Why do the Detroit Lions and Dallas Cowboys always play on Thanksgiving?
Name a more iconic duo than Thanksgiving and the NFL.
It's difficult - NFL games on Thanksgiving have been a tradition since the league's inception in 1920.
There have been three games on Thanksgiving since the NFL added a third in 2006.
This year, the Lions take on the Packers, the Cowboys face the Commanders, and the Seahawks square off against the 49ers.
A common theme of the Thanksgiving games is that the Detroit Lions and Dallas Cowboys always feature, and it's a tradition that goes back decades.
Why do the Detroit Lions always play on Thanksgiving?
First and foremost, there's no actual rule that the Lions and Cowboys have to play on Thanksgiving, it's just a tradition that's grown over the years.
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The Lions first started playing on Thanksgiving back in 1934 when they came up against the Chicago Bears.
The idea was part of a marketing ploy by Lions owner George A. Richards who wanted to attract more fans to his stadium.
At the time the Lions were losing fans to the more popular Detroit Tigers, and so as a way of getting bums on seats Richards suggested his newly-acquired Lions host the back-to-back world champion Bears in Detroit.
It also helped that Richards was an NBC affiliated radio station owner so he could negotiate a contract to broadcast his team's games on TVs across the country.
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The idea went down a storm in front of the 26,000 fans in attendance, even though the Bears won the first Thanksgiving game 19-16.
Ever since then the Lions have hosted a game on Thanksgiving, save for a six-year period from 1939-1944 during World War II.
Why do the Dallas Cowboys always play on Thanksgiving?
The Dallas Cowboys playing on Thanksgiving is a much newer tradition.
The custom dates back to 1966 when then-general manager Tex Schramm wanted to get more national publicity for his team.
Taking a leaf out of George A. Richards' book, Schramm signed his team up to play on the holiday.
Over 80,000 fans attended the Cowboys' first Thanksgiving Day game, and lo and behold it was a huge success as the Cowboys beat the Browns, 26-14.
Ever since then, excluding two years in the 1970s, Dallas has hosted a game on Thanksgiving.
The reason for the two year absence in the 70s was because the league wanted to see if the St. Louis Cardinals could generate hype by playing on Thanksgiving.
They failed to take off and so the games were moved back to Dallas where they have remained ever since.
Lions' Thanksgiving day record
The Lions have played on Thanksgiving more than any other team in the NFL.
This year will be the team's 84th game on Turkey Day. Across their previous 83 Thanksgiving matchups the Lions have a 37-44-2 record.
However, their recent record has been pretty terrible. Detroit are 6-17 on Thanksgiving dating back to 2000, and the last time they won on the day was in 2016 against the Minnesota Vikings who they beat, 16-13.
Last year they lost 28-25 to the Buffalo Bills, but this year there's a sense of optimism around the matchup. The Lions are 8-2 this season for the first time since 1962 and are taking on a Packers team who are 4-6 for the season.
Cowboys record on Thanksgiving
Unlike the Lions, the Cowboys actually have a winning record on Thanksgiving.
Since their first game in 1966, Dallas has compiled a 32-22-1 record on Thanksgiving.
Their best run came between 1980 and 1985 when they won six straight Thanksgiving games. Their recent record is somewhat less impressive, although they did snap a three-game losing streak on Turkey Day last year against the New York Giants.
This season the Cowboys are 7-3 and face a Commanders (4-7) team coming off the back of a 19-31 loss to the Giants.
Who is performing at halftime of the Thanksgiving games?
The Detroit Lions recently announced rapper Jack Harlow will be the 2023 Thanksgiving Day game halftime performer at Ford Field.
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Meanwhile, country music legend Dolly Parton will do the halftime show in the game between the Cowboys and Commanders.
The Seahawks will celebrate their first ever Thanksgiving Day home game with a halftime performance from DJ and producer, Steve Aoki.