Association and the Pittsburgh Athletic Club, led to William Heffelfinger becoming the first known...

||0
|-
| ||Allegheny Athletic Association

Allegheny Athletic Association

||4||Cleveland Athletic Club||0
|-
|Nov. 30, 1893||Penn State Nittany Lions||12||Pittsburgh Athletic Club

Pittsburgh Athletic Club (football)

||0
|-
|Nov. 29, 1894||Penn State Nittany Lions||-||Pittsburgh Athletic Club

Pittsburgh Athletic Club (football)

||-
|-
| ||Altoona Athletic Club||4|| Greensburg Athletic Association

Greensburg Athletic Association

The Greensburg Athletic Association was an early organized football team, based in Greensburg, Pennsylvania, that played from 1890 until 1900. The team began as an amateur football club in 1890 and was composed primarily of locals before several professional players were added for the 1895 season...

||6
|-
|Nov. 28, 1895||Beaver Falls Y.M.C.A||-|| Greensburg Athletic Association

Greensburg Athletic Association

||-
|-
| ||Duquesne Country and Athletic Club

Duquesne Country and Athletic Club

The Duquesne Country and Athletic Club was a professional football team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania from 1895 until 1900. The team was considered one of the best, if not the best, professional football teams in the country from 1898 until 1900...

||10||Pittsburgh Athletic Club

Pittsburgh Athletic Club (football)

||6
|-
|Nov. 26, 1896||West Virginia Mountaineers

West Virginia Mountaineers football

The West Virginia Mountaineers football team represents West Virginia University in the NCAA FBS division of college football. Dana Holgorsen is the team's 33rd head coach. He has held the position since he was promoted in June 2011 after the resignation of Bill Stewart. The Mountaineers play their...

||0||Pittsburgh Athletic Club

Pittsburgh Athletic Club (football)

||0
|-
| ||Greensburg Athletic Association

Greensburg Athletic Association

||10|| Latrobe Athletic Association

Latrobe Athletic Association

||0
|-
| ||Washington & Jefferson Presidents

Washington & Jefferson Presidents football

The Washington & Jefferson Presidents football team represents Washington & Jefferson College in collegiate level football. The team competes in NCAA Division III and is affiliated with the Presidents' Athletic Conference...

||4||Duquesne Country and Athletic Club

Duquesne Country and Athletic Club

||0
|-
|Nov. 25, 1897|| Greensburg Athletic Association

Greensburg Athletic Association

||16||Pittsburgh Athletic Club

Pittsburgh Athletic Club (football)

||0
|-
| ||West Virginia Mountaineers

West Virginia Mountaineers football

||6||Latrobe Athletic Association

Latrobe Athletic Association

||16
|-
| ||Washington & Jefferson Presidents

Washington & Jefferson Presidents football

||14||Duquesne Country and Athletic Club

Duquesne Country and Athletic Club

||0
|-
| ||Pennsylvania Railroad YMCA||0||Columbia Football Club||6
|-
|Nov. 24, 1898||Grove City, Pennsylvania

Grove City, Pennsylvania

Grove City is a borough in Mercer County, Pennsylvania, approximately north of Pittsburgh. It is the home of Grove City College, a private conservative Christian liberal arts college; General Electric; Instron; USIS; George G. Howe Co.; and a number of small businesses. It is also the home to...

||0|| Greensburg Athletic Association

Greensburg Athletic Association

||35
|-
| ||Latrobe Athletic Association

Latrobe Athletic Association

||0||Pittsburgh Athletic Club

Pittsburgh Athletic Club (football)

||6
|-
| ||Washington & Jefferson Presidents

Washington & Jefferson Presidents football

||0||Duquesne Country and Athletic Club

Duquesne Country and Athletic Club

||11
|-
| ||Ormiston Athletic Association||?||Pennsylvania Railroad YMCA Reserves||?
|-
|Nov. 30, 1899||Indiana Normal School

Indiana University of Pennsylvania

Indiana University of Pennsylvania is a public university in Indiana County, Pennsylvania, USA. The university is northeast of Pittsburgh. It is the largest university in the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education and is the commonwealth's fifth largest university...

||0|| Latrobe Athletic Association

Latrobe Athletic Association

||35
|-
| ||Pennsylvania Railroad YMCA||12||Phoenix Athletic Association

Union Club of Phoenixville

The Union Club of Phoenixville was a professional football team based in Phoenixville, Pennsylvania. The team was the result of a 1919 merger between the Phoenixville Union Club and the upstart Phoenix Athletic Club. From 1907 until 1919, the Union Club was considered one of the best football teams...

||5
|-
| ||Philadelphia & Reading YMCA||0||Frankford Yellow Jackets

Frankford Yellow Jackets

||28
|-
|Nov. 29, 1900||Homestead Library & Athletic Club

1900 Homestead Library & Athletic Club football team

The 1900 Homestead Library & Athletic Club football team won the professional football championship of 1900. The team was affiliated with the Homestead Library & Athletic Club in Homestead, Pennsylvania, near Pittsburgh...

||17|| Latrobe Athletic Association

Latrobe Athletic Association

||0
|-
|Nov. 28, 1901||Washington & Jefferson Presidents

Washington & Jefferson Presidents football

||0||Homestead Library & Athletic Club

1901 Homestead Library & Athletic Club football team

The 1901 Homestead Library & Athletic Club football team won the professional football championship of 1901. The team was affiliated with the Homestead Library & Athletic Club in Homestead, Pennsylvania, near Pittsburgh...

||42
|-
| ||Pennsylvania Railroad YMCA||18||Frankford Yellow Jackets

Frankford Yellow Jackets

||0
|-
|Nov. 27, 1902||Philadelphia Athletics

Philadelphia Athletics (NFL)

The Philadelphia Athletics were a professional American football team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1902. The team was member of what was referred to as the National Football League. This league has no connection with the National Football League of today. The whole "league" was a curious...

||0|| Pittsburgh Stars

Pittsburgh Stars

The Pittsburgh Stars were a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1902. The team was member of what was referred to as the National Football League. This league has no connection with the National Football League of today. The whole "league" was a curious mixture...

||0
|-
| ||Orange Athletic Club||0|| Philadelphia Phillies

Philadelphia Phillies (NFL)

The Philadelphia Phillies were a professional American football team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1902. The team was member of what was referred to as the National Football League. This league has no connection with the National Football League of today. The whole league was a curious...

||11
|-
| ||Oil City Athletic Club

Oil City Athletic Club

The Oil City Athletic Club was a professional football team based in Oil City, Pennsylvania from 1893 until 1903. The team was the interstate rivial of the Franklin Athletic Club...

||10||Franklin Athletic Club

Franklin Athletic Club

The Franklin Athletic Club was an early professional football team based in Franklin, Pennsylvania. It was considered the top team in professional football in 1903, by becoming the becoming the US Football Champions and winning the 1903 World Series of Football, held after the 1903 season, at New...

||0
|-
|Nov. 26, 1903||Pennsylvania Railroad YMCA||0|| Latrobe Athletic Association

Latrobe Athletic Association

||6
|-
| ||Wooster College||0|| Massillon Tigers

Massillon Tigers

||34
|-
| ||East End Athletic Association||0||Franklin Athletic Club

Franklin Athletic Club

||23
|-
|Nov. 27, 1904||Kittaning, Pennsylvania||0|| Latrobe Athletic Association

Latrobe Athletic Association

||53
|-
| ||Akron East Ends

Akron East Ends

The Akron East Ends are a defunct amateur American Football team that played in the Ohio League, a forerunner to the National Football League. They played in Akron, Ohio, from 1894 until at least 1904. Its primary rivals were the amateur Canton Athletic Association , the Shelby Blues, and later the...

||5||Massillon Tigers

Massillon Tigers

||6
|-
|Nov. 30, 1905||Canton Athletic Club

Canton Bulldogs

||4||Massillon Tigers

Massillon Tigers

||14
|-
|Nov. 29, 1906||Latrobe Athletic Association

Latrobe Athletic Association

||0||Canton Bulldogs

Canton Bulldogs

||16
|-
|Nov. 28, 1907||Columbus Panhandles||2|| All-Massillons

Massillon Tigers

||4
|-
| ||Parkdale Athletic Association||5||Union Club of Phoenixville

Union Club of Phoenixville

||0
|-
|Nov. 26, 1908||Parkdale Athletic Association||0||Union Club of Phoenixville

Union Club of Phoenixville

||0
|-
|Nov. 25, 1909||Reliance Club of Conshohocken||0||Union Club of Phoenixville

Union Club of Phoenixville

||6
|-
|Nov. 24, 1910||Wabash South Side Athletic Club||0||Fort Wayne Friars

Fort Wayne Friars

The Fort Wayne Friars were an early professional football team based in Fort Wayne, Indiana. The team, which was also known as the Friars Athletic Association, consistently fielded good and noteworthy teams...

||25
|-
| ||Elyria Athletics

Elyria Athletics

The Elyria Athletics were an American football team based in Elyria, Ohio. They played in the Ohio League until 1919, then became an independent team...

||0||Tiffin Cornells||0
|-
| ||Columbus Panhandles||0||Dayton Oakwoods||0
|-
| ||Akron Indians

Akron Pros

The Akron Pros were a professional football team located played in Akron, Ohio from 1908–1926. The team originated in 1908 as a semi-pro team named the Akron Indians, however name was changed to the Pros in 1920 as the team set out to become a charter member of the American Professional...

||5||Shelby Blues

Shelby Blues

The Shelby Blues were an American football team based in Shelby, Ohio. The team played in the Ohio League from 1900 to 1919. In 1920, when the Ohio League became the APFA , the Blues did not join but continued to play against APFA teams, only to later suspend operations...

||8
|-
| ||Minneapolis Beavers||0||Minneapolis Marines||8
|-
| ||Transfiguration Catholic Club||0||Corley Catholic Club||21
|-
| ||Reliance Club of Norristown||3||Union Club of Phoenixville

Union Club of Phoenixville

||6
|-
|Nov. 30, 1911||Shelby Blues

Shelby Blues

||6||Akron Tigers||0
|-
| ||Ann Arbor Independents||0||Detroit Heralds||10
|-
| ||Notre Dame Corby Hall

Notre Dame Fighting Irish football

Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team is the football team of the University of Notre Dame. The team is currently coached by Brian Kelly.Notre Dame competes as an Independent at the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision level, and is a founding member of the Bowl Championship Series coalition. It is an...

||18||Fort Wayne Friars

Fort Wayne Friars

||0
|-
| ||USS Massachusetts

USS Massachusetts

USS Massachusetts may refer to:, a topsail schooner, was the first Revenue Marine cutter of the United States, was a wooden steamer that saw action during the Mexican-American War and in Puget Sound...

||0||Union Club of Phoenixville

Union Club of Phoenixville

||17
|-
|Nov. 28, 1912||Elyria Athletics

Elyria Athletics

The Elyria Athletics were an American football team based in Elyria, Ohio. They played in the Ohio League until 1919, then became an independent team...

||10||Akron Indians

Akron Pros

||0
|-
| ||All-Syracuse

Syracuse Pros

The Syracuse Pros, also sometimes referred to as the Syracuse Eleven, were a professional American football team from Syracuse, New York. It is suspected, though not known for sure, that the team joined the American Professional Football Association in 1921 and left the same year...

||0||Rochester Jeffersons

Rochester Jeffersons

||18
|-
| ||Cincinnati Christ Church||0||Cincinnati Celts

Cincinnati Celts

The Cincinnati Celts was the first professional football team to play in Cincinnati, Ohio. The team played in the unofficial "Ohio League" and the American Professional Football Association . The Celts were a traveling team, playing all of their APFA games in other cities' stadia...

||7
|-
| ||Notre Dame Corby Hall

Notre Dame Fighting Irish football

||18||Fort Wayne Friars

Fort Wayne Friars

||0
|-
| ||Frankford Yellow Jackets

Frankford Yellow Jackets

||0||Union Club of Phoenixville

Union Club of Phoenixville

||47
|-
|Nov. 27, 1913||Shelby Blues

Shelby Blues

||7|| Akron Indians

Akron Pros

||7
|-
| ||Canton Professionals

Canton Bulldogs

||7|| Akron Indians

Akron Pros

||7
|-
| ||Detroit Heralds||0||Toledo Maroons

Toledo Maroons

The Toledo Maroons were a professional American football team based in Toledo, Ohio in the National Football League in 1922 and 1923. Prior to joining the NFL, the Maroons played in the unofficial "Ohio League" from 1902 until 1921.-Origins:...

||7
|-
| ||Notre Dame Corby Hall

Notre Dame Fighting Irish football

||33||Fort Wayne Friars

Fort Wayne Friars

||0
|-
| ||Dayton St. Mary's Cadets

Dayton Triangles

The Dayton Triangles were an original franchise of the American Professional Football Association in 1920. The Triangles were based in Dayton, Ohio, and took their nickname from their home field, Triangle Park, which was located at the confluence of the Great Miami and Stillwater Rivers in north...

||26||Dayton Oakwoods||21
|-
| ||Cincinnati Christ Church||7||Cincinnati Celts

Cincinnati Celts

||7
|-
|Nov. 26, 1914||Akron Indians

Akron Pros

||21|| Canton Professionals

Canton Bulldogs

||0
|-
| ||Brookdale Athletic Club||7||Union Club of Phoenixville

Union Club of Phoenixville

||35
|-
| ||Conshohocken Athletic Club

Conshohocken Athletic Club

The Conshohocken Athletic Club was a professional football team based in Conshohocken, Pennsylvania from 1914 until 1920, when the club's financial problems made it impossible to field a team. In the fall of 1921, the newly established Conshohocken Athletic Association took over sponsorship of the...

||33||Junior Athletic Club of Norristown||0
|-
|Nov. 25, 1915||Columbus Panhandles||0||Fort Wayne Friars

Fort Wayne Friars

||3
|-
| ||Cincinnati Christ Church Reds||0||Cincinnati Celts

Cincinnati Celts

||13
|-
| ||Pine Village, Indiana

Pine Village, Indiana

Pine Village is a town in Adams Township, Warren County, Indiana, United States. The population was 217 at the 2010 census.-Geography:Pine Village is located at the intersection of State Road 55 and State Road 26, near Big Pine Creek...

||29||Purdue All-Stars

Purdue Boilermakers football

The Purdue Boilermakers football team is the intercollegiate football program of the Purdue University Boilermakers. The program is classified in the NCAA's Division I Bowl Subdivision, and the team competes in the Big Ten Conference. The Boilermakers have an all-time record of...

||0
|-
| ||Frankford Yellow Jackets

Frankford Yellow Jackets

||0||Union Club of Phoenixville

Union Club of Phoenixville

||21
|-
| ||Conshohocken Athletic Club

Conshohocken Athletic Club

||3||Norristown Billikens||2
|-
|Nov. 30, 1916||Youngstown Patricians

Youngstown Patricians

The Youngstown Patricians were a semi-professional football team based in Youngstown, Ohio. In the 1910s, the team briefly held the professional football championship and established itself as a fierce rival of more experienced clubs around the country, some of which later formed the core of the...

||0||Massillon Tigers

Massillon Tigers

||27
|-
| ||Detroit Heralds||6||Cleveland Indians||20
|-
| ||Pitcairn Quakers

Pitcairn Quakers

The Pitcairn Quakers were a professional football team from Pitcairn, Pennsylvania. The team played as an independent from 1904 until 1920 and featured the best players in the community as well as some famous college-level players. A few of those players, were college All-Americans. At one time the...

||9||Dayton Triangles

Dayton Triangles

||20
|-
| ||Bethlehem Blue Stars||6||Union Club of Phoenixville

Union Club of Phoenixville

||13
|-
| ||Norristown Billikens||3||Conshohocken Athletic Club

Conshohocken Athletic Club

||35
|-
|Nov. 29, 1917||Canton Bulldogs

Canton Bulldogs

||7|| Detroit Heralds||0
|-
| ||Camp Dix 309th Infantry||2|| Buffalo All-Stars||0
|-
| ||Union Club of Phoenixville

Union Club of Phoenixville

||13||Norristown Billikens||0
|-
|Nov. 28, 1918||Dayton Triangles

Dayton Triangles

||62||Miamis||0
|-
| ||Buffalo Pierce-Arrows||0||Buffalo Niagaras||20
|-
| ||U.S. Army Ambulance Corps||12||Lehigh Mountain Hawks

Lehigh Mountain Hawks

||0
|-
|Nov. 27, 1919||Massillon Tigers

Massillon Tigers

||7||Cleveland Indians||0
|-
| ||Rochester Jeffersons

Rochester Jeffersons

||0||Buffalo Prospects||0
|-
| ||Thomas Athletic Club||3||Holmesburg Athletic Club

Holmesburg Athletic Club

The Holmesburg Athletic Club was a professional football team from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, that was in existence from around 1915 until 1923. The team laid claim to the Philadelphia City Championship in 1919 and 1920.-Alumni:...

||19
|-
| ||Ewing Athletic Association||-||Frankford Yellow Jackets

Frankford Yellow Jackets

||-

1920–1959

The first American Football League
American Football League (1926)
The first American Football League , sometimes called AFL I, AFLG, or the Grange League, was a professional American football league that operated in 1926. It was the first major competitor to the National Football League. Founded by C. C...

