NFL on Thanksgiving Day

Eventupdated 2025-11-21 11:35
NFL on Thanksgiving Day

NFL Thanksgiving Games are an annual American football tradition where the National Football League schedules special matchups on Thanksgiving Day. Since 1920, the league has organized games on this holiday, modeling the practice after college football traditions. The event is particularly notable for featuring two teams that host games nearly every year: the Detroit Lions since 1934 and the Dallas Cowboys since 1966. Since 2006, the schedule has expanded to include a third prime-time game with rotating teams.

This tradition holds cultural significance in the United States, combining family gatherings with football viewing as part of Thanksgiving celebrations. The fixed hosting roles of the Lions and Cowboys create consistent regional traditions, while the flexible third game allows different teams to participate annually. The games typically draw some of the NFL's largest television audiences of the season, making them commercially valuable for the league and broadcast partners.

Recent news coverage has highlighted the specific matchups scheduled for the 2025 Thanksgiving games, including the Lions hosting the Packers and the Cowboys facing the Chiefs in the holiday triple-header. Media outlets have also featured explanations about the historical reasons behind the Cowboys' and Lions' traditional participation. Additional attention has been given to entertainment aspects, with reports about musical performers scheduled for the Thanksgiving Day broadcasts, and practical viewing information including team lineups and broadcast times.

Brief generated by an LLM (DeepSeek) from Wikipedia and recent news headlines.

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