The 25 Best Thanksgiving Games in NFL History

For most Americans, football is as much a part of Thanksgiving Day as turkey.  It has become a national tradition to watch the Lions lose while eating lunch, and take a nap while watching the Cowboys in the afternoon.

While some things have changed, like the Lions being good, some things have stayed the same.  You can still count on seeing both those teams every year on Turkey Day.

Here is a list of the 25 greatest Thanksgiving games in NFL history.

2006: Tony Romo Throws for 5 Touchdowns

Back in 2006, Tony Romo burst onto the national scene with five touchdown passes on Thanksgiving Day.  The Cowboys would beat the Buccaneers 38-10 that day.

Of course, that was before Romo fumbled the hopes of Dallas away in the playoff game against the Seahawks that same season.

2006: Chiefs 19, Broncos 10

This was a significant game because it was the first time that there were three games played on Thanksgiving.  It is just too bad that third game had to be on the NFL Network.

There are few places that would be better to host the first Thursday night Thanksgiving matchup than Arrowhead.  That place was rocking.

2005: Broncos 24, Cowboys 21

This was the last Thanksgiving game to go into overtime.  The Broncos ended up knocking off the Cowboys 24-21 in overtime with a 24-yard field goal from Jason Elam.

Drew Bledsoe was the star of the game for the Cowboys after throwing for 232 yards and three touchdowns.

2002: Cowboys 27, Redskins 20

The Cowboys were trailing the Redskins 20-17 in this one before scoring 10 fourth-quarter points to win the game.  

This game featured two quarterbacks that have pretty much been forgotten.  Chad Hutchinson got the start for the Cowboys against the Danny Wuerffel-led Redskins.

2001: Packers 29, Lions 27

The 0-9 Lions put quite a scare into Brett Favre's Packers on Thanksgiving Day back in 2001.  

Brett Favre had a big day for the Packers in that one, throwing for 252 yards and two touchdowns.

The Lions actually scored late in the fourth quarter and had a chance to tie the game with a two-point conversion that was no good.

2001: Broncos 26, Cowboys 24

Back in 2001, the Broncos entered the fourth quarter with a 23-3 lead over the Cowboys on Thanksgiving Day.

The Cowboys scored three touchdowns in the fourth quarter to end up falling just short 26-24.  

Ryan Leaf was the quarterback for the Cowboys that day and ended up with 193 yards passing.  The star of the game was Broncos running back Mike Anderson, who carried the ball 33 times for 118 yards and one touchdown.

1999: Lions 21, Bears 17

The Lions led this game 21-0 in the second quarter.  They gave up a touchdown before the end of the first half, but it still looked like it was going to be an easy win for the Lions.

Well, the Lions won, but it was anything but easy.  The Bears scored 17 unanswered to make it interesting.

The star of the game was Gus Frerotte, who threw for 309 yards and two touchdowns.

1996: Chiefs 28, Lions 24

This game was back during the years when Barry Sanders was the only reason to watch the Detroit Lions.  Sanders did not have his best game in this one, but it was still a fun game to watch.

The Chiefs would score two fourth-quarter touchdowns to win the game 28-24.  Kansas City featured a two-headed monster rushing attack that day with Greg Hill and Marcus Allen.  The two combined for 176 yards and two touchdowns on the day.

1995: Lions 44, Vikings 38

It is rare that a Thanksgiving Day game ends up being a shootout, but it was in 1995.  Scott Mitchell and Warren Moon combined to throw for 794 yards and seven touchdowns.  It was Mitchell who had the last laugh because his team came out the winner.

It was also a big game for Barry Sanders, who carried the ball 24 times for 138 yards and one touchdown.

1993: Dolphins 16, Cowboys 13

This game featured an 8-2 Dolphins team against a 7-3 Cowboys team that would go on to win the Super Bowl.

Dallas held a 14-7 halftime lead, but the Dolphins would pull out the win on the back of three Pete Stoyanovich field goals.  All of which were chip shots.

1993: Bears 10, Lions 6

Back before Jim Harbaugh was making his bid for NFL Coach of the Year, he was an NFL quarterback.  In 1993, he was the quarterback of the Chicago Bears.  He led them to a 10-6 win over the Lions on Thanksgiving Day that year.

1994: Oilers 24, Lions 21

In 1992, it took 14 fourth-quarter points for the Oilers to knock off the Lions 24-21.  The Lions were not very good that season.  They entered this contest 3-8 while the Oilers were 6-5.

The Oilers were led by Cody Carlson in this game.  He ended the day with 338 yards passing.

1998: Lions 19, Steelers 16

Another rare Thanksgiving Day overtime game.  The Lions were able to squeak this one out on the foot of Jason Hanson.

Hanson hit four field goals in the game.  He hit the game winner in overtime from 42 yards out.

The Steelers bottled up Barry Sanders in this one.  He only had 33 yards on 20 carries.

1989: Lions 13, Browns 10

It is hard to remember a time before Jason Hanson was the Lions' kicker, but 1989 was that time.  Eddie Murray—the kicker not the baseball player—kicked the game winner in this one for Detroit.

It was a big day for Barry Sanders.  He had 145 yards on 28 carries.

The Browns got a huge effort from Bernie Kosar, who threw for 296 yards.

1988: Oilers 25, Cowboys 17

The Cowboys entered the fourth quarter of this one with a 17-13 lead.  The Oilers would go on to score 12 unanswered points for the victory.

Warren Moon had a nice day in this one, throwing for 226 yards and one touchdown.  Drew Hill was on the receiving end of 113 of those yards.

1987: Vikings 34, Cowboys 28

The 1987 game between the Vikings and Cowboys was another shootout.  The Cowboys tied the game in the fourth quarter to force overtime, when Danny White scored his third touchdown of the day.

The Dallas joy would be short lived, though, because Darrin Nelson would put the game away with a 24-yard touchdown run in overtime.  That was Nelson's second touchdown of the game and put him over the 100-yard mark.

1987: Chiefs 27, Lions 20

Both the Lions and the Chiefs had rough seasons in 1987, but on Thanksgiving Day they provided some intrigue for the nation.  The Chiefs won the game 27-20, but the Lions made the game interesting in the fourth quarter.  Chuck Long found Gary Ellerson for a 10-yard touchdown pass in the fourth quarter to get the Lions within seven.

Unfortunately for the Lions, that is as close as they would get on that day.

1986: Packers 44, Lions 40

The Packers and the Lions played one for the ages on Thanksgiving Day in 1986.  Neither team was very good that day, but the national stage made them play better, at least for one day.

Al Del Greco had a huge day with three first-half field goals to keep the Packers in the game.  It looked like the Lions had the game won, but the Packers scored 14 points in the fourth quarter to put it away.

1984: Cowboys 20, Patriots 17

The Cowboys were in command of this game 17-3 before the Patriots scored 14 unanswered points to tie the game at 17 in the fourth quarter.

Danny White led a fourth quarter drive that set up a 23-yard field goal by Rafael Septien for the win. Dallas escaped narrowly with a 20-17 win.

1984: Lions 31, Packers 28

Gary Danielson, now of CBS Sports, was the quarterback of the 1984 Detroit Lions.  They did not have a very good year, but he was good on Thanksgiving Day.

Danielson threw for 305 yards and three touchdowns to lead the Lions to a 31-28 win over the Packers.

1982: Giants 13, Lions 6

The Lions were driving in the fourth quarter of a tied ballgame on Thanksgiving of 1982.  Just when they thought they were in good shape to at least kick a field goal and win the game, Lawrence Taylor picked off a pass and returned it 97 yards for a touchdown.

That score would be all the Giants needed to take home a 13-6 victory.

1981: Cowboys 10, Bears 9

Walter Payton had a big day on Thanksgiving in 1981.  He carried the ball 38 times for 179 yards.

That was not enough for the Bears to leave Dallas with a win.  A Ron Springs fourth-quarter touchdown put the game away for the Cowboys.

1980: Bears 23, Lions 17

In 1980, the Bears scored two fourth-quarter touchdowns to force overtime with the Detroit Lions on Thanksgiving.  The overtime would not last very long, because Dave Williams returned the opening kickoff of the extra period 95 yards for a touchdown.

Walter Payton had another big game in this one with 123 yards on just 18 carries.

1979: Oilers 30, Cowboys 24

The Oilers and Cowboys played some classics on Thanksgiving back in the day.  1979 was no exception.

This game featured two all-time great running backs in Earl Campbell and Tony Dorsett.  Campbell had the bigger game in this one.  His 195 rushing yards led the Oilers to a 30-24 win.

1978: Lions 17, Broncos 14

Horace King was the hero of the 1978 game between the Broncos and Lions.  His one-yard run in the fourth quarter gave Detroit a 17-14 win.

Gary Danielson was the quarterback of the Lions that year.  In this game he threw for 112 yards in a game that was obviously dominated by defense for most of the day.