(AFL I) also played Thanksgiving Day games in 1926, while the All-America Football Conference
All-America Football Conference
The All-America Football Conference was a professional American football league that challenged the established National Football League from 1946 to 1949. One of the NFL's most formidable challengers, the AAFC attracted many of the nation's best players, and introduced many lasting innovations...

(AAFC) did so between 1946 and 1949.
Thanksgiving fell on the final Thursday in November until 1938. Thanksgiving games were played on the fourth Thursday in November from 1945 onward.

{| class="wikitable"
|- bgcolor="#efefef"
! Season !! Visiting Team !! Score !! Home Team !! Score
|-
|Nov. 25, 1920

1920 NFL season

The 1920 APFA season was the inaugural regular season of the National Football League which was called the American Professional Football Association in 1920 and 1921...

||Canton Bulldogs

Canton Bulldogs

||0|| Akron Pros

Akron Pros

||7
|-
| ||Decatur Staleys

Chicago Bears

The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...

||6||Chicago Tigers

Chicago Tigers

||0
|-
| ||Detroit Heralds||0||Dayton Triangles

Dayton Triangles

||28
|-
| ||Columbus Panhandles||0||Elyria Athletics

Elyria Athletics

The Elyria Athletics were an American football team based in Elyria, Ohio. They played in the Ohio League until 1919, then became an independent team...

*||0
|-
| ||Hammond Pros

Hammond Pros

The Hammond Pros from Hammond, Indiana played in the National Football League from 1920 to 1926 as a traveling team.-History:The Pros were established by Paul Parduhn and Dr. Alva Young who was a boxing promoter, owner of a racing stable and a doctor and trainer for a semi-pro football team...

||0||Chicago Boosters*||27
|-
| ||All-Tonawanda

Tonawanda Kardex

The Tonawanda Kardex was an American football team active between 1916 and 1921. It played its games in City of Tonawanda, New York, a suburb of Buffalo with close ties to North Tonawanda, New York where American Kardex was founded...

*||14||Rochester Jeffersons

Rochester Jeffersons

||3
|-
| Nov. 24, 1921

1921 NFL season

The 1921 APFA season was the 2nd regular season of the National Football League, which was then called the American Professional Football Association....

|| Canton Bulldogs

Canton Bulldogs

|| 14 || Akron Pros

Akron Pros

|| 0
|-
| || Buffalo All-Americans || 7 || Chicago Staleys

Chicago Bears

The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...

|| 6
|-
| Nov. 30, 1922

1922 NFL season

The 1922 NFL season was the 3rd regular season of what was now called National Football League . The NFL fielded 18 teams during the season, including new league teams such as the Milwaukee Badgers, the Oorang Indians, the Racine Legion, and the Toledo Maroons...

|| Buffalo All-Americans || 21 || Rochester Jeffersons

Rochester Jeffersons

|| 0
|-
| || Chicago Bears

Chicago Bears

The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...

|| 0 || Chicago Cardinals

Arizona Cardinals

|| 6
|-
| || Milwaukee Badgers

Milwaukee Badgers

The Milwaukee Badgers were a professional American football team based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, that played in the National Football League from 1922 to 1926. The team played its home games at Athletic Park, later known as Borchert Field, on Milwaukee's north side...

|| 0 || Racine Legion || 3
|-
| || Oorang Indians

Oorang Indians

The Oorang Indians were a traveling team in the National Football League from LaRue, Ohio . The team was named after the Oorang dog kennels. It was a novelty team put together by the kennels' owner, Walter Lingo, for marketing purposes. All of the players were Native American, with Jim Thorpe as...

|| 18 || Columbus Panhandles || 6
|-
| || Akron Pros

Akron Pros

|| 0 || Canton Bulldogs

Canton Bulldogs

|| 14
|-
| Nov. 29, 1923

1923 NFL season

The 1923 NFL season was the 4th regular season of the National Football League. For the first time, all of the clubs that were considered to be part of the NFL fielded teams. The new teams that entered the league included the Duluth Kelleys, the St. Louis All Stars , and a new Cleveland Indians team...

|| Toledo Maroons

Toledo Maroons

|| 0 || Canton Bulldogs

Canton Bulldogs

|| 28
|-
| || Chicago Cardinals

Arizona Cardinals

|| 0 || Chicago Bears

Chicago Bears

The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...

|| 3
|-
| || Hammond Pros

Hammond Pros

|| 0 || Green Bay Packers

Green Bay Packers

|| 19
|-
| || Milwaukee Badgers

Milwaukee Badgers

|| 16 || Racine Legion || 0
|-
| Nov. 27, 1924

1924 NFL season

The 1924 NFL season was the 5th regular season of the National Football League. The league had 18 teams play during the season, including the new clubs Frankford Yellow Jackets, Kansas City Blues, and Kenosha Maroons. The Louisville Brecks, Oorang Indians, St...

|| Buffalo Bisons

Buffalo Bisons

The Buffalo Bisons are a minor league baseball team based in Buffalo, New York. They currently play in the International League and are the Triple-A affiliate of the New York Mets...

|| 0 || Akron Pros

Akron Pros

|| 22
|-
| || Chicago Bears

Chicago Bears

The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...

|| 21 || Chicago Cardinals

Arizona Cardinals

|| 0
|-
| || Dayton Triangles

Dayton Triangles

|| 7 || Frankford Yellowjackets || 32
|-
| || Milwaukee Badgers

Milwaukee Badgers

|| 10 || Cleveland Bulldogs

Cleveland Bulldogs

The Cleveland Bulldogs was a team that played in Cleveland, Ohio in the National Football League. They were originally called the Indians in 1923, not to be confused with the Cleveland Indians NFL franchise in 1922...

Played at Canton, Ohio

Canton, Ohio

Canton is the county seat of Stark County in northeastern Ohio, approximately south of Akron and south of Cleveland.The City of Caton is the largest incorporated area within the Canton-Massillon Metropolitan Statistical Area...

|| 53
|-
| || Green Bay Packers

Green Bay Packers

|| 17 || Kansas City Blues

Kansas City (NFL)

Kansas City, Missouri had a National Football League team prior to the Chiefs that operated under two different names: The Blues in 1924 and the Cowboys from 1925-1926. The Blues competed as a traveling team, playing all of their NFL games in other cities' stadia in their only year under that name...

|| 6
|-
| Nov. 26, 1925

1925 NFL season

The 1925 NFL season was the 6th regular season of the National Football League. Five new teams entered the league: New York Giants, Detroit Panthers, Pottsville Maroons, Providence Steam Roller, and a new Canton Bulldogs team...

|| Chicago Cardinals

Arizona Cardinals

|| 0 || Chicago Bears

Chicago Bears

The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...

|| 0
|-
| || Kansas City Cowboys

Kansas City (NFL)

|| 17 || Cleveland Bulldogs

Cleveland Bulldogs

Played at Hartford, Connecticut

Hartford, Connecticut

Hartford is the capital of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960, it is the second most populous city on New England's largest river, the Connecticut River. As of the 2010 Census, Hartford's population was 124,775, making...

|| 0
|-
| || Rock Island Independents

Rock Island Independents

The Rock Island Independents were a professional American football team based in Rock Island, Illinois. One of the first professional football teams, they were founded in 1907 as an independent club. They later played in what is now the National Football League from 1920 to 1925. They joined the...

|| 6 || Detroit Panthers || 3
|-
| || Green Bay Packers

Green Bay Packers

|| 0 || Pottsville Maroons

Pottsville Maroons

The Pottsville Maroons were an American football team based in Pottsville, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1920, they went on to play in the National Football League for four seasons, from 1925–1928...

|| 31
|-
| Nov. 25, 1926

1926 NFL season

The 1926 NFL season was the 7th regular season of the National Football League. The league grew to 22 teams, a figure that would not be equaled in professional football until 1961, adding the Brooklyn Lions, the Hartford Blues, the Los Angeles Buccaneers, and the Louisville Colonels, with Racine...

|| New York Giants

New York Giants

|| 17 || Brooklyn Lions || 0
|-
| || Los Angeles Buccaneers

Los Angeles Buccaneers

The Los Angeles Buccaneers were a traveling team in the National Football League during their one season 1926, ostensibly representing the city of Los Angeles, California. Like the Los Angeles Wildcats of the first American Football League, the team never actually played a league game in Los...

|| 9 || Detroit Panthers || 6
|-
| || Chicago Cardinals

Arizona Cardinals

|| 0 || Chicago Bears

Chicago Bears

The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...

|| 0
|-
| || Green Bay Packers

Green Bay Packers

|| 14 || Frankford Yellowjackets || 20
|-
| || Providence Steam Roller

Providence Steam Roller

The Providence Steam Roller was a professional American football team based in Providence, Rhode Island in the National Football League from 1925 to 1931. Providence was the first New England team to win an NFL championship...

|| 0 || Pottsville Maroons

Pottsville Maroons

The Pottsville Maroons were an American football team based in Pottsville, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1920, they went on to play in the National Football League for four seasons, from 1925–1928...

|| 8
|-
| || Akron Pros

Akron Pros

|| 0 || Canton Bulldogs

Canton Bulldogs

|| 0
|-
| AFL I || Philadelphia Quakers

Philadelphia Quakers (AFL)

Not to be confused with the defunct Philadelphia Quakers team of the National Hockey League, the Philadelphia Quakers baseball team who became the Philadelphia Phillies in 1890 or the University of Pennsylvania athletics teams, the Pennsylvania Quakers....

|| 13 || New York Yankees

New York Yankees (NFL)

The New York Yankees were a short-lived professional American football team from 1926 to 1928. The team was a member of the first American Football League in 1926, and later the National Football League from 1927-1928. They played their home games at Yankee Stadium...

|| 10
|-
| || Los Angeles Wildcats

Los Angeles Wildcats

The Los Angeles Wildcats was a traveling team of the first American Football League that was not based in its nominal home city but in Chicago, Illinois...

|| 0 || Chicago Bulls

Chicago Bulls (AFL)

The Chicago Bulls were a professional American football team that competed in the first American Football League in 1926. Owned by Joey Sternaman , the Bulls also had AFL founders C. C. Pyle and Red Grange as shareholders...

|| 0
|-
| Nov. 24, 1927

1927 NFL season

The 1927 NFL season was the 8th regular season of the National Football League. Prior to the season, the league decided to eliminate the financially weaker teams. As a result, the league dropped from 22 to 12 teams, and a majority of the remaining teams were centered around the East Coast instead...

|| Chicago Cardinals

Arizona Cardinals

|| 3 || Chicago Bears

Chicago Bears

The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...

|| 0
|-
| || Providence Steam Roller

Providence Steam Roller

|| 0 || Pottsville Maroons

Pottsville Maroons

The Pottsville Maroons were an American football team based in Pottsville, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1920, they went on to play in the National Football League for four seasons, from 1925–1928...

|| 6
|-
| || Green Bay Packers

Green Bay Packers

|| 17 || Frankford Yellowjackets || 9
|-
| || Cleveland Bulldogs

Cleveland Bulldogs

|| 30 || New York Yankees

New York Yankees (NFL)

|| 19
|-
| Nov. 29, 1928

1928 NFL season

The 1928 NFL season was the 9th regular season of the National Football League. The league dropped to 10 teams after both the Cleveland Bulldogs and the Duluth Eskimos folded before the season. The Buffalo Bisons also had a year out from the league. The Detroit Wolverines were an expansion club...

|| Providence Steam Roller

Providence Steam Roller

|| 7 || Pottsville Maroons

Pottsville Maroons

The Pottsville Maroons were an American football team based in Pottsville, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1920, they went on to play in the National Football League for four seasons, from 1925–1928...

|| 0
|-
| || Dayton Triangles

Dayton Triangles

|| 0 || Detroit Wolverines || 33
|-
| || Green Bay Packers

Green Bay Packers

|| 0 || Frankford Yellowjackets || 2
|-
| || Chicago Cardinals

Arizona Cardinals

|| 0 || Chicago Bears

Chicago Bears

The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...

|| 34
|-
| Nov. 28, 1929

1929 NFL season

The 1929 NFL season was the 10th regular season of the National Football League. The league increased back to 12 teams with the addition of Orange Tornadoes and Minneapolis Red Jackets and the re-entry of the Buffalo Bisons...

|| New York Giants

New York Giants

|| 21 || Staten Island Stapletons

Staten Island Stapletons

The Staten Island Stapletons also known as the Staten Island Stapes were a professional American football team founded in 1915 that played in the National Football League from 1929 to 1930. The team was based in the Stapleton section of Staten Island. Under the shortened nickname the "Stapes"...

|| 7
|-
| || Green Bay Packers

Green Bay Packers

|| 0 || Frankford Yellowjackets || 0
|-
| || Chicago Cardinals

Arizona Cardinals

|| 40 || Chicago Bears

Chicago Bears

The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...

|| 6
|-
| Nov. 27, 1930

1930 NFL season

The 1930 NFL season was the 11th regular season of the National Football League. Prior to the season, Brooklyn businessmen William B. Dwyer and John C. Depler bought the Dayton Triangles, moved it, and renamed it the Brooklyn Dodgers. The Orange Tornadoes relocated to Newark and the Buffalo Bisons...

|| New York Giants

New York Giants

|| 6 || Staten Island Stapletons

Staten Island Stapletons

|| 7
|-
| || Providence Steam Roller

Providence Steam Roller

|| 12 || Brooklyn Dodgers

Brooklyn Dodgers (NFL)

The Brooklyn Dodgers were an American football team that played in the National Football League from 1930 to 1943, and in 1944 as the Brooklyn Tigers. The team played its home games at Ebbets Field. In 1945, because of financial difficulties, the team was merged with the Boston Yanks...

|| 33
|-
| || Green Bay Packers

Green Bay Packers

|| 25 || Frankford Yellowjackets || 7
|-
| || Chicago Cardinals

Arizona Cardinals

|| 0 || Chicago Bears

Chicago Bears

The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...

|| 6
|-
| Nov. 26, 1931

1931 NFL season

The 1931 NFL season was the 12th regular season of the National Football League. The league decreased to 10 teams due to financial hardships caused by the Great Depression. While the Cleveland Indians joined as an expansion team, the league lost the Minneapolis Red Jackets and the Newark Tornadoes...

|| Green Bay Packers

Green Bay Packers

|| 38 || Providence Steam Roller

Providence Steam Roller

|| 7
|-
| || New York Giants

New York Giants

|| 6 || Staten Island Stapletons

Staten Island Stapletons

|| 9
|-
| || Chicago Cardinals

Arizona Cardinals

|| 7 || Chicago Bears

Chicago Bears

The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...

|| 18
|-
| Nov. 24, 1932

1932 NFL season

-League leaders:-References:* NFL Record and Fact Book * * * Total Football: The Official Encyclopedia of the National Football League...

|| Green Bay Packers

Green Bay Packers

|| 7 || Brooklyn Dodgers

Brooklyn Dodgers (NFL)

|| 0
|-
| || New York Giants

New York Giants

|| 13 || Staten Island Stapletons

Staten Island Stapletons

|| 13
|-
| || Chicago Cardinals

Arizona Cardinals

|| 0 || Chicago Bears

Chicago Bears

The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...

|| 24
|-
| Nov. 30, 1933

1933 NFL season

The 1933 NFL season was the 14th regular season of the National Football League. Because of the success of the 1932 NFL Playoff Game, the league divided its teams into two divisions for the first time, with the winners of each division playing in a championship game to determine the NFL champion...

