There are few constants in the NFL, but one thing that never changes is the fact that the Detroit Lions play football every year on Thanksgiving Day. Excluding the years during World War II, the Lions have played on the holiday every year since 1934. It is one of the best traditions in football, but how have the Lions actually faired when playing on Thanksgiving Day? We will look into that in the article below.
Lions record on Thanksgiving Day
While the Dallas Cowboys also always play on Thanksgiving, and now there are three games on the holiday, the Detroit Lions were the first team to have an annual tradition of playing football on Turkey Day. They have been doing so since the early days of the NFL.
The Lions' 83 games on Thanksgiving are 28 more than the next closest team. However, throughout their history in the game, there have been times when fans called for a new team to play on the holiday. They have had some rough patches in their organization's history, and that includes when playing on Thanksgiving. Overall, the Lions have a 37-44-2 record on Thanksgiving Day.
Fans will surely be glad that the team is playing on Thanksgiving this year, though. At 8-2, the Lions are one of the best teams in the NFL, and their offense is potent. Tickets for their Thanksgiving game this year are highly coveted as they will take on the Green Bay Packers.
Lion stats on Thanksgiving Day
While the Lions do have a losing record overall, they have a winning record against the team they've played the most on Thanksgiving. They have played the Green Bay Packers 21 times, which is the most frequent matchup of any team. The Lions are 21-8-1 in those games. Coincidentally, the Lions' opponent this year will be the Packers. The two teams last played on Thanksgiving in 2013.
The Lions have also played in the second most frequent Thanksgiving matchup. One against the Chicago Bears. They haven't had the same level of success against the Bears, but they have been competitive. They are 8-12 against Chicago. That matchup was commonplace in the '30s when the Lions first started playing on Thanksgiving. The two played each other on the holiday every year from 1934-38. The Thanksgiving rivalry picked up again recently as the two played each other in 2018, 2019, and 2021.
Johnnie Morton has won the most game MVP awards for the franchise. He was awarded the Fox Turkey Leg Award three times in the late '90s. Herman Moore, Brett Perriman, Luther Elliss, Barry Sanders, Gus Frerotte, Greg Hill, Robert Porcher, Dre Bly, and Reggie Bush all have one Fox Turkey Leg Award to their names. Erik Kramer, Jerry Ball, Stephen Boyd, Charlie Batch, Calvin Johnson, Matt Prater, and Darius Slay all have won the CBS Turkey Leg/CBS All-Iron Award. Mathew Stafford is the only player to win both of those Thanksgiving MVP awards.
Lions highlights/memorable games on Thanksgiving Day
The Green Bay Packers were unstoppable in 1962. That was until they played the Lions on Thanksgiving. The Lions' defense put on a show as they sacked Bart Starr 11 times and handed the Packers their only loss of the season. They won 26-14 in what was one of the first of many iconic Lions and Packers Thanksgiving Day games. The game was dubbed the “Thanksgiving Day Massacre.”
One of the Lions' worst games on Thanksgiving was in 1969. They lost to the Minnesota Vikings in a snowstorm by a score of 27-0.
The Lions' defense had a game plan on Thanksgiving Day in 1976, and it worked to perfection. They were facing the Buffalo Bills, who had to play Gary Marangi at quarterback because their starter was hurt. The Lions were going to make the Bills beat them through the air, even if it meant O.J. Simpson would have a massive game on the ground. Things worked out just as expected. Simpson ran for a record 273 yards, but Marangi was only able to complete four of his 21 passing attempts. The emphasis on the passing attack worked as the Lions won 27-14.
In 1980, the Lions and Chicago Bears were a part of the first overtime game on Thanksgiving. The two teams were tied, 17-17, at the end of regulation. Unfortunately for the Lions, the Bears returned the opening kickoff of overtime, ending the game just 13 seconds into extra time. At the time, it was the quickest overtime ever.
In 1986, the Lions were once again on the wrong side of Thanksgiving history in a memorable game. They played the Green Bay Packers in the second highest-scoring Thanksgiving game to that point but lost 44-40.
The Lions game in 1998 was so controversial that it directly led to multiple rule changes. The game against the Pittsburgh Steelers went to overtime after a 16-16 tie ball game after 60 minutes of action. The Steelers' Jerome Bettis started to call heads when the coin toss was in mid-air, but he switched his mind to tails at the last second. However, the referee concluded that it was a call for heads, which was the losing choice. The Lions ended up driving down the field to hit a game-winning field goal when the overtime rules ended the game then and there. Referees now get the coin toss answer from players before they toss the coin. The overtime rules are also different now. A field goal on the first possession doesn't end the game anymore.
The Lions weren't very good in the years leading up to Mathew Stafford being drafted. This was evident in 2008 when the Lions lost 47-10 to the Tennessee Titans. It led to Detroit becoming the first team to not win a regular season game in a 16-game season.
The 2012 Thanksgiving Day game caused yet another rule change. Lions' coach Jim Schwartz challenged a scoring play that was going to be automatically reviewed. It was considered an un-reviewable play, and because he did this, the Lions were charged with a 15-yard penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct. Hence, the ‘Jim Schwartz rule' was created to ensure that plays would still be reviewed even if a coach challenged a play that was to be automatically reviewed.
The last time the Lions played the Packers on Thanksgiving Day was one of the best victories in the franchise's history. The year was 2013, and they won 40-10. The Lions had over four times as many yards as Green Bay. Detroit limited the Packers to only 126 total yards and seven first downs.
The Lions had another devastating loss in last year's (2022) matchup. They played a great Buffalo Bills team, and they managed to play with them the entire game. However, the Bills drove down the field in only 21 seconds during the last drive of the game to ensure a 28-25 Detroit loss. The game was coined the “21 seconds game” because of this. This year, they will look to bounce back from the heart-breaking loss of last year.
Follow Us
Subscribe