Thanksgiving & Holiday Games
The NFL owns Thanksgiving, and the holiday schedule around it keeps growing. These articles cover the tradition's full history: why Detroit and Dallas host every year, how Christmas became a football day, and what six decades of holiday games reveal about the teams that play them.
4 articles
Thanksgiving Football Since 1966: Every Game, Every Host, and the One Franchise That's Never Played
Every NFL Thanksgiving game since 1966 — 146 played plus the 2026 tripleheader. Detroit and Dallas's real records, every host, the shutouts and streaks, and the one franchise that has never played on the holiday.
The NFL on Christmas Day: Every Game Since the 1971 Doubleheader That Scared the League Off the Holiday
Every NFL game played on Christmas Day — 38 games from the 1971 double-overtime marathon through the 2026 tripleheader. The full table, the road-team edge, the weekday quirks, and the four franchises that have never played on Dec. 25.
Lions–Packers: Thanksgiving's Most Frequent Guest Meets Its Permanent Host
Detroit has hosted a Thanksgiving game every year for six decades. Green Bay has been the visitor more often than any other team this century — and the holiday quietly doubles this rivalry's national exposure.
Why the Lions and Cowboys Always Host on Thanksgiving
Detroit has hosted on Thanksgiving since 1934 and Dallas since 1966 — the history behind the two locked host slots every schedule maker builds around.