|| New York Giants

New York Giants

|| 10 || Brooklyn Dodgers

Brooklyn Dodgers (NFL)

|| 0
|-
| || Chicago Bears

Chicago Bears

The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...

|| 22 || Chicago Cardinals

Arizona Cardinals

|| 6
|-
| Nov. 29, 1934

1934 NFL season

The 1934 NFL season was the 15th regular season of the National Football League. Before the season, the Portsmouth Spartans moved to Detroit, Michigan and were renamed the Detroit Lions....

|| Green Bay Packers

Green Bay Packers

|| 0 || Chicago Cardinals

Arizona Cardinals

|| 6
|-
| || New York Giants

New York Giants

|| 27 || Brooklyn Dodgers

Brooklyn Dodgers (NFL)

|| 0
|-
| || Chicago Bears

Chicago Bears

The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...

|| 19 || Detroit Lions

Detroit Lions

|| 16
|-
| Nov. 28, 1935

1935 NFL season

The 1935 NFL season was the 16th regular season of the National Football League. The season ended when the Detroit Lions defeated the New York Giants in the NFL Championship Game....

|| Green Bay Packers

Green Bay Packers

|| 7 || Chicago Cardinals

Arizona Cardinals

|| 9
|-
| || New York Giants

New York Giants

|| 21 || Brooklyn Dodgers

Brooklyn Dodgers (NFL)

|| 0
|-
| || Chicago Bears

Chicago Bears

The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...

|| 2 || Detroit Lions

Detroit Lions

|| 14
|-
| Nov. 26, 1936

1936 NFL season

The 1936 NFL season was the 17th regular season of the National Football League. For the first time since the league was founded, there were no team transactions; neither a club folded nor did a new one join the NFL. 1936 was also the first year in which all league teams played the same number of...

|| Chicago Bears

Chicago Bears

The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...

|| 7 || Detroit Lions

Detroit Lions

|| 13
|-
| || New York Giants

New York Giants

|| 14 || Brooklyn Dodgers

Brooklyn Dodgers (NFL)

|| 0
|-
| Nov. 25, 1937

1937 NFL season

The 1937 NFL season was the 18th regular season of the National Football League. The Cleveland Rams joined the league as an expansion team. Meanwhile, the Redskins relocated from Boston, Massachusetts to Washington, D.C....

|| Chicago Bears

Chicago Bears

The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...

|| 13 || Detroit Lions

Detroit Lions

|| 0
|-
| || New York Giants

New York Giants

|| 13 || Brooklyn Dodgers

Brooklyn Dodgers (NFL)

|| 13
|-
| Nov. 24, 1938

1938 NFL season

The 1938 NFL season was the 19th regular season of the National Football League. The season ended when the New York Giants defeated the Green Bay Packers in the NFL Championship Game.-Major rule changes:...

|| Chicago Bears

Chicago Bears

The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...

|| 7 || Detroit Lions

Detroit Lions

|| 14
|-
| || New York Giants

New York Giants

|| 7 || Brooklyn Dodgers

Brooklyn Dodgers (NFL)

|| 7
|-
| Nov. 23, 1939

1939 NFL season

The 1939 NFL season was the 20th regular season of the National Football League. Before the season, NFL president Joseph Carr died, and Carl Storck was named to replace him....

|| Pittsburgh Steelers

Pittsburgh Steelers

|| 14 || Philadelphia Eagles

Philadelphia Eagles

|| 17
|-
| Nov. 28, 1940

1940 NFL season

The 1940 NFL season was the 21st regular season of the National Football League. The season ended when the Chicago Bears defeated the Washington Redskins in the NFL Championship Game, 73–0. This game still stands as the most one-sided victory in NFL history...

|| Pittsburgh Steelers

Pittsburgh Steelers

|| 7 || Philadelphia Eagles

Philadelphia Eagles

|| 0
|-
|colspan=5|No game held from 1941-1944 due to WWII

World War II

|-
| Nov. 22, 1945

1945 NFL season

The 1945 NFL season was the 26th regular season of the National Football League. The Pittsburgh Steelers and the Chicago Cardinals resumed their traditional operations....

|| Cleveland Rams

St. Louis Rams

The St. Louis Rams are a professional American football team based in St. Louis, Missouri. They are currently members of the West Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Rams have won three NFL Championships .The Rams began playing in 1936 in Cleveland,...

|| 28 || Detroit Lions

Detroit Lions

|| 21
|-
| Nov. 28, 1946

1946 NFL season

The 1946 NFL season was the 27th regular season of the National Football League. Before the season, Elmer Layden resigned as NFL Commissioner and Bert Bell, co-founder of the Philadelphia Eagles, replaced him...

|| Boston Yanks

Boston Yanks

The Boston Yanks were a National Football League team based in Boston, Massachusetts that played from 1944 to 1948. The team played its home games at Fenway Park. Games that conflicted with the Boston Red Sox schedule were held at the Manning Bowl in Lynn, Massachusetts...

|| 34 || Detroit Lions

Detroit Lions

|| 10
|-
| AAFC || New York Yankees

New York Yankees (AAFC)

The New York Yankees were a professional American football team that played in the All-America Football Conference from 1946 to 1949. The team played in Yankee Stadium in the Bronx and often played in front of sold-out crowds . They were owned by Dan Topping, who brought many of his Brooklyn...

|| 21 || Brooklyn Dodgers

Brooklyn Dodgers (AAFC)

The Brooklyn Dodgers was an American Football team that played in the All-America Football Conference from 1946 to 1948. The team is unrelated to the Brooklyn Dodgers that played in the National Football League from 1930 to 1943...

|| 7
|-
| Nov. 27, 1947

1947 NFL season

The 1947 NFL season was the 28th regular season of the National Football League. The league expanded the regular season by one game from eleven games per team to twelve, a number that remained constant until the 1961 season....

|| Chicago Bears

Chicago Bears

The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...

|| 34 || Detroit Lions

Detroit Lions

|| 14
|-
| AAFC || Cleveland Browns

Cleveland Browns

The Cleveland Browns are a professional football team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They are currently members of the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...

|| 27 || Los Angeles Dons

Los Angeles Dons

The Los Angeles Dons were an American football team in the now defunct All-America Football Conference from 1946 to 1949 that played in the Los Angeles Coliseum....

|| 17
|-
| || San Francisco 49ers

San Francisco 49ers

|| 21 || Brooklyn Dodgers

Brooklyn Dodgers (AAFC)

|| 7
|-
| Nov. 25, 1948

1948 NFL season

The 1948 NFL season was the 29th regular season of the National Football League. During the season, Halfback Fred Gehrke painted horns on the Los Angeles Rams' helmets, making the first modern helmet emblem in pro football. The season ended when the Philadelphia Eagles defeated the Chicago...

|| Chicago Cardinals

Arizona Cardinals

|| 28 || Detroit Lions

Detroit Lions

|| 14
|-
| AAFC || Cleveland Browns

Cleveland Browns

The Cleveland Browns are a professional football team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They are currently members of the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...

|| 31 || Los Angeles Dons

Los Angeles Dons

The Los Angeles Dons were an American football team in the now defunct All-America Football Conference from 1946 to 1949 that played in the Los Angeles Coliseum....

|| 28
|-
| || Buffalo Bills

Buffalo Bills (AAFC)

The Buffalo Bills was an American Football team, based in Buffalo, NY, that played in the All-America Football Conference from 1946 to 1949. During its first season in 1946, the team was known as the Buffalo Bisons...

|| 39 || Chicago Rockets

Chicago Rockets

The Chicago Rockets was an American football team that played in the All-America Football Conference from 1946 to 1949. During the 1949 season, the team was known as the Chicago Hornets...

|| 35
|-
| Nov. 24, 1949

1949 NFL season

The 1949 NFL season was the 30th regular season of the National Football League. Prior to the season, Boston Yanks owner Ted Collins asked the league to fold his team due to financial woes, and give him a new one in New York City...

|| Chicago Bears

Chicago Bears

The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...

|| 28 || Detroit Lions

Detroit Lions

|| 7
|-
| AAFC || New York Yankees

New York Yankees (AAFC)

|| 17 || Los Angeles Dons

Los Angeles Dons

The Los Angeles Dons were an American football team in the now defunct All-America Football Conference from 1946 to 1949 that played in the Los Angeles Coliseum....

|| 16
|-
| || Cleveland Browns

Cleveland Browns

The Cleveland Browns are a professional football team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They are currently members of the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...

|| 14 || Chicago Hornets

Chicago Rockets

The Chicago Rockets was an American football team that played in the All-America Football Conference from 1946 to 1949. During the 1949 season, the team was known as the Chicago Hornets...

|| 6
|-
| Nov. 23, 1950

1950 NFL season

The 1950 NFL season was the 31st regular season of the National Football League. The merger with the All-America Football Conference expanded the league to 13 teams. Meanwhile, television brought a new era to the game. The Los Angeles Rams became the first NFL team to have all of its games – both...

|| New York Yanks

New York Yanks

The New York Yanks American football team played in the National Football League under that name in the 1950 and 1951 seasons. In 1949, Boston Yanks owner Ted Collins had requested the NFL to fold his Boston team and give him a new one in New York City...

|| 14 || Detroit Lions

Detroit Lions

|| 49
|-
| || Pittsburgh Steelers

Pittsburgh Steelers

|| 28 || Chicago Cardinals

Arizona Cardinals

|| 17
|-
| Nov. 22, 1951

1951 NFL season

The 1951 NFL season was the 32nd regular season of the National Football League. Prior to the season, Baltimore Colts owner Abraham Watner faced financial difficulties, and thus gave his team and its player contracts back to the league for $50,000. However, many Baltimore fans started to protest...

|| Green Bay Packers

Green Bay Packers

|| 35 || Detroit Lions

Detroit Lions

|| 52
|-
| Nov. 27, 1952

1952 NFL season

The 1952 NFL season was the 33rd regular season of the National Football League. Prior to the season, New York Yanks owner Ted Collins sold his team back to the NFL...

|| Green Bay Packers

Green Bay Packers

|| 24 || Detroit Lions

Detroit Lions

|| 48
|-
| || Chicago Bears

Chicago Bears

The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...

|| 23 || Dallas Texans

Dallas Texans (NFL)

The Dallas Texans played in the National Football League for one season, 1952, with a record of 1–11.-History:After the 1951 NFL season, the financially troubled New York Yanks franchise were put on the market. Ted Collins had founded that franchise in 1944 as the Boston Yanks, moved it to New...

Played at Akron, Ohio

Akron, Ohio

Akron , is the fifth largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Summit County. It is located in the Great Lakes region approximately south of Lake Erie along the Little Cuyahoga River. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 199,110. The Akron Metropolitan...

|| 27
|-
| Nov. 26, 1953

1953 NFL season

The 1953 NFL season was the 34th regular season of the National Football League. The names of the American and National conferences were changed to the Eastern and Western conferences....

|| Green Bay Packers

Green Bay Packers

|| 15 || Detroit Lions

Detroit Lions

|| 34
|-
| Nov. 25, 1954

1954 NFL season

The 1954 NFL season was the 35th regular season of the National Football League. The season ended when the Cleveland Browns defeated the Detroit Lions in the NFL Championship Game.-Major rule changes:...

|| Green Bay Packers

Green Bay Packers

|| 24 || Detroit Lions

Detroit Lions

|| 28
|-
| Nov. 24, 1955

1955 NFL season

The 1955 NFL season was the 36th regular season of the National Football League. NBC paid $100,000 to replace DuMont as the national television network for the NFL Championship Game...

|| Green Bay Packers

Green Bay Packers

|| 10 || Detroit Lions

Detroit Lions

|| 24
|-
| Nov. 22, 1956

1956 NFL season

The 1956 NFL season was the 37th regular season of the National Football League. CBS became the first network to televise some regular season games across the nation...

|| Green Bay Packers

Green Bay Packers

|| 24 || Detroit Lions

Detroit Lions

|| 20
|-
| Nov. 28, 1957

1957 NFL season

The 1957 NFL season was the 38th regular season of the National Football League. The season ended when the Detroit Lions crushed the Cleveland Browns in the NFL Championship Game, 59–14.-Major rule changes:...

|| Green Bay Packers

Green Bay Packers

|| 6 || Detroit Lions

Detroit Lions

|| 18
|-
| Nov. 27, 1958

1958 NFL season

The 1958 NFL season was the 39th regular season of the National Football League.The Baltimore Colts defeated the New York Giants, 23–17, in the first sudden-death overtime in an NFL Championship Game...

|| Green Bay Packers

Green Bay Packers

|| 14 || Detroit Lions

Detroit Lions

|| 24
|-
| Nov. 26, 1959

1959 NFL season

The 1959 NFL season was the 40th regular season of the National Football League. Tragedy struck as NFL Commissioner Bert Bell died of a heart attack on October 11 at Philadelphia's Franklin Field while watching the Philadelphia Eagles and the Pittsburgh Steelers play...

|| Green Bay Packers

Green Bay Packers

|| 24 || Detroit Lions

Detroit Lions

|| 17

Non NFL team games between league teams and non league teams counted in the 1920 standings. The All-Tonawanda Lumberjacks later joined the league as the Tonawanda Kardex, albeit only for one game.

1960–1969

The American Football League
American Football League
The American Football League was a major American Professional Football league that operated from 1960 until 1969, when the established National Football League merged with it. The upstart AFL operated in direct competition with the more established NFL throughout its existence...

(AFL) also played Thanksgiving Day games during this decade, and the Dallas Cowboys
Dallas Cowboys
The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football franchise which plays in the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference of the National Football League . They are headquartered in Valley Ranch in Irving, Texas, a suburb of Dallas...

started playing their series in 1966.

{| class="wikitable"
|- bgcolor="#efefef"
! Season !! Visiting Team !! Score !! Home Team !! Score
|-
| Nov. 24, 1960

1960 NFL season

The 1960 NFL season was the 41st regular season of the National Football League. Before the season, Pete Rozelle was elected NFL commissioner as a compromise choice on the twenty-third ballot. Meanwhile, the league expanded to 13 teams with the addition of the Dallas Cowboys. Also, the Cardinals...

|| Green Bay Packers

Green Bay Packers

|| 10 || Detroit Lions

Detroit Lions

|| 23
|-
| AFL || New York Titans

New York Jets

|| 41 || Dallas Texans

Kansas City Chiefs

The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. They are a member of the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Originally named the Dallas Texans, the club was founded by Lamar Hunt in 1960 as a...

|| 35
|-
| Nov. 23, 1961

1961 NFL season

The 1961 NFL season was the 42nd regular season of the National Football League. The league expanded to 14 teams with the addition of the Minnesota Vikings, after the team's owners declined to be charter members of the new American Football League. The schedule was also expanded from 12 games per...

|| Green Bay Packers

Green Bay Packers

|| 17 || Detroit Lions

Detroit Lions

|| 9
|-
| AFL || Buffalo Bills

Buffalo Bills

The Buffalo Bills are a professional football team based in Buffalo, New York. They are currently members of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...

|| 14 || New York Titans

New York Jets

|| 21
|-
| Nov. 22, 1962

1962 NFL season

The 1962 NFL season was the 43rd regular season of the National Football League. Before the season, CBS signed a contract with the league to televise all regular-season games for a $4.65 million annual fee....

|| Green Bay Packers

Green Bay Packers

|| 14 || Detroit Lions

Detroit Lions

|| 26
|-
| AFL || New York Titans

New York Jets

|| 46 || Denver Broncos

Denver Broncos

The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver, Colorado. They are currently members of the West Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...

|| 45
|-
| Nov. 28, 1963

1963 NFL season

The 1963 NFL season was the 44th regular season of the National Football League. On April 17, NFL commissioner Pete Rozelle indefinitely suspended Green Bay Packers running back Paul Hornung and Detroit Lions defensive tackle Alex Karras for gambling on their own teams, as well as other NFL games;...

|| Green Bay Packers

Green Bay Packers

|| 13 || Detroit Lions

Detroit Lions

|| 13
|-
| AFL || Oakland Raiders

Oakland Raiders

The Oakland Raiders are a professional American football team based in Oakland, California. They currently play in the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...

|| 26 || Denver Broncos

Denver Broncos

|| 10
|-
| Nov. 26, 1964

1964 NFL season

The 1964 NFL season was the 45th regular season of the National Football League. Before the season started, NFL commissioner Pete Rozelle reinstated Green Bay Packers running back Paul Hornung and Detroit Lions defensive tackle Alex Karras, who had been suspended for the 1963 season due to...

