Along with the Detroit Lions what other NFL team plays every Thanksgiving since 1966?

The story behind the answer

Along with the Detroit Lions, the Dallas Cowboys are the NFL team most closely associated with playing on Thanksgiving. Dallas began hosting a Thanksgiving game in 1966, creating the familiar holiday doubleheader with Detroit.

The Lions established their Thanksgiving tradition in 1934, shortly after the franchise moved from Portsmouth, Ohio, to Detroit. The Cowboys later sought a holiday game because team executive Tex Schramm believed the national television exposure could help build the club's profile. Dallas hosted the Cleveland Browns in its first Thanksgiving game and won 26–14.

The wording “every Thanksgiving since 1966” is a popular shorthand, but it has two historical exceptions: the NFL assigned Dallas's Thanksgiving home game to the St. Louis Cardinals in 1975 and 1977. Even so, Dallas remains the canonical answer to this trivia question and continues to be a regular Thanksgiving host.

Source: Wikipedia · fact-checked Aug. 2026

Add question to a list

Choose a list to keep this question in: