NFL on Thanksgiving Day

Uncommon card · No. 78118

Since its inception in 1920, the National Football League (NFL) has played games on Thanksgiving Day, patterned upon the historic playing of college football games on or around the November holiday. The NFL's Thanksgiving Day games have traditionally included one game hosted by the Detroit Lions since 1934 and one game hosted by the Dallas Cowboys since 1966 (with two exceptions in 1975 and 1977). Since 2006, a third game has also been played in prime time on Thanksgiving night. Unlike the two afternoon games, this game has no fixed teams. In 2001, the NFL began branding the games as the Thanksgiving Classic. In 2022, the league named the series the John Madden Thanksgiving Celebration in honor of former head coach and broadcaster John Madden, who died in December 2021. The NFL's Thanksgiving games are regularly the league's most-watched regular-season games. All three of the games played in 2025 set NFL regular-season viewership records; the Kansas City Chiefs–Dallas Cowboys game broadcast...

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