|| Chicago Bears

Chicago Bears

The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...

|| 27 || Detroit Lions

Detroit Lions

|| 24
|-
| AFL || Buffalo Bills

Buffalo Bills

The Buffalo Bills are a professional football team based in Buffalo, New York. They are currently members of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...

|| 27 || San Diego Chargers

San Diego Chargers

|| 24
|-
| Nov. 25, 1965

1965 NFL season

The 1965 NFL season was the 46th regular season of the National Football League.Because the Green Bay Packers and Baltimore Colts ended up tied in the Western Conference standings after the regular season ended, a conference playoff game was held in Green Bay. Although the Packers had defeated the...

|| Baltimore Colts

Indianapolis Colts

|| 24 || Detroit Lions

Detroit Lions

|| 24
|-
| AFL || Buffalo Bills

Buffalo Bills

The Buffalo Bills are a professional football team based in Buffalo, New York. They are currently members of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...

|| 20 || San Diego Chargers

San Diego Chargers

|| 20
|-
| rowspan="2"|Nov. 24, 1966

1966 NFL season

The 1966 NFL season was the 47th regular season of the National Football League, and the season after which was played Super Bowl I, though it was called the AFL-NFL World Championship Game. The league expanded to 15 teams with the addition of the Atlanta Falcons, thus an odd number of teams...

|| San Francisco 49ers

San Francisco 49ers

|| 41 || Detroit Lions

Detroit Lions

|| 14
|-
| Cleveland Browns

Cleveland Browns

The Cleveland Browns are a professional football team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They are currently members of the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...

|| 14 || Dallas Cowboys

Dallas Cowboys

|| 26
|-
| AFL || Buffalo Bills

Buffalo Bills

The Buffalo Bills are a professional football team based in Buffalo, New York. They are currently members of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...

|| 31 || Oakland Raiders

Oakland Raiders

|| 10
|-
| rowspan="2"|Nov. 23, 1967

1967 NFL season

The 1967 NFL season was the 48th regular season of the National Football League. The league expanded to 16 teams with the addition of the New Orleans Saints. The league's teams were realigned into four divisions: the Capitol and Century Divisions in the Eastern Conference, and the Central and...

|| Los Angeles Rams

St. Louis Rams

|| 31 || Detroit Lions

Detroit Lions

|| 7
|-
| St. Louis Cardinals

Arizona Cardinals

|| 21 || Dallas Cowboys

Dallas Cowboys

|| 46
|-
| rowspan="2"|AFL || Oakland Raiders

Oakland Raiders

|| 44 || Kansas City Chiefs

Kansas City Chiefs

|| 22
|-
| Denver Broncos

Denver Broncos

|| 20 || San Diego Chargers

San Diego Chargers

|| 24
|-
| rowspan="2"|Nov. 28, 1968

1968 NFL season

The 1968 NFL season was the 49th regular season of the National Football League. As per the agreement made during the 1967 realignment, the New Orleans Saints and the New York Giants switched divisions; the Saints joined the Century Division while the Giants became part of the Capitol Division.The...

|| Philadelphia Eagles

Philadelphia Eagles

|| 12 || Detroit Lions

Detroit Lions

|| 0
|-
|Washington Redskins

Washington Redskins

|| 20 || Dallas Cowboys

Dallas Cowboys

|| 29
|-
| rowspan="2"|AFL || Buffalo Bills

Buffalo Bills

The Buffalo Bills are a professional football team based in Buffalo, New York. They are currently members of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...

|| 10 || Oakland Raiders

Oakland Raiders

|| 13
|-
|Houston Oilers

Tennessee Titans

|| 10 || Kansas City Chiefs

Kansas City Chiefs

|| 24
|-
| rowspan="2"|Nov. 27, 1969

1969 NFL season

The 1969 NFL season was the 50th regular season of the National Football League, and the last one before the AFL-NFL Merger. To honor the NFL's 50th season, a special anniversary logo was designed and each player wore a patch on their jerseys with this logo throughout the season.As per the...

|| Minnesota Vikings

Minnesota Vikings

The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Vikings joined the National Football League as an expansion team in 1960...

|| 27 || Detroit Lions

Detroit Lions

|| 0
|-
| San Francisco 49ers

San Francisco 49ers

|| 24 || Dallas Cowboys

Dallas Cowboys

|| 24
|-
| rowspan="2"|AFL || Denver Broncos

Denver Broncos

|| 17 || Kansas City Chiefs

Kansas City Chiefs

|| 31
|-
| San Diego Chargers

San Diego Chargers

|| 21 || Houston Oilers

Tennessee Titans

|| 17

1970–present

From to , three NFC teams played each Thanksgiving, as opposed to one AFC team. In , Kansas City hosted a prime time
Prime time
Prime time or primetime is the block of broadcast programming during the middle of the evening for television programing.The term prime time is often defined in terms of a fixed time period—for example, from 19:00 to 22:00 or 20:00 to 23:00 Prime time or primetime is the block of broadcast...

Thanksgiving game. The game marked a new "Thanksgiving Tripleheader" tradition. The Denver/Kansas City game marked the first time more than two games were played on Thanksgiving (as well as the first all-AFC holiday matchup) since the AFL-NFL Merger
AFL-NFL Merger
The AFL–NFL merger of 1970 was the merger of the two major professional American football leagues in the United States at the time: the National Football League and the American Football League...

in .
The two afternoon games are held at Detroit (12:30 p.m. EST) and Dallas (4:15 p.m. EST), respectively. Detroit always hosts the first game because a 12:30 p.m. EST kick-off at Dallas would be 11:30 a.m. local time (CST), and the NFL avoids starting games before noon locally. The two games rotate annually as intra-conference (NFC
National Football Conference
The National Football Conference is one of the two conferences of the National Football League . This conference and its counterpart, the American Football Conference , currently contain 16 teams each, making up the 32 teams of the NFL.-Current teams:Since 2002, the NFC has comprised 16 teams,...

vs. NFC) and inter-conference (AFC
American Football Conference
The American Football Conference is one of the two conferences of the National Football League . This conference and its counterpart, the National Football Conference , currently contain 16 teams each, making up the 32 teams of the NFL....

vs. NFC) games. This is largely due to the format of the television contract with CBS
NFL on CBS
The NFL on CBS is the brand name of the CBS television network's coverage of the National Football League's American Football Conference games, produced by CBS Sports.-Market coverage and television policies:...

and Fox
NFL on FOX
NFL on Fox is the brand name of the Fox Broadcasting Company's coverage of the National Football League's National Football Conference games, produced by Fox Sports...

. Since both Detroit and Dallas are NFC teams, in order for CBS to televise one of the games, one game must be against an AFC opponent. Inter-conference games of which the AFC team is away, are televised on CBS. For fairness between both networks and markets, the two games rotate annually between the two networks.
The "early" game kicks off at a special time of 12:30 p.m. EST as opposed to the typical afternoon start time of 1 p.m. This provides an additional 30 minutes to prevent overlapping of the "late" game, and also gives both networks time for a pregame show and some additional time for a halftime concert. As a result, the network hosting the early game has to either start it at 11:30 a.m. (as Fox NFL Sunday
FOX NFL Sunday
Fox NFL Sunday is the pregame show for the TV show NFL on Fox. The program is broadcast on Fox television affiliates nationwide. The audio portion of the show is broadcast over the Fox Sports Radio network, distributed by Premiere Radio Networks...

does) or cut it to 30 minutes (as The NFL Today
The NFL Today
The NFL Today is an American sports series that precedes the American football program The NFL on CBS on CBS Sports. The program usually airs at noon on Sundays of the National Football League regular season...

does; CBS carries parade coverage that does not end until noon). The network with the 4:15 game begins pregame coverage at 3:30 p.m.
Since 2006, three contests have been played on Thanksgiving. In addition to the traditional Detroit and Dallas home afternoon games, a third game is now played in primetime and televised by NFL Network
NFL Network
NFL Network is an American television specialty channel owned and operated by the National Football League . It was launched November 4, 2003, only eight months after the league's 32 team owners voted unanimously to approve its formation...

. This game has been played at Kansas City (2006), at Atlanta (2007), at Philadelphia (2008), and at Denver (2009). Current plans call for the various NFL teams (other than the Lions and Cowboys) to take turns hosting the night game on a rotation basis.
Dallas was replaced by the St. Louis Cardinals
Arizona Cardinals
The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in Glendale, Arizona, a suburb of Phoenix. They are currently members of the Western Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...

as a host team in and ; Dallas and St. Louis faced each other in Dallas in 1976. Because of the long-established Kirkwood
Kirkwood High School
Kirkwood High School is a secondary school in Kirkwood, Missouri. It is located at 801 W Essex Ave, Kirkwood, MO. The school is part of the Kirkwood R-7 School District. The current principal is Dr. Mike Havener who replaced Dr...

–Webster Groves
Webster Groves School District
The Webster Groves School District is a school district in and around Webster Groves, Missouri, west of St. Louis.The current superintendent is Dr. Sarah Booth Riss, and the district's central office is located at 400 E...

high school football
High school football
High school football, in North America, refers to the game of football as it is played in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular interscholastic sports in both of these nations....

game that takes place on Thanksgiving in St. Louis, the Cardinals' hosting of the Thanksgiving game was not popular. Dallas returned to hosting the game in 1978 and has hosted ever since. Likewise, the St. Louis Rams
St. Louis Rams
The St. Louis Rams are a professional American football team based in St. Louis, Missouri. They are currently members of the West Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Rams have won three NFL Championships .The Rams began playing in 1936 in Cleveland,...

have not played on Thanksgiving since moving to St. Louis, likely for the same reason.
Since the NFL began its current alignment in 2002, the AFC North
AFC North
The American Football Conference North Division, or AFC North, is a division of the National Football League's American Football Conference. It was created prior to the 1967 season as the NFL Century Division when the NFL split into four divisions...

is the only division not to feature a team play on Thanksgiving. The division would have to play in the prime-time game, since it is currently locked out of the regular rotation with the Lions and Cowboys due to those teams playing against an NFC team in the years those teams play that division. To date, the last game to feature an AFC North team--then called the AFC Central--was the Lions matchup against the Pittsburgh Steelers
Pittsburgh Steelers
The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional football team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The team currently belongs to the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Founded in , the Steelers are the oldest franchise in the AFC...

in 1998 that is best remembered for the Jerome Bettis
Jerome Bettis
Jerome Abram "The Bus" Bettis is a retired American football halfback who played for the NFL's Los Angeles/St. Louis Rams and Pittsburgh Steelers. Bettis is considered one of the best big backs ever because his footwork and power, and is currently fifth on the National Football League's all-time...

coin toss controversy. This changed in 2010, when the Cincinnati Bengals
Cincinnati Bengals
The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional football team based in Cincinnati, Ohio. They are members of the AFC's North Division in the National Football League . The Bengals began play in 1968 as an expansion team in the American Football League , and joined the NFL in 1970 in the AFL-NFL...

traveled to play the New York Jets
New York Jets
The New York Jets are a professional football team headquartered in Florham Park, New Jersey, representing the New York metropolitan area. The team is a member of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...

in the prime-time game.

{| class="wikitable"
|- bgcolor="#efefef"
! Season !! Visiting Team !! Score !! Home Team !! Score !! OT
|-
|rowspan="2"| Nov. 26, 1970

1970 NFL season

The 1970 NFL season was the 51st regular season of the National Football League, and the first one after the AFL-NFL Merger.The merger forced a realignment between the combined league's clubs. Because there were 16 NFL teams and 10 AFL teams, three teams needed to transfer to balance the two new...

|| Oakland Raiders

Oakland Raiders

|| 14 || Detroit Lions

Detroit Lions

|| 28 ||
|-
| Green Bay Packers

Green Bay Packers

|| 3 || Dallas Cowboys

Dallas Cowboys

|| 16 ||
|-
| rowspan="2"|Nov. 25, 1971

1971 NFL season

The 1971 NFL season was the 52nd regular season of the National Football League. The season ended with Super Bowl VI when the Dallas Cowboys defeated the Miami Dolphins...

|| Kansas City Chiefs

Kansas City Chiefs

|| 21 || Detroit Lions

Detroit Lions

|| 32 ||
|-
| Los Angeles Rams

St. Louis Rams

|| 21 || Dallas Cowboys

Dallas Cowboys

|| 28 ||
|-
|rowspan="2"| Nov. 23, 1972

1972 NFL season

The 1972 NFL season was the 53rd regular season of the National Football League. The Miami Dolphins became the first NFL team to finish a championship season undefeated and untied when they beat the Washington Redskins in Super Bowl VII.-Major rule changes:...

|| New York Jets

New York Jets

|| 20 || Detroit Lions

Detroit Lions

|| 37 ||
|-
| San Francisco 49ers

San Francisco 49ers

|| 31 || Dallas Cowboys

Dallas Cowboys

|| 10 ||
|-
|rowspan="2"| Nov. 22, 1973

1973 NFL season

The 1973 NFL season was the 54th regular season of the National Football League. The season featured O.J. Simpson becoming the first man to rush for 2,000 yards in one season...

|| Washington Redskins

Washington Redskins

|| 20 || Detroit Lions

Detroit Lions

|| 0 ||
|-
| Miami Dolphins

Miami Dolphins

|| 14 || Dallas Cowboys

Dallas Cowboys

|| 7 ||
|-
|rowspan="2"| Nov. 28, 1974

1974 NFL season

The 1974 NFL season was the 55th regular season of the National Football League. The season ended with Super Bowl IX when the Pittsburgh Steelers defeated the Minnesota Vikings...

|| Denver Broncos

Denver Broncos

|| 31 || Detroit Lions

Detroit Lions

|| 27 ||
|-
| Washington Redskins

Washington Redskins

|| 23 || Dallas Cowboys

Dallas Cowboys

|| 24 ||
|-
| rowspan="2"|Nov. 27, 1975

1975 NFL season

The 1975 NFL season was the 56th regular season of the National Football League. It was also the first time that featured an entire season with no games ending in a tie. The league made two significant changes to increase the appeal of the game:...

|| Los Angeles Rams

St. Louis Rams

|| 20 || Detroit Lions

Detroit Lions

|| 0 ||
|-
| Buffalo Bills

Buffalo Bills

The Buffalo Bills are a professional football team based in Buffalo, New York. They are currently members of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...

|| 32 || St. Louis Cardinals

Arizona Cardinals

|| 14 ||
|-
| rowspan="2"|Nov. 25, 1976

1976 NFL season

The 1976 NFL season was the 57th regular season of the National Football League. The league expanded to 28 teams with the addition of the Seattle Seahawks and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers...

|| Buffalo Bills

Buffalo Bills

The Buffalo Bills are a professional football team based in Buffalo, New York. They are currently members of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...

|| 14 || Detroit Lions

Detroit Lions

|| 27 ||
|-
| St. Louis Cardinals

Arizona Cardinals

|| 14 || Dallas Cowboys

Dallas Cowboys

|| 19 ||
|-
| rowspan="2"|Nov. 24, 1977

1977 NFL season

The 1977 NFL season was the 58th regular season of the National Football League. The Seattle Seahawks were placed in the AFC West while the Tampa Bay Buccaneers were slotted in the NFC Central....

|| Chicago Bears

Chicago Bears

The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...

|| 31 || Detroit Lions

Detroit Lions

|| 14 ||
|-
| Miami Dolphins

Miami Dolphins

|| 55 || St. Louis Cardinals

Arizona Cardinals

|| 14 ||
|-
| rowspan="2"|Nov. 23, 1978

1978 NFL season

The 1978 NFL season was the 59th regular season of the National Football League. The league expanded the regular season from a 14-game schedule to 16. Furthermore, the playoff format was expanded from 8 teams to 10 teams by adding another wild card from each conference...

|| Denver Broncos

Denver Broncos

|| 14 || Detroit Lions

Detroit Lions

|| 17 ||
|-
| Washington Redskins

Washington Redskins

|| 10 || Dallas Cowboys

Dallas Cowboys

|| 37 ||
|-
| rowspan="2"|Nov. 22, 1979

1979 NFL season

The 1979 NFL season was the 60th regular season of the National Football League. The season ended with Super Bowl XIV when the Pittsburgh Steelers defeated the Los Angeles Rams...

