Dallas Cowboys & Detroit Lions play Thanksgiving

Every year at Thanksgiving, there are three things that you can guarantee happening: there will be turkey, there will be plenty of naps, and there will be two NFL teams that will be playing that day, and those teams are the Dallas Cowboys and the Detroit Lions.

Despite a few iconic franchise players, the Detroit Lions have often been a dumpster fire, and this year has been no different. They have yet to win a game, although they play hard and are competitive in most games.

The Cowboys, meanwhile, are traditionally renowned as an iconic franchise with multiple Super Bowl wins, with an owner who has helped redefine the position of team ownership.

So just exactly why do these two teams play every year on Thanksgiving day?

These two teams each have their own unique stories as to how they began playing every year on Thanksgiving (with a few exceptions). According to NFL Nation reporter Eric Woodyard, the Detroit Lions began their Thanksgiving game in 1934 under Lions owner G.A. Richards.

Richards purchased the Portsmouth Spartans and renamed them the Detroit Lions after moving them to the city of Detroit. Richards then had the idea to schedule a holiday game on Turkey Day against the Bears, who were the defending back-to-back champs at the time.

On November 29, 1934, the Lions lost to the Bears by a score of 19-16 in the very first Thanksgiving game for the Lions (but certainly not the last).

Due to World War II, the Lions did not play on Thanksgiving from 1939-1944.

The Dallas Cowboys did not begin their annual Thanksgiving Day participation until 1966. Cowboys general manager Tex Schramm wanted to get his team more publicity (sounds like a pre-cursor to Jerry Jones) and figured the way to do so is to have his team play on Thanksgiving Day.

The Cowboys defeated the Cleveland Browns 26-14 at the Cotton Bowl in front of over 80,000 fans. According to NFL Nation reporter Todd Archer, the Cowboys have played every Thanksgiving game since then, with the exception of 1975 and 1977 when NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle allowed the St. Louis Cardinals to host the game but switched back after two lackluster performances from the team.