Thanksgiving football traditions continue; a preview of what’s to come
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The Dallas Cowboys continue their Thanksgiving tradition with a rivalry matchup against the New York Giants, marking the 56th consecutive year they have played on Thanksgiving.
2024 will be the hundredth time a professional football game is played on Thanksgiving Day. Thanksgiving football is one of the most anticipated days of the whole season. It gives families a way to sit down and enjoy a football tradition while they celebrate traditions of their own.
The history of football on Thanksgiving dates back to the year 1920. In 1920, the National Football League (NFL) was known as the American Professional Football Association, and the organization put on six different games. The All-American Football Conference, and then the American Football League, produced games for a stretch in the middle of the twentieth century before the NFL took over for the past 55 years.
Football being played on Thanksgiving is a tradition in itself, and the teams that play on the coveted Thursday have also become a long-lasting tradition. The Detroit Lions and Dallas Cowboys have a rich history of playing football on Thanksgiving day. For the Lions, they have played on every Thanksgiving since 1945, 84 times in total. The Cowboys have played on every Thanksgiving since 1978, which gives them 56 times in total.
Common Thanksgiving Day contestants include the Chicago Bears, the Green Bay Packers, and the New York Giants. The Bears have played the third most Thanksgiving games with 38, the Packers have the fourth most with 37, and the Giants have the sixth most with 17 games. This year, viewers have the pleasure of watching these three staple teams alongside the league's annual teams.
Moving from history to the present day, the Lions will play the Bears at home at 12:30 pm ET; the Cowboys will play the Giants at home at 4:30 pm ET; and the Packers will play the Dolphins at home at 8:20 pm ET. The Lions and Bears game, along with the Packers and Dolphins game, will have significant playoff implications, while the Cowboys and Giants game will have little to none.
After this past Sunday's games, the Lions have stable control of the National Football Conference (NFC) North. Although the Lions are only up one game over the Minnesota Vikings in the division standings, they would have to lose two games to drop in the standings due to their head-to-head lead over the Vikings.
The Chicago Bears are much more volatile before their matchup with the Lions. The Bears are currently 4-6 after a crushing loss to the Green Bay Packers. The Bears currently sit fourth in their division and would likely have to win out or, at the very least, come close to it to have a chance to make the playoffs.
The Cowboys and Giants game is not nearly as interesting. The Giants stand at the bottom of the NFC standings with a 2-8 record. When this article is being written, the Cowboys are not far from the Giants with a 3-6 record and sit fourteenth in the NFC rankings. Though fans may still be invested in the game due to the two teams’ long-standing rivalry—one of the most heated in the NFL—both teams will be playing for bragging rights more than anything.
The Packers and Dolphins will both be playing in a must-win game. The Packers are currently 7-3 and sit in a playoff spot in the NFC. They, however, have little to no chance of winning the NFC North, so if they make the playoffs, it will likely be in a wild card spot. The Miami Dolphins also have no chance of winning their division, so they will also be playing for a very competitive wild card spot. The Dolphins are currently 4-6 and sit at the ninth spot in the American Football Conference (AFC).
Thanksgiving tends to produce very exciting games and many laughs throughout the day. From the tradition of players eating turkey during post-game interviews to the always heartwarming tributes to the legendary John Madden— Thanksgiving football is a perfect way to spend a happy day with family and friends.