|| Chicago Bears

Chicago Bears

The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...

|| 0 || Detroit Lions

Detroit Lions

|| 20 ||
|-
| Houston Oilers

Tennessee Titans

|| 30 || Dallas Cowboys

Dallas Cowboys

|| 24 ||
|-
|rowspan="2"| Nov. 27, 1980

1980 NFL season

The 1980 NFL season was the 61st regular season of the National Football League.After the league declined to approve the proposed move by the Raiders from Oakland, California to Los Angeles, the team along with the Los Angeles Coliseum sued the NFL for violating antitrust laws...

|| Chicago Bears

Chicago Bears

The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...

|| 23 || Detroit Lions

Detroit Lions

|| 17 || (OT)
|-
| Seattle Seahawks

Seattle Seahawks

The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle, Washington. They are currently members of the Western Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team joined the NFL in 1976 as an expansion team...

|| 7 || Dallas Cowboys

Dallas Cowboys

|| 51 ||
|-
|rowspan="2"| Nov. 26, 1981

1981 NFL season

The 1981 NFL season was the 62nd regular season of the National Football League. The season ended with Super Bowl XVI when the San Francisco 49ers defeated the Cincinnati Bengals.-Major rule changes:...

|| Kansas City Chiefs

Kansas City Chiefs

|| 10 || Detroit Lions

Detroit Lions

|| 27 ||
|-
| Chicago Bears

Chicago Bears

The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...

|| 9 || Dallas Cowboys

Dallas Cowboys

|| 10 ||
|-
| rowspan="2"|Nov. 25, 1982

1982 NFL season

The 1982 NFL season was the 63rd regular season of the National Football League. A 57-day long players' strike reduced the 1982 season from a 16-game schedule per team to an abbreviated nine game schedule...

|| New York Giants

New York Giants

|| 13 || Detroit Lions

Detroit Lions

|| 6 ||
|-
| Cleveland Browns

Cleveland Browns

The Cleveland Browns are a professional football team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They are currently members of the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...

|| 14 || Dallas Cowboys

Dallas Cowboys

|| 31 ||
|-
| rowspan="2"|Nov. 24, 1983

1983 NFL season

The 1983 NFL season was the 64th regular season of the National Football League. The season ended with Super Bowl XVIII when the Los Angeles Raiders defeated the Washington Redskins.-Major rule changes:...

|| Pittsburgh Steelers

Pittsburgh Steelers

|| 3 || Detroit Lions

Detroit Lions

|| 45 ||
|-
| St. Louis Cardinals

Arizona Cardinals

|| 17 || Dallas Cowboys

Dallas Cowboys

|| 35 ||
|-
| rowspan="2"|Nov. 22, 1984

1984 NFL season

The 1984 NFL season was the 65th regular season of the National Football League. The Colts relocated from Baltimore, Maryland to Indianapolis, Indiana....

|| Green Bay Packers

Green Bay Packers

|| 28 || Detroit Lions

Detroit Lions

|| 31 ||
|-
| New England Patriots

New England Patriots

|| 17 || Dallas Cowboys

Dallas Cowboys

|| 20 ||
|-
|rowspan="2"| Nov. 28, 1985

1985 NFL season

The 1985 NFL season was the 66th regular season of the National Football League. The season ended with Super Bowl XX when the Chicago Bears defeated the New England Patriots.-Major rule changes:...

|| New York Jets

New York Jets

|| 20 || Detroit Lions

Detroit Lions

|| 31 ||
|-
| St. Louis Cardinals

Arizona Cardinals

|| 17 || Dallas Cowboys

Dallas Cowboys

|| 35 ||
|-
| rowspan="2"|Nov. 27, 1986

1986 NFL season

The 1986 NFL season was the 67th regular season of the National Football League. The season ended with Super Bowl XXI when the New York Giants defeated the Denver Broncos to win their first league title in 30 years.-Major rule changes:...

|| Green Bay Packers

Green Bay Packers

|| 44 || Detroit Lions

Detroit Lions

|| 40 ||
|-
| Seattle Seahawks

Seattle Seahawks

|| 31 || Dallas Cowboys

Dallas Cowboys

|| 14 ||
|-
|rowspan="2"| Nov. 26, 1987

1987 NFL season

The 1987 NFL season was the 68th regular season of the National Football League. A 24-day players' strike reduced the 16-game season to 15. The games that were scheduled for the third week of the season were canceled, but the games for weeks 4–6 were played with replacement players...

|| Kansas City Chiefs

Kansas City Chiefs

|| 27 || Detroit Lions

Detroit Lions

|| 20 ||
|-
| Minnesota Vikings

Minnesota Vikings

The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Vikings joined the National Football League as an expansion team in 1960...

|| 44 || Dallas Cowboys

Dallas Cowboys

|| 38 || (OT)
|-
| rowspan="2"|Nov. 24, 1988

1988 NFL season

The 1988 NFL season was the 69th regular season of the National Football League. The Cardinals relocated from St. Louis, Missouri to the Phoenix, Arizona area becoming the Phoenix Cardinals but remained in the NFC East division....

|| Minnesota Vikings

Minnesota Vikings

The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Vikings joined the National Football League as an expansion team in 1960...

|| 23 || Detroit Lions

Detroit Lions

|| 0 ||
|-
| Houston Oilers

Tennessee Titans

|| 25 || Dallas Cowboys

Dallas Cowboys

|| 17 ||
|-
|rowspan="2"| Nov. 23, 1989

1989 NFL season

The 1989 NFL season was the 70th regular season of the National Football League. Before the season, NFL commissioner Pete Rozelle announced his retirement...

|| Cleveland Browns

Cleveland Browns

The Cleveland Browns are a professional football team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They are currently members of the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...

|| 10 || Detroit Lions

Detroit Lions

|| 13 ||
|-
| Philadelphia Eagles

Philadelphia Eagles

|| 27 || Dallas Cowboys

Dallas Cowboys

|| 0 ||
|-
|rowspan="2"| Nov. 22, 1990

1990 NFL season

The 1990 NFL season was the 71st regular season of the National Football League. To increase revenue, the league changed the regular season so that all NFL teams would play their 16-game schedule over a 17-week period...

|| Denver Broncos

Denver Broncos

|| 27 || Detroit Lions

Detroit Lions

|| 40 ||
|-
| Washington Redskins

Washington Redskins

|| 17 || Dallas Cowboys

Dallas Cowboys

|| 27 ||
|-
|rowspan="2"| Nov. 28, 1991

1991 NFL season

The 1991 NFL season was the 72nd regular season of the National Football League. The season ended with Super Bowl XXVI when the Washington Redskins defeated the Buffalo Bills....

|| Chicago Bears

Chicago Bears

The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...

|| 6 || Detroit Lions

Detroit Lions

|| 16 ||
|-
| Pittsburgh Steelers

Pittsburgh Steelers

|| 10 || Dallas Cowboys

Dallas Cowboys

|| 20 ||
|-
| rowspan="2"|Nov. 26, 1992

1992 NFL season

The 1992 NFL season was the 73rd regular season of the National Football League.Due to the damage caused by Hurricane Andrew, the New England Patriots–Miami Dolphins game that was scheduled for September 6 at Joe Robbie Stadium was rescheduled to October 18. Both teams originally had that...

|| Houston Oilers

Tennessee Titans

|| 24 || Detroit Lions

Detroit Lions

|| 21 ||
|-
| New York Giants

New York Giants

|| 3 || Dallas Cowboys

Dallas Cowboys

|| 30 ||
|-
| rowspan="2"|Nov. 25, 1993

1993 NFL season

The 1993 NFL season was the 74th regular season of the National Football League. For the first time in league history, all NFL teams played their 16-game schedule over a span of 18 weeks. After the success of expanding the regular season to a period of 17 weeks in 1990, the league hoped this new...

|| Chicago Bears

Chicago Bears

The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...

|| 10 || Detroit Lions

Detroit Lions

|| 6 ||
|-
| Miami Dolphins

Miami Dolphins

|| 16 || Dallas Cowboys

Dallas Cowboys

|| 14 ||
|-
| rowspan="2"|Nov. 24, 1994

1994 NFL season

|| Buffalo Bills

Buffalo Bills

The Buffalo Bills are a professional football team based in Buffalo, New York. They are currently members of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...

|| 21 || Detroit Lions

Detroit Lions

|| 35 ||
|-
| Green Bay Packers

Green Bay Packers

|| 31 || Dallas Cowboys

Dallas Cowboys

|| 42 ||
|-
|rowspan="2"| Nov. 23, 1995

1995 NFL season

The 1995 NFL season was the 76th regular season of the National Football League. The league expanded to 30 teams with the addition of the Carolina Panthers and the Jacksonville Jaguars...

|| Minnesota Vikings

Minnesota Vikings

The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Vikings joined the National Football League as an expansion team in 1960...

|| 38 || Detroit Lions

Detroit Lions

|| 44 ||
|-
| Kansas City Chiefs

Kansas City Chiefs

|| 12 || Dallas Cowboys

Dallas Cowboys

|| 24 ||
|-
|rowspan="2"| Nov. 28, 1996

1996 NFL season

The 1996 NFL season was the 77th regular season of the National Football League and the season was marked by notable controversies from beginning to end...

|| Kansas City Chiefs

Kansas City Chiefs

|| 28 || Detroit Lions

Detroit Lions

|| 24 ||
|-
| Washington Redskins

Washington Redskins

|| 10 || Dallas Cowboys

Dallas Cowboys

|| 21 ||
|-
|rowspan="2"| Nov. 27, 1997

1997 NFL season

The 1997 NFL season was the 78th regular season of the National Football League. The Oilers relocated from Houston, Texas to Nashville, Tennessee...

|| Chicago Bears

Chicago Bears

The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...

|| 20 || Detroit Lions

Detroit Lions

|| 55 ||
|-
| Tennessee Oilers

Tennessee Titans

|| 27 || Dallas Cowboys

Dallas Cowboys

|| 14 ||
|-
| rowspan="2"|Nov. 26, 1998

1998 NFL season

The 1998 NFL season was the 79th regular season of the National Football League.The Tennessee Oilers moved their home games from Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium in Memphis to Vanderbilt Stadium in Nashville, still awaiting construction on a new stadium in Nashville.This was the first season that CBS...

|| Pittsburgh Steelers

Pittsburgh Steelers

|| 16 || Detroit Lions

Detroit Lions

|| 19 || (OT)
|-
| Minnesota Vikings

Minnesota Vikings

The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Vikings joined the National Football League as an expansion team in 1960...

|| 46 || Dallas Cowboys

Dallas Cowboys

|| 36 ||
|-
| rowspan="2"|Nov. 25, 1999

1999 NFL season

The 1999 NFL season was the 80th regular season of the National Football League. The Cleveland Browns returned to the field for the first time since the 1995 season...

|| Chicago Bears

Chicago Bears

The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...

|| 17 || Detroit Lions

Detroit Lions

|| 21 ||
|-
| Miami Dolphins

Miami Dolphins

|| 0 || Dallas Cowboys

Dallas Cowboys

|| 20 ||
|-
| rowspan="2"|Nov. 23, 2000

2000 NFL season

The 2000 NFL season was the 81st regular season of the National Football League. The season ended with Super Bowl XXXV when the Baltimore Ravens defeated the New York Giants.Week 1 of the season reverted to Labor Day weekend in 2000...

|| New England Patriots

New England Patriots

|| 9 || Detroit Lions

Detroit Lions

|| 34 ||
|-
|Minnesota Vikings

Minnesota Vikings

The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Vikings joined the National Football League as an expansion team in 1960...

|| 27 || Dallas Cowboys

Dallas Cowboys

|| 15 ||
|-
| rowspan="2"|Nov. 22, 2001

2001 NFL season

The 2001 NFL season was the 82nd regular season of the National Football League.Following a pattern set in 1999, the first week of the season was permanently moved to the weekend following Labor Day...

|| Green Bay Packers

Green Bay Packers

|| 29 || Detroit Lions

Detroit Lions

|| 27 ||
|-
| Denver Broncos

Denver Broncos

|| 26 || Dallas Cowboys

Dallas Cowboys

|| 24 ||
|-
| rowspan="2"|Nov. 28, 2002

2002 NFL season

The 2002 NFL season was the 83rd regular season of the National Football League.The league went back to an even number of teams, expanding to 32 teams with the addition of the Houston Texans. The clubs were then realigned into eight divisions, four teams in each...

|| New England Patriots

New England Patriots

|| 20 || Detroit Lions

Detroit Lions

|| 12 ||
|-
| Washington Redskins

Washington Redskins

|| 20 || Dallas Cowboys

Dallas Cowboys

|| 27 ||
|-
| rowspan="2"|Nov. 27, 2003

2003 NFL season

-Milestones:The following teams and players set all-time NFL records during the season:-Team:-Individual:-Awards:-External Links:**-References:*NFL Record and Fact Book *...

|| Green Bay Packers

Green Bay Packers

|| 14 || Detroit Lions

Detroit Lions

|| 22 ||
|-
| Miami Dolphins

Miami Dolphins

|| 40 || Dallas Cowboys

Dallas Cowboys

|| 21 ||
|-
| rowspan="2"|Nov. 25, 2004

2004 NFL season

The 2004 NFL season was the 85th regular season of the National Football League.With the New England Patriots as the defending league champions, regular season play was held from September 9, 2004 to January 2, 2005...

|| Indianapolis Colts

Indianapolis Colts

|| 41 || Detroit Lions

Detroit Lions

|| 9 ||
|-
| Chicago Bears

Chicago Bears

The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...

|| 7 || Dallas Cowboys

Dallas Cowboys

|| 21 ||
|-
| rowspan="2"|Nov. 24, 2005

2005 NFL season

The 2005 NFL season was the 86th regular season of the National Football League.With the New England Patriots as the defending league champions, regular season play was held from September 8, 2005 to January 1, 2006...

|| Atlanta Falcons

Atlanta Falcons

The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta, Georgia. They are a member of the South Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...

|| 27 || Detroit Lions

Detroit Lions

|| 7 ||
|-
| Denver Broncos

Denver Broncos

|| 24 || Dallas Cowboys

Dallas Cowboys

|| 21 || (OT)
|-
| rowspan="3"|Nov. 23, 2006

2006 NFL season

The 2006 NFL season was the 87th regular season of the National Football League.Regular season play was held from September 7 to December 31, 2006...

|| Miami Dolphins

Miami Dolphins

|| 27 || Detroit Lions

Detroit Lions

|| 10 ||
|-
| Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football franchise based in Tampa, Florida, U.S. They are currently members of the Southern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League – they are the only team in the division not to come from the old NFC West...

|| 10 || Dallas Cowboys

Dallas Cowboys

|| 38 ||
|-
| Denver Broncos

Denver Broncos

|| 10 || Kansas City Chiefs

Kansas City Chiefs

|| 19 ||
|-
| rowspan="3"|Nov. 22, 2007

2007 NFL season

The 2007 NFL season was the 88th regular season of the National Football League.Regular-season play was held from September 6 to December 30....

|| Green Bay Packers

Green Bay Packers

|| 37 || Detroit Lions

Detroit Lions

|| 26 ||
|-
| New York Jets

New York Jets

|| 3 || Dallas Cowboys

Dallas Cowboys

|| 34 ||
|-
| Indianapolis Colts

Indianapolis Colts

||31 || Atlanta Falcons

Atlanta Falcons

The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta, Georgia. They are a member of the South Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...

||13 ||
|-
| rowspan="3"|Nov. 27, 2008

2008 NFL season

|| Tennessee Titans

Tennessee Titans

||47 || Detroit Lions

Detroit Lions

||10 ||
|-
| Seattle Seahawks

Seattle Seahawks

||9 || Dallas Cowboys

Dallas Cowboys

||34 ||
|-
| Arizona Cardinals

Arizona Cardinals

||20 || Philadelphia Eagles

Philadelphia Eagles

||48 ||
|-
| rowspan="3"|Nov. 26, 2009

2009 NFL season

|| Green Bay Packers

Green Bay Packers

|| 34 || Detroit Lions

Detroit Lions

|| 12||
|-
| Oakland Raiders

Oakland Raiders

|| 7 || Dallas Cowboys

Dallas Cowboys

|| 24 ||
|-
| New York Giants

New York Giants

|| 6 || Denver Broncos

Denver Broncos

|| 26 ||
|-
| rowspan="3"|Nov. 25, 2010

2010 NFL season

|| New England Patriots

New England Patriots

|| 45|| Detroit Lions

Detroit Lions

|| 24 ||
|-
| New Orleans Saints

New Orleans Saints

|| 30 || Dallas Cowboys

Dallas Cowboys

|| 27 ||
|-
| Cincinnati Bengals

Cincinnati Bengals

|| 10 || New York Jets

New York Jets

|| 26 ||
|-
| rowspan="3"|Nov. 24, 2011

2011 NFL season

The 2011 NFL season, the 92nd regular season of the National Football League, began on Thursday, September 8, 2011 with the Super Bowl XLV champion Green Bay Packers defeating the New Orleans Saints 42–34 at Lambeau Field and will end with Super Bowl XLVI, the league's championship game, on...

|| Green Bay Packers

Green Bay Packers

|| 27 || Detroit Lions

Detroit Lions

|| 15 ||
|-
| Miami Dolphins

Miami Dolphins

|| 19 || Dallas Cowboys

Dallas Cowboys

|| 20 ||
|-
| San Francisco 49ers

San Francisco 49ers

|| 6 || Baltimore Ravens

Baltimore Ravens

|| 16 ||
|}

Thanksgiving Day standings

Of current NFL franchises. This includes American Football League

American Football League

and All-America Football Conference

All-America Football Conference

The All-America Football Conference was a professional American football league that challenged the established National Football League from 1946 to 1949. One of the NFL's most formidable challengers, the AAFC attracted many of the nation's best players, and introduced many lasting innovations...

games.
{| class="wikitable sortable"
!style="background: #e3e3e3;"|Team
!style="background: #e3e3e3;"|Last Game
!style="background: #e3e3e3;"|Wins
!style="background: #e3e3e3;"|Losses
!style="background: #e3e3e3;"|Ties
!style="background: #e3e3e3;"|Win Pct.
!style="background: #e3e3e3;"|Other names appeared under
|-align=center style=
|align=left|Baltimore Ravens

Baltimore Ravens

|| 2011|| 1||0|| ||1.000
|
|-align=center
|align=left|New Orleans Saints

New Orleans Saints

|| 2010|| 1||0|| ||1.000
|
|-align=center
|align=left|Indianapolis Colts

Indianapolis Colts

|| 2007|| 2||0|| |1||.833
|align=left|Baltimore Colts (1953–83)
|-align=center
|align=left|Minnesota Vikings

Minnesota Vikings

The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Vikings joined the National Football League as an expansion team in 1960...

|| 2000|| 5||1|| ||.833
|
|-align=center
|align=left|Philadelphia Eagles

Philadelphia Eagles

|| 2008|| 4||1|| ||.800
|
|-align=center
|align=left|St. Louis Rams

St. Louis Rams

|| 1975|| 3||1|| ||.750
|align=left|Cleveland Rams (1937–45), Los Angeles Rams (1946–94)
|-align=center
|align=left|Miami Dolphins

Miami Dolphins

|| 2011|| 5||2|| ||.714
|
|-align=center
|align=left|Tennessee Titans

Tennessee Titans

|| 2008|| 5||2|| ||.714
|align=left|Houston Oilers (1960–96), Tennessee Oilers (1997–98)
|-align=center
|align=left|San Francisco 49ers

San Francisco 49ers

|| 2011|| 3||1|| |1||.700
|
|-align=center
|align=left|Dallas Cowboys

Dallas Cowboys

|| 2011|| 28||15|| |1||.636
|
|-align=center
|align=left|San Diego Chargers

San Diego Chargers

|| 1969|| 2||1||1||.625
|
|-align=center
|align=left|New York Giants

New York Giants

|| 2009|| 7||4|| |3||.607
|
|-align=center
|align=left|New York Jets

New York Jets

|| 2010|| 4||3|| ||.571
|align=left|New York Titans (1960–62)
|-align=center
|align=left|Chicago Bears

Chicago Bears

The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...

|| 2004|| 16||13||2||.548
|align=left|Decatur Staleys (1920), Chicago Staleys (1921)
|-align=center
|align=left|Kansas City Chiefs

Kansas City Chiefs

|| 2006|| 5||5|| ||.500
|align=left|Dallas Texans (1960–62), does not include 1-0 record of unrelated NFL Dallas Texans

Dallas Texans (NFL)

.
|-align=center
|align=left|Oakland Raiders

Oakland Raiders

|| 2009|| 3||3|| ||.500
|
|-align=center
|align=left|Cleveland Browns

Cleveland Browns

The Cleveland Browns are a professional football team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They are currently members of the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...

|| 1989|| 3||3|| ||.500
|
|-align=center
|align=left|New England Patriots

New England Patriots

|| 2010|| 2||2|| ||.500
|
|-align=center
|align=left|Atlanta Falcons

Atlanta Falcons

The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta, Georgia. They are a member of the South Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...

|| 2007|| 1||1|| ||.500
|
|-align=center
|align=left|Detroit Lions

Detroit Lions

|| 2011|| 33||37|| |2||.472
|
|-align=center
|align=left|Green Bay Packers

Green Bay Packers

|| 2011|| 14||18|| |2||.441
|
|-align=center
|align=left|Buffalo Bills

Buffalo Bills

The Buffalo Bills are a professional football team based in Buffalo, New York. They are currently members of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...

|| 1994|| 3||5||1||.389
|align=left|Does not include 1-0 record of unrelated AAFC team of same name

Buffalo Bills (AAFC)

.
|-align=center
|align=left|Denver Broncos

Denver Broncos

|| 2009|| 4||7|| ||.364
|
|-align=center
|align=left|Seattle Seahawks

Seattle Seahawks

|| 2008|| 1||2|| ||.333
|
|-align=center
|align=left|Pittsburgh Steelers

Pittsburgh Steelers

|| 1998|| 2||4|| ||.333
|
|-align=center
|align=left|Arizona Cardinals

Arizona Cardinals

|| 2008|| 6||15||2||.304
|align=left|Chicago Cardinals (1920–59), St. Louis Cardinals (1960–87), Phoenix Cardinals (1988–93)
|-align=center
|align=left|Washington Redskins

Washington Redskins

|| 2002|| 1||6|| ||.143
|
|-align=center
|align=left|Cincinnati Bengals

Cincinnati Bengals

|| 2010|| 0||1|| ||.000
|
|-align=center
|align=left|Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

|| 2006|| 0||1|| ||.000
|
|-align=center
|-
|}

Notable appearance droughts

The current active franchises that have never played on Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving Day is a holiday celebrated primarily in the United States and Canada. Thanksgiving is celebrated each year on the second Monday of October in Canada and on the fourth Thursday of November in the United States. In Canada, Thanksgiving falls on the same day as Columbus Day in the...

through include:

Carolina Panthers
Carolina Panthers
The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. They are currently members of the South Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Panthers, along with the Jacksonville Jaguars, joined the NFL as expansion...

( expansion team)
Jacksonville Jaguars
Jacksonville Jaguars
The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida, U.S. They are currently members of the South Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...

( expansion team)
Houston Texans
Houston Texans
The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston, Texas. The team is currently a member of the Southern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...

( expansion team)

An idiosyncracy in the NFL's current scheduling formula, which has been in effect since 2002 and revised in 2010, effectively prohibits any member of the AFC North

AFC North

The American Football Conference North Division, or AFC North, is a division of the National Football League's American Football Conference. It was created prior to the 1967 season as the NFL Century Division when the NFL split into four divisions...

from playing the Lions or Cowboys on Thanksgiving, which partially explains why the Cincinnati Bengals had not played on Thanksgiving in their history until 2010 and the Baltimore Ravens did not play until 2011. Conversely, the AFC East

AFC East

The American Football Conference – Eastern Division or AFC East is a division of the National Football League's American Football Conference. There are four members: Buffalo Bills, Miami Dolphins, New England Patriots , and New York Jets...

appears in back-to-back Thanksgiving games-- the first against the Lions, the next against the Cowboys. As far as it is known, this idiosyncrasy is unintentional. The East appears in years where the mod

Modulo operation

In computing, the modulo operation finds the remainder of division of one number by another.Given two positive numbers, and , a modulo n can be thought of as the remainder, on division of a by n...

4 of the current year is a 2 (vs. Lions) or 3 (vs. Cowboys); the AFC South

AFC South

The AFC South is a division of the National Football League's American Football Conference. It was created before the 2002 season when the league realigned divisions after expanding to 32 teams...

appears (always against the Lions) when that number is 0, and the AFC West

AFC West

The AFC West is a division of the National Football League's American Football Conference, currently comprising the Denver Broncos, San Diego Chargers, Kansas City Chiefs, and the Oakland Raiders.-History:...

appears (always against the Cowboys) when that number is 1 (the last of these is a helpful coincidence, since the league tries to schedule its teams in the two western time zones, three of which are in the AFC West, into as many late games as possible). Any AFC North Thanksgiving appearances would then have to come in the night game, which is how both the Bengals and the Ravens received their first ever Thanksgiving appearances.

San Diego, who has the longest active appearance drought as of 2011, has not played in a Thanksgiving game at all during their time in the NFL (all of their appearances came in the American Football League). This is partially because, from 2002 to 2009, they have been in the same subdivisional pairing as the Oakland Raiders

Oakland Raiders

(meaning they always play at Dallas in the same year), and the league's scheduling policy requires that the Raiders and San Francisco 49ers

San Francisco 49ers

get priority on nationally televised games because they share the San Francisco Bay market. Due to a change implemented in 2010, the Chargers will no longer face this problem (but the Denver Broncos

Denver Broncos

will), but San Diego will not travel to Dallas again until 2017. The Cleveland Browns

Cleveland Browns

The Cleveland Browns are a professional football team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They are currently members of the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...

have not appeared since the Cleveland Browns relocation controversy

Cleveland Browns relocation controversy

The Cleveland Browns relocation controversy was the decision by then Browns owner Art Modell to move the National Football League team from its longtime home of Cleveland, Ohio to Baltimore, Maryland for the 1996 NFL season...

(due in part to being in the AFC North) and the Rams have not played since relocating to St. Louis (see "Dallas was replaced by the St. Louis Cardinals..." above).

Since the 2010 season, the NFL has made efforts to end the longest of the appearance droughts. The New Orleans Saints

New Orleans Saints

and Cincinnati Bengals

Cincinnati Bengals

had never played on Thanksgiving prior to 2010, but both played a Thanksgiving game in 2010. Similarly, the San Francisco 49ers had the second-longest appearance drought of any active team, while the Baltimore Ravens have never played on Thanksgiving, before the two teams were chosen to play in the 2011 Thanksgiving game. As of 2011, there are only three teams left with Thanksgiving appearance droughts of longer than twenty years: San Diego, St. Louis, and Cleveland. The next-longest after them, the Buffalo Bills

Buffalo Bills

The Buffalo Bills are a professional football team based in Buffalo, New York. They are currently members of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...

, last appeared in 1994.

Houston and St. Louis, however, have had previous franchises based in the city play the Thanksgiving game (Oilers and Cardinals respectively).

Thanksgiving Day records of defunct teams

League teams only, since 1920.

{| class="wikitable sortable" cellspacing="0"
!style="background: #e3e3e3;"|Team
!style="background: #e3e3e3;"|Wins
!style="background: #e3e3e3;"|Losses
!style="background: #e3e3e3;"|Ties
!style="background: #e3e3e3;"|Win Pct.
!style="background: #e3e3e3;"|Other names appeared under
|-align=center style=
|align=left|Frankford Yellow Jackets

Frankford Yellow Jackets

|| 2||0|| ||1.000
|align=left|Defunct (1931)
|-align=center
|align=left|New York Yankees

New York Yankees (AAFC)

^{* || 2||0|| ||1.000

|align=left|Defunct (1949)

|-align=center

|align=left|Pottsville MaroonsPottsville Maroons
The Pottsville Maroons were an American football team based in Pottsville, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1920, they went on to play in the National Football League for four seasons, from 1925–1928...

|| 2||0|| ||1.000

|align=left|Defunct (1928)

|-align=center

|align=left|Boston YanksBoston Yanks
The Boston Yanks were a National Football League team based in Boston, Massachusetts that played from 1944 to 1948. The team played its home games at Fenway Park. Games that conflicted with the Boston Red Sox schedule were held at the Manning Bowl in Lynn, Massachusetts...

|| 1||0|| ||1.000

|align=left|Defunct (1948)

|-align=center

|align=left|Buffalo BillsBuffalo Bills (AAFC)
The Buffalo Bills was an American Football team, based in Buffalo, NY, that played in the All-America Football Conference from 1946 to 1949. During its first season in 1946, the team was known as the Buffalo Bisons...

^{* || 1||0|| ||1.000

|align=left|Defunct (1949), unrelated to current NFL team with this name

|-align=center

|align=left|Dallas TexansDallas Texans (NFL)
The Dallas Texans played in the National Football League for one season, 1952, with a record of 1–11.-History:After the 1951 NFL season, the financially troubled New York Yanks franchise were put on the market. Ted Collins had founded that franchise in 1944 as the Boston Yanks, moved it to New...

|| 1||0|| ||1.000

|align=left|Defunct (1952), does not count AFL's Dallas Texans, which are now the Kansas City Chiefs

|-align=center

|align=left|Los Angeles BuccaneersLos Angeles Buccaneers
The Los Angeles Buccaneers were a traveling team in the National Football League during their one season 1926, ostensibly representing the city of Los Angeles, California. Like the Los Angeles Wildcats of the first American Football League, the team never actually played a league game in Los...

|| 1||0|| ||1.000

|align=left|Defunct (1926)

|-align=center

|align=left|Oorang IndiansOorang Indians
The Oorang Indians were a traveling team in the National Football League from LaRue, Ohio . The team was named after the Oorang dog kennels. It was a novelty team put together by the kennels' owner, Walter Lingo, for marketing purposes. All of the players were Native American, with Jim Thorpe as...

|| 1||0|| ||1.000

|align=left|Defunct (1923)

|-align=center

|align=left|Rock Island IndependentsRock Island Independents
The Rock Island Independents were a professional American football team based in Rock Island, Illinois. One of the first professional football teams, they were founded in 1907 as an independent club. They later played in what is now the National Football League from 1920 to 1925. They joined the...

|| 1||0|| ||1.000

|align=left|Defunct (1925)

|-align=center

|align=left|All-Tonawanda LumberjacksTonawanda Kardex
The Tonawanda Kardex was an American football team active between 1916 and 1921. It played its games in City of Tonawanda, New York, a suburb of Buffalo with close ties to North Tonawanda, New York where American Kardex was founded...

|| 1||0|| ||1.000

|align=left|Defunct (1921)

|-align=center

|align=left|Akron ProsAkron Pros
The Akron Pros were a professional football team located played in Akron, Ohio from 1908–1926. The team originated in 1908 as a semi-pro team named the Akron Indians, however name was changed to the Pros in 1920 as the team set out to become a charter member of the American Professional...

|| 3||1||1||.700

|align=left|Defunct (1926)

|-align=center

|align=left|Buffalo BisonsBuffalo (NFL)
Buffalo, New York had a turbulent, early-era National Football League team that operated under three different names and several different owners between the 1910s and 1920s...

|| 1||1|| |1||.500

|align=left|Buffalo All-Americans (1920–23), Defunct (1929)

|-align=center style="background: #ffdead;"

|-align=center

|align=left|Canton BulldogsCanton Bulldogs
The Canton Bulldogs were a professional American football team, based in Canton, Ohio. They played in the Ohio League from 1903 to 1906 and 1911 to 1919, and its successor, the National Football League, from 1920 to 1923 and again from 1925 to 1926. The Bulldogs would go on to win the 1917, 1918...

|| 1||1||1||.500

|align=left|Defunct (1926)

|-align=center

|align=left|Cleveland BulldogsCleveland Bulldogs
The Cleveland Bulldogs was a team that played in Cleveland, Ohio in the National Football League. They were originally called the Indians in 1923, not to be confused with the Cleveland Indians NFL franchise in 1922...

|| 1||1|| ||.500

|align=left|Defunct (1927)

|-align=center

|align=left|Dayton TrianglesDayton Triangles
The Dayton Triangles were an original franchise of the American Professional Football Association in 1920. The Triangles were based in Dayton, Ohio, and took their nickname from their home field, Triangle Park, which was located at the confluence of the Great Miami and Stillwater Rivers in north...

|| 1||1|| ||.500

|align=left|Defunct (1929)

|-align=center style=

|-align=center

|align=left|Kansas City CowboysKansas City (NFL)
Kansas City, Missouri had a National Football League team prior to the Chiefs that operated under two different names: The Blues in 1924 and the Cowboys from 1925-1926. The Blues competed as a traveling team, playing all of their NFL games in other cities' stadia in their only year under that name...

|| 1||1|| ||.500

|align=left|Kansas City Blues (1924), Defunct (1926)

|-align=center

|align=left|Milwaukee BadgersMilwaukee Badgers
The Milwaukee Badgers were a professional American football team based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, that played in the National Football League from 1922 to 1926. The team played its home games at Athletic Park, later known as Borchert Field, on Milwaukee's north side...

|| 1||1|| ||.500

|align=left|Defunct (1926)

|-align=center style="background: #ffdead;"

|-align=center

|align=left|Brooklyn Lions || 0||1|| ||.000

|align=left|Defunct (1926)

|-align=center

|align=left|Chicago TigersChicago Tigers
The Chicago Tigers of the American Professional Football Association played only in the first year of the league and, because of this, have the distinction of being the first official NFL team to fold. They had a record of 2 wins, 5 losses and 1 tie...

|| 0||1|| ||.000

|align=left|Defunct (1920)

|-align=center

|align=left|Detroit Heralds || 0||1|| ||.000

|align=left|Defunct (1920)

|-align=center

|align=left|New York YanksNew York Yanks
The New York Yanks American football team played in the National Football League under that name in the 1950 and 1951 seasons. In 1949, Boston Yanks owner Ted Collins had requested the NFL to fold his Boston team and give him a new one in New York City...

|| 0||1|| ||.000

|align=left|Defunct (1950)

|-align=center

|align=left|Providence Steam RollerProvidence Steam Roller
The Providence Steam Roller was a professional American football team based in Providence, Rhode Island in the National Football League from 1925 to 1931. Providence was the first New England team to win an NFL championship...

|| 0||1|| ||.000

|align=left|Defunct (1931)

|-align=center

|align=left|Racine LegionRacine Legion/Tornadoes
The Racine Legion was a professional American football team based in Racine, Wisconsin of the National Football League from 1922 to 1924. Its official name was the Horlick-Racine Legion. The team then operated as the Racine Tornadoes in 1926....

|| 0||1|| ||.000

|align=left|Defunct (1926)

|-align=center

|align=left|Toledo MaroonsToledo Maroons
The Toledo Maroons were a professional American football team based in Toledo, Ohio in the National Football League in 1922 and 1923. Prior to joining the NFL, the Maroons played in the unofficial "Ohio League" from 1902 until 1921.-Origins:...

|| 0||1|| ||.000

|align=left|Defunct (1923)

|-align=center

|align=left|Brooklyn DodgersBrooklyn Dodgers (AAFC)
The Brooklyn Dodgers was an American Football team that played in the All-America Football Conference from 1946 to 1948. The team is unrelated to the Brooklyn Dodgers that played in the National Football League from 1930 to 1943...

^{* || 0||2|| ||.000

|align=left|Defunct (1949)

|-align=center

|align=left|Chicago HornetsChicago Rockets
The Chicago Rockets was an American football team that played in the All-America Football Conference from 1946 to 1949. During the 1949 season, the team was known as the Chicago Hornets...

^{* || 0||2|| ||.000

|align=left|Chicago Rockets (1946-1948), Defunct (1949)

|-align=center

|align=left|Columbus Panhandles || 0||2|| ||.000

|align=left|Defunct (1926)

|-align=center style="background: #ffdead;"

|-align=center

|align=left|Detroit Panthers || 0||2|| ||.000

|align=left|Defunct (1926)

|-align=center

|align=left|Hammond ProsHammond Pros
The Hammond Pros from Hammond, Indiana played in the National Football League from 1920 to 1926 as a traveling team.-History:The Pros were established by Paul Parduhn and Dr. Alva Young who was a boxing promoter, owner of a racing stable and a doctor and trainer for a semi-pro football team...

|| 0||2|| ||.000

|align=left|Defunct (1926)

|-align=center

|align=left|Rochester JeffersonsRochester Jeffersons
The Rochester Jeffersons from Rochester, New York played in the National Football League from 1920 to 1925.Formed as an amateur outfit by a rag-tag group of Rochester-area teenagers after the turn of the century , the team became known as the Jeffersons in reference to the locale of their playing...

|| 0||2|| ||.000

|align=left|Defunct (1925)

|-align=center

|align=left|Los Angeles DonsLos Angeles Dons
The Los Angeles Dons were an American football team in the now defunct All-America Football Conference from 1946 to 1949 that played in the Los Angeles Coliseum....

^{* || 0||3|| ||.000

|align=left|Defunct (1949)

|-

|}

*All-America Football ConferenceAll-America Football Conference
The All-America Football Conference was a professional American football league that challenged the established National Football League from 1946 to 1949. One of the NFL's most formidable challengers, the AAFC attracted many of the nation's best players, and introduced many lasting innovations...

team.

Game MVPs
In , John Madden of CBSNFL on CBS
The NFL on CBS is the brand name of the CBS television network's coverage of the National Football League's American Football Conference games, produced by CBS Sports.-Market coverage and television policies:...

awarded the first "Turkey Leg Award," for the game's most valuable player. It was an actual turkey. Reggie WhiteReggie White
Reginald Howard "Reggie" White was a professional American football player. He played 15 seasons as a defensive end in the National Football League for the Philadelphia Eagles, Green Bay Packers and Carolina Panthers, becoming one of the most decorated players in NFL history...

of the Philadelphia EaglesPhiladelphia Eagles
The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They are members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...

was the first recipient. The gesture was seen mostly as a humorous gimmick relating to Madden's famous multi-legged turkeyTurducken
A turducken is a dish consisting of a de-boned chicken stuffed into a de-boned duck, which itself is stuffed into a de-boned turkey. The word turducken is a portmanteau of turkey, duck, and chicken or hen....

, cooked and delivered by Irving, TX restaurant owner Joe Pat Fieseler of Harvey's Barbecue (located less than a mile from Texas StadiumTexas Stadium
Texas Stadium was a football stadium in Irving, Texas, a suburb of Dallas. The stadium opened on September 17, 1971.Built to replace the aging Cotton Bowl, it was the home field of the NFL's Dallas Cowboys, and had a seating capacity of 65,675...

), served on Thanksgiving; Madden disavowed the dish in 2008. Since then, however, the award has gained subtle notoriety, and currently, each year at least one MVPMost Valuable Player
In sports, a Most Valuable Player award is an honor typically bestowed upon the best performing player or players on a specific team, in an entire league, or for a particular contest or series of contests...

has been chosen for both the CBS and Fox games. Madden brought the award to FoxNFL on FOX
NFL on Fox is the brand name of the Fox Broadcasting Company's coverage of the National Football League's National Football Conference games, produced by Fox Sports...

in , but it was abandoned and replaced with the "Galloping Gobbler" -- a running silver turkeyTurkey (bird)
A turkey is a large bird in the genus Meleagris. One species, Meleagris gallopavo, commonly known as the Wild Turkey, is native to the forests of North America. The domestic turkey is a descendant of this species...

wearing a football helmet—when Madden left for ABCMonday Night Football
Monday Night Football is a live broadcast of the National Football League on ESPN. From to it aired on ABC. Monday Night Football was, along with Hallmark Hall of Fame, and the Walt Disney anthology television series, one of the longest running prime time commercial network television series...

in . When CBS returned to the NFL in , they introduced their own award, the "All-Iron Award", which is, suitably enough, a small silver ironIroning
Ironing is the use of a heated tool to remove wrinkles from fabric. The heating is commonly done to a temperature of 180-220 °Celsius, depending on the fabric. Ironing works by loosening the bonds between the long-chain polymer molecules in the fibers of the material...

, a reference to Phil SimmsPhil Simms
Phillip Martin "Phil" Simms is a former American football quarterback, and currently a television sportscaster for the CBS network. After a standout career at Morehead State University, Simms was drafted in the first round by the New York Giants of the National Football League with the number...

' All-Iron team for toughness. The All-Iron winner also receives a skillet of blackberry cobblerCobbler (food)
thumb|Apple Cobbler.Cobbler refers to a variety of dishes, particularly in the United States and United Kingdom, consisting of a fruit or savoury filling poured into a large baking dish and covered with a batter, biscuit, or pie crust before being baked...

made by Simms' mother. (Simms actually began calling commentary for NBC in 1996, but did not introduce the All-Iron Award until he moved to CBS.) The NFL Network has given out the Pudding Pie Award for MVPs of the night game since 2007; the award is an actual pie. In 2009, the NFL Network gave Brandon MarshallBrandon Marshall
-2006:Before the regular season even began, Marshall suffered a slight tear to his PCL in a pre-season game against the Detroit Lions. Although the injury sidelined him for a couple of weeks, he was able to return and play 15 games during the regular season. Marshall had a total of 20 catches, 309...

a pumpkin piePumpkin pie
Pumpkin pie is a traditional sweet dessert, often eaten during the fall and early winter, especially for Thanksgiving and Christmas in the United States and Canada. The pumpkin is a symbol of harvest time and featured also at Halloween....

rather than the chocolate puddingChocolate pudding
Chocolate pudding is a class of dessert with chocolate flavors. There are two main types: a boiled then chilled, texturally a custard set with starch, version commonly eaten in the U.S., Canada, Sweden, and East and South East Asia; and a steamed/baked, texturally similar to cake, version that is...

pie of the previous two years.

Because of the informal nature of the award, the awards can be given to multiple players. John Madden has done this five times (all on Fox), to as many as four players (in fact, for Fox's first Thanksgiving broadcast in 1994, Madden actually issued the Turkey Leg Award to players on both teams, the only time this has ever happened). Since Madden left Fox, the network's "Galloping Gobbler" has only been awarded to one player. Until 2007, CBS never issued the award to more than one player, but does occasionally issue a "group award" in addition to a single player award (the network has done so three times, Madden did it in 1992 and Simms did it in 2004 and 2007). In 2008, Simms stated it was "too close to call" and gave four players the award, and Simms would follow by selecting three players for the All-Iron Award in 2009.

Former Cowboys running back Emmitt SmithEmmitt Smith
Emmitt James Smith, III is a retired American football player who was a running back in the National Football League for fifteen seasons during the 1990s and 2000s. Smith played college football for the University of Florida, where he was an All-American; thereafter, he played professionally for...

holds the record for most Thanksgiving MVPs, having won the award five times: 1990, 1992, 1994, 1996 and 2002. Former Green Bay Packers quarterback Brett FavreBrett Favre
Brett Lorenzo Favre is a former American football quarterback who spent the majority of his career with the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League . He was a 20-year veteran of the NFL, having played quarterback for the Atlanta Falcons , Green Bay Packers , New York Jets and Minnesota...

(1994, 2001, and 2007), Cowboys quarterback Tony RomoTony Romo
Antonio Ramiro "Tony" Romo is a professional American football quarterback in the NFL for the Dallas Cowboys. Romo's career passer rating - at 95.8 - ranks third-best all time. Tony Romo didn't play in the regular season in 2003, 2004, or 2005...

(2006, 2007, and 2009), and Cowboys linebacker DeMarcus WareDemarcus Ware
DeMarcus Ware is an American football linebacker for the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League. He was drafted with the 11th overall pick in the 2005 NFL Draft out of Troy University...

(2007, 2008 and 2011) are tied for second with three each. Wide receiver Randy MossRandy Moss
Randy Gene Moss is a former American football wide receiver. He was drafted by the Minnesota Vikings in the first round of the 1998 NFL Draft...

, who has won the award twice (both times with the Minnesota Vikings), is the only other player to have won a Thanksgiving MVP more than once, and no player to date has won a Thanksgiving MVP award playing for two separate teams.

NBCNFL on NBC
NFL on NBC is the brand given to NBC Sports coverage of National Football League games until 1998, when NBC lost the NFL American Football Conference rights to CBS...

did not issue an MVP award for Thanksgiving games they aired prior to 1998, and does not hold rights to Thanksgiving games at this time.

{| class="wikitable" width="100%"

! Year

! MVP

! Team
Opponent

! MVP

! Team
Opponent

! MVP

! Team
Opponent

|-

|

| colspan="2" bgcolor="#D0E7FF" align="center"| NFC vs. Cowboys/Lions
Turkey Leg Award 1989–2001 (CBS/Fox)
Galloping Gobbler 2002–present (Fox)

| colspan="2" bgcolor="#FFCCCC" align="center"| AFC vs. Cowboys/Lions
All-Iron Award
1998–present (CBS)

| colspan="2" bgcolor="#CCCCFF" align="center"| Thanksgiving night game
Pudding Pie Award
2007-present (NFL Network)

|-

|1989

|Reggie WhiteReggie White
Reginald Howard "Reggie" White was a professional American football player. He played 15 seasons as a defensive end in the National Football League for the Philadelphia Eagles, Green Bay Packers and Carolina Panthers, becoming one of the most decorated players in NFL history...

|Philadelphia EaglesPhiladelphia Eagles
The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They are members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...

Dallas CowboysDallas Cowboys
The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football franchise which plays in the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference of the National Football League . They are headquartered in Valley Ranch in Irving, Texas, a suburb of Dallas...

| rowspan="9" colspan="2" align="center"| NBCNFL on NBC
NFL on NBC is the brand given to NBC Sports coverage of National Football League games until 1998, when NBC lost the NFL American Football Conference rights to CBS...

did not issue a game MVP
on Thanksgiving games they aired.

| rowspan="18" colspan="2" align="center"| Night games were not played until 2006.

|-

|1990

|Troy AikmanTroy Aikman
Troy Kenneth Aikman is a former American football quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys in the National Football League. The number one overall draft pick in 1989, Aikman played twelve consecutive seasons as quarterback with the Cowboys...

Emmitt SmithEmmitt Smith
Emmitt James Smith, III is a retired American football player who was a running back in the National Football League for fifteen seasons during the 1990s and 2000s. Smith played college football for the University of Florida, where he was an All-American; thereafter, he played professionally for...

|Dallas Cowboys
Washington RedskinsWashington Redskins
The Washington Redskins are a professional American football team and members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team plays at FedExField in Landover, Maryland, while its headquarters and training facility are at Redskin Park in Ashburn,...

|-

|1991

|Barry SandersBarry Sanders
Barry Sanders is a former American football running back who spent all of his professional career with the Detroit Lions in the NFL. Sanders left the game just short of the all-time rushing record...

|Detroit LionsDetroit Lions
The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit, Michigan. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League , and play their home games at Ford Field in Downtown Detroit.Originally based in Portsmouth, Ohio and...

Chicago BearsChicago Bears
The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...

|-

|1992

|Emmitt SmithEmmitt Smith
Emmitt James Smith, III is a retired American football player who was a running back in the National Football League for fifteen seasons during the 1990s and 2000s. Smith played college football for the University of Florida, where he was an All-American; thereafter, he played professionally for...

Cowboys Offensive Line

|Dallas Cowboys
New York GiantsNew York Giants
The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in East Rutherford, New Jersey, representing the New York City metropolitan area. The Giants are currently members of the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...

|-

|1993

|Richard DentRichard Dent
Richard Lamar Dent is a former American football defensive end, who played primarily for the Chicago Bears of the National Football League. He was the MVP of Super Bowl XX...

|Chicago Bears
Detroit Lions

|-

|1994

|Emmitt SmithEmmitt Smith
Emmitt James Smith, III is a retired American football player who was a running back in the National Football League for fifteen seasons during the 1990s and 2000s. Smith played college football for the University of Florida, where he was an All-American; thereafter, he played professionally for...

Jason GarrettJason Garrett
Jason Calvin Garrett is an American former National Football League player and the current head coach of the Dallas Cowboys...

Sterling SharpeSterling Sharpe
Sterling Sharpe is a former American football wide receiver and an analyst for the NFL Network. He attended the University of South Carolina, and played from 1988 to 1994 with the Green Bay Packers.-Early life:...

Brett FavreBrett Favre
Brett Lorenzo Favre is a former American football quarterback who spent the majority of his career with the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League . He was a 20-year veteran of the NFL, having played quarterback for the Atlanta Falcons , Green Bay Packers , New York Jets and Minnesota...

| Dallas Cowboys
Green Bay PackersGreen Bay Packers
The Green Bay Packers are an American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Packers are the current NFL champions...

|-

|1995

|Herman MooreHerman Moore
Herman Joseph Moore is a former American National Football League wide receiver. At George Washington High School in Danville he played mostly as a kicker and also as a tight end. He went to the University of Virginia, where he was a 2-sport athlete...

Brett PerrimanBrett Perriman
Brett Perriman is a former American football wide receiver in the NFL for the New Orleans Saints , the Detroit Lions , the Kansas City Chiefs , and the Miami Dolphins...

Johnnie MortonJohnnie Morton
Johnnie James "Big Play" Morton, Jr. is a former NFL wide receiver. Originally drafted by the Lions in the 1st round in the 1994 NFL Draft, he played in Detroit until 2002. He subsequently signed with the Kansas City Chiefs, where he played for three seasons. In 2005, he signed with the San...

|Detroit Lions
Minnesota VikingsMinnesota Vikings
The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Vikings joined the National Football League as an expansion team in 1960...

|-

|1996

|Emmitt SmithEmmitt Smith
Emmitt James Smith, III is a retired American football player who was a running back in the National Football League for fifteen seasons during the 1990s and 2000s. Smith played college football for the University of Florida, where he was an All-American; thereafter, he played professionally for...

|Dallas Cowboys
Washington Redskins

|-

|1997

|Luther EllisLuther Ellis
Luther John Elliss is a former American football defensive tackle in the National Football League. He played for the Detroit Lions for 8 seasons before he was released in 2003. He played for the Denver Broncos for one season, before retiring in 2004. In his time in the NFL, he was a two time Pro...

|Detroit Lions
Chicago Bears

|-

|1998

|Randy MossRandy Moss
Randy Gene Moss is a former American football wide receiver. He was drafted by the Minnesota Vikings in the first round of the 1998 NFL Draft...

|Minnesota Vikings
Dallas Cowboys

|Stephen Boyd

|Detroit Lions
Pittsburgh SteelersPittsburgh Steelers
The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional football team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The team currently belongs to the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Founded in , the Steelers are the oldest franchise in the AFC...

|-

|1999

|Gus FrerotteGus Frerotte
Gustave Joseph "Gus" Frerotte is a former American football quarterback. He was drafted by the Washington Redskins in the seventh round of the 1994 NFL Draft. He played college football at Tulsa....

Greg Hill
Johnnie MortonJohnnie Morton
Johnnie James "Big Play" Morton, Jr. is a former NFL wide receiver. Originally drafted by the Lions in the 1st round in the 1994 NFL Draft, he played in Detroit until 2002. He subsequently signed with the Kansas City Chiefs, where he played for three seasons. In 2005, he signed with the San...

Robert PorcherRobert Porcher
Porcher is perhaps best recognized as a standout with the Detroit Lions. A 6-foot-3, 275-pound defensive-end, Porcher was a dominant pass-rush specialist and defensive leader on Detroit teams that were perennial Super Bowl contenders in the 1990s....

|Detroit Lions
Chicago Bears

|Dexter CoakleyDexter Coakley
William Dexter Coakley is a former American football linebacker who played 10 seasons in the National Football League. He was a third round draft choice of the Dallas Cowboys in the 1997 NFL Draft, out of Division I-AA school Appalachian State...

|Dallas Cowboys
Miami DolphinsMiami Dolphins
The Miami Dolphins are a Professional football team based in the Miami metropolitan area in Florida. The team is part of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...

|-

|2000

|Robert Smith
Randy MossRandy Moss
Randy Gene Moss is a former American football wide receiver. He was drafted by the Minnesota Vikings in the first round of the 1998 NFL Draft...

Daunte CulpepperDaunte Culpepper
Daunte Rachard Culpepper is an American football quarterback who is currently a free agent. He last played for the Sacramento Mountain Lions of the United Football League . Prior to joining the UFL, Culpepper enjoyed a successful National Football League career after being drafted 11th overall in...

Cris CarterCris Carter
Cristopher D. Carter is a former American football player in the National Football League. He played wide receiver for the Philadelphia Eagles , the Minnesota Vikings and the Miami Dolphins ....

|Minnesota Vikings
Dallas Cowboys

|Charlie BatchCharlie Batch
Charles "Charlie" Batch is an American football quarterback for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Detroit Lions in the second round of the 1998 NFL Draft...

|Detroit Lions
New England PatriotsNew England Patriots
The New England Patriots, commonly called the "Pats", are a professional football team based in the Greater Boston area, playing their home games in the town of Foxborough, Massachusetts at Gillette Stadium. The team is part of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National...

|-

|2001

|Ahman GreenAhman Green
Ahman Rashad Green is a retired American football running back. He is the all-time leading rusher for the Green Bay Packers. He was drafted by the Seattle Seahawks in the 3rd round of the 1998 NFL Draft...

Brett FavreBrett Favre
Brett Lorenzo Favre is a former American football quarterback who spent the majority of his career with the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League . He was a 20-year veteran of the NFL, having played quarterback for the Atlanta Falcons , Green Bay Packers , New York Jets and Minnesota...

|Green Bay Packers
Detroit Lions

|Mike Anderson

|Denver BroncosDenver Broncos
The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver, Colorado. They are currently members of the West Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...

Dallas Cowboys

|-

|2002

|Emmitt SmithEmmitt Smith
Emmitt James Smith, III is a retired American football player who was a running back in the National Football League for fifteen seasons during the 1990s and 2000s. Smith played college football for the University of Florida, where he was an All-American; thereafter, he played professionally for...

|Dallas Cowboys
Washington Redskins

|Troy BrownTroy Brown
Troy Fitzgerald Brown is a former NFL wide receiver, cornerback and punt returner in the National Football League. He was drafted by the New England Patriots in the eighth round of the 1993 NFL Draft. He played college football at Marshall...

|New England Patriots
Detroit Lions

|-

|2003

|Dré BlyDré Bly
Donald André "Dré" Bly is a former American football cornerback who played for eleven seasons in the National Football League. After playing college football for the North Carolina Tar Heels, Bly was drafted by the St. Louis Rams in the second round of the 1999 NFL Draft...

|Detroit Lions
Green Bay Packers

|Jay FiedlerJay Fiedler
Jay Brian Fiedler is a former American football quarterback in the National Football League.-Early life and high school years:Fiedler was born to a Jewish family on Long Island in Oceanside, New York...

Chris ChambersChris Chambers
Christopher J. "Chris" Chambers is an American football wide receiver who is currently a free agent. He was drafted by the Miami Dolphins in the second round of the 2001 NFL Draft...

|Miami Dolphins
Dallas Cowboys

|-

|2004

|Julius Jones

|Dallas Cowboys
Chicago Bears

|Peyton ManningPeyton Manning
Peyton Williams Manning is an American football quarterback for the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League . Manning holds the record for most NFL MVP awards with four. He was drafted by the Colts as the first overall pick in 1998 after a standout college football career with the...

Colts Offensive Line

|Indianapolis ColtsIndianapolis Colts
The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. They are currently members of the South Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League ....

Detroit Lions

|-

|2005

|Michael VickMichael Vick
Michael Dwayne Vick is an American football quarterback for the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League...

|Atlanta FalconsAtlanta Falcons
The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta, Georgia. They are a member of the South Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...

Detroit Lions

|Ron DayneRon Dayne
Ron Dayne is a former American football running back who is currently a free agent. He holds the NCAA record for career rushing yards, and he won the 1999 Heisman Trophy.-Early life:...

|Denver Broncos
Dallas Cowboys

|-

|2006

|Tony RomoTony Romo
Antonio Ramiro "Tony" Romo is a professional American football quarterback in the NFL for the Dallas Cowboys. Romo's career passer rating - at 95.8 - ranks third-best all time. Tony Romo didn't play in the regular season in 2003, 2004, or 2005...

|Dallas Cowboys
Tampa Bay BuccaneersTampa Bay Buccaneers
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football franchise based in Tampa, Florida, U.S. They are currently members of the Southern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League – they are the only team in the division not to come from the old NFC West...

|Joey HarringtonJoey Harrington
John Joseph "Joey" Harrington, Jr. is a former American football quarterback. He was drafted by the Detroit Lions third overall in the 2002 NFL Draft, where he played for most of his professional career. He ranks third all-time in Detroit history in pass completions, with 986...

|Miami Dolphins
Detroit Lions

|-

|2007

|Brett FavreBrett Favre
Brett Lorenzo Favre is a former American football quarterback who spent the majority of his career with the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League . He was a 20-year veteran of the NFL, having played quarterback for the Atlanta Falcons , Green Bay Packers , New York Jets and Minnesota...

|Green Bay Packers
Detroit Lions

|Tony RomoTony Romo
Antonio Ramiro "Tony" Romo is a professional American football quarterback in the NFL for the Dallas Cowboys. Romo's career passer rating - at 95.8 - ranks third-best all time. Tony Romo didn't play in the regular season in 2003, 2004, or 2005...

Cowboys defense*

|Dallas Cowboys
New York JetsNew York Jets
The New York Jets are a professional football team headquartered in Florham Park, New Jersey, representing the New York metropolitan area. The team is a member of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...

|Reggie WayneReggie Wayne
Reginald "Reggie" Wayne is a professional American football wide receiver for the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League. Wayne was selected in the 1st round of the 2001 NFL Draft by the Colts...

|Indianapolis ColtsIndianapolis Colts
The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. They are currently members of the South Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League ....

Atlanta FalconsAtlanta Falcons
The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta, Georgia. They are a member of the South Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...

|-

|2008

|DeMarcus WareDemarcus Ware
DeMarcus Ware is an American football linebacker for the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League. He was drafted with the 11th overall pick in the 2005 NFL Draft out of Troy University...

|Dallas Cowboys
Seattle SeahawksSeattle Seahawks
The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle, Washington. They are currently members of the Western Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team joined the NFL in 1976 as an expansion team...

||Albert HaynesworthAlbert Haynesworth
-Tennessee Titans:Haynesworth was elected to the Pro Bowl for the first time for the 2007 NFL season. During this season following the stomping incident, he ranked second on the team with six sacks in his 11 games played up to the selection, led or tied for the team-high in total tackles three...

Chris JohnsonChris Johnson (running back)
Christopher Duan Johnson is an American football running back for the Tennessee Titans of the National Football League...

Kevin MawaeKevin Mawae
Kevin James Mawae is a former American National Football League center. During a 16-year football career, he played for the Seattle Seahawks , New York Jets , and the Tennessee Titans . Mawae was a four-year starter for LSU and was selected second-team All-SEC by Associated Press and SEC coaches...

LenDale WhiteLenDale White
LenDale Anthony White is an American football running back. He was drafted by the Tennessee Titans in the second round of the 2006 NFL Draft. He played college football at Southern California....

|Tennessee TitansTennessee Titans
The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. They are members of the South Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Previously known as the Houston Oilers, the team began play in 1960 as a charter...

Detroit Lions

|Donovan McNabbDonovan McNabb
Donovan Jamal McNabb is an American football quarterback who is currently a free agent. He was the Philadelphia Eagles' quarterback from 1999 to 2009 and spent the 2010 season with the Washington Redskins and a portion of the 2011 season with the Minnesota Vikings. In college, McNabb played...

Brian WestbrookBrian Westbrook
Brian Collins Westbrook is an American football running back who is currently a free agent. He was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles in the third round of the 2002 NFL Draft after playing college football at Villanova...

|Philadelphia EaglesPhiladelphia Eagles
The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They are members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...

Arizona CardinalsArizona Cardinals
The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in Glendale, Arizona, a suburb of Phoenix. They are currently members of the Western Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...

|-

|2009

|Donald DriverDonald Driver
Donald Jerome Driver is an American football wide receiver and children's author. He plays for the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League...

|Green Bay Packers
Detroit Lions

|Miles AustinMiles Austin
Miles Jonathon Austin III is an American football wide receiver for the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League. He was signed by the Cowboys as an undrafted free agent in 2006...

Tony RomoTony Romo
Antonio Ramiro "Tony" Romo is a professional American football quarterback in the NFL for the Dallas Cowboys. Romo's career passer rating - at 95.8 - ranks third-best all time. Tony Romo didn't play in the regular season in 2003, 2004, or 2005...

Jason WittenJason Witten
Christopher Jason Witten is an American football tight end who plays for the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League. He played college football at the University of Tennessee....

|Dallas Cowboys
Oakland Raiders

|Brandon MarshallBrandon Marshall
-2006:Before the regular season even began, Marshall suffered a slight tear to his PCL in a pre-season game against the Detroit Lions. Although the injury sidelined him for a couple of weeks, he was able to return and play 15 games during the regular season. Marshall had a total of 20 catches, 309...

|Denver BroncosDenver Broncos
The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver, Colorado. They are currently members of the West Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...

New York GiantsNew York Giants
The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in East Rutherford, New Jersey, representing the New York City metropolitan area. The Giants are currently members of the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...

|-

|2010

|Drew BreesDrew Brees
Drew Christopher Brees is a quarterback for the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League. He was drafted by the San Diego Chargers in the second round of the 2001 NFL Draft. He played college football at Purdue....

|New Orleans SaintsNew Orleans Saints
The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans, Louisiana. They are members of the South Division of the National Football Conference of the National Football League ....

Dallas Cowboys

|Tom BradyTom Brady
Thomas Edward Patrick "Tom" Brady, Jr. is an American football quarterback for the New England Patriots of the National Football League . After playing college football at Michigan, Brady was drafted by the Patriots in the sixth round of the 2000 NFL Draft.He has played in four Super Bowls,...

|New England Patriots
Detroit Lions

|Brad SmithBrad Smith (American football)
Bradley "Brad" Alexander Smith is an American football quarterback, running back, wide receiver and return specialist for the Buffalo Bills of the National Football League. He was drafted in the 4th round of the 2006 NFL Draft by the New York Jets. He played college football at Missouri.-High...

Darrelle RevisDarrelle Revis
Though Revis was not the first defensive back drafted in the 2007 NFL Draft , he was the first cornerback taken that year...

|New York JetsNew York Jets
The New York Jets are a professional football team headquartered in Florham Park, New Jersey, representing the New York metropolitan area. The team is a member of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...

Cincinnati BengalsCincinnati Bengals
The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional football team based in Cincinnati, Ohio. They are members of the AFC's North Division in the National Football League . The Bengals began play in 1968 as an expansion team in the American Football League , and joined the NFL in 1970 in the AFL-NFL...

|-

|2011

|Aaron RodgersAaron Rodgers
Aaron Charles Rodgers is an American football quarterback for the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League . Rodgers was selected in the first round of the 2005 NFL Draft by the Packers...

|Green Bay Packers
Detroit Lions

|DeMarcus WareDemarcus Ware
DeMarcus Ware is an American football linebacker for the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League. He was drafted with the 11th overall pick in the 2005 NFL Draft out of Troy University...

|Dallas Cowboys
Miami Dolphins

|Terrell SuggsTerrell Suggs
Terrell Raymonn Suggs is an American football linebacker for the Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Ravens tenth overall in the 2003 NFL Draft after playing his college football at Arizona State....

|Baltimore RavensBaltimore Ravens
The Baltimore Ravens are a professional football franchise based in Baltimore, Maryland.The Baltimore Ravens are officially a quasi-expansion franchise, having originated in 1995 with the Cleveland Browns relocation controversy after Art Modell, then owner of the Cleveland Browns, announced his...

San Francisco 49ersSan Francisco 49ers
The San Francisco 49ers are a professional American football team based in San Francisco, California, playing in the West Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team was founded in 1946 as a charter member of the All-America Football Conference and...

|}

*Of the members of the 2007 Cowboys defense, Chris CantyChris Canty (defensive end)
Christopher Lee Canty is an American football defensive tackle for the New York Giants of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Dallas Cowboys in the fourth round of the 2005 NFL Draft...

, DeMarcus WareDemarcus Ware
DeMarcus Ware is an American football linebacker for the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League. He was drafted with the 11th overall pick in the 2005 NFL Draft out of Troy University...

, Terence NewmanTerence Newman
Terence Newman is a starting American football cornerback for the Dallas Cowboys in the National Football League. He played in the 2008 pro-bowl and has 32 interceptions in his career....

and Greg Ellis were particularly noted.

External links

NFL.com Thanksgiving Page
American Football League Thanksgiving game boxscores

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.}}}}}