Nfl thanksgiving day games history

If you're wondering how this game ended with only two points being scored, it's because, until , a touchdown was only worth two points , but the point after attempt was worth four. Field goals at the time were worth five points, and safeties were worth one.

The first slate of Thanksgiving Day matchups came during the NFL's inaugural season and featured six games. But the highlight of the day had to have been the Decatur Staleys versus the Chicago Tigers. As legend has it, this game served as a duel between the two teams, in which the loser had to pack up shop and never play again. The Decatur Staleys prevailed over the Chicago Tigers. The following year, the Decatur Staleys moved from Decatur to Chicago.

They changed their name in to the Chicago Bears. This would be an incredible story if it were true. The truth is, the Tigers were in financial trouble and could not compete with its cross-town rivals, the Chicago Cardinals.

One theory is that this urban legend came into being as a convenient way for Tigers owner, coach and starting fullback Guil Falcon to bow out of the league without losing face. Another version of the story has the bet between the two Chicago teams, but the Cardinals and the Tigers never played each other on Thanksgiving. They actually played three weeks earlier, on November 7. The modern iteration of Thanksgiving Day football began in , when radio executive George A.

Richards liked the name because he said his team would be the "King of the NFL," just like the lion is the king of the jungle. The Detroit Lions have hosted a game on Thanksgiving Day every year since and the Dallas Cowboys joined them in the tradition in The NFL added a primetime game to the Thanksgiving day slate in , giving fans three games to watch throughout the day.

Thanksgiving Day football games have also been full of memorable moments throughout the years. Before Thursday's games, here's a look at some of the most epic performances from the NFL's best players of all time and some embarrassing moments that have aged perfectly.

The Hall of Fame quarterback threw six touchdown passes in just three quarters to make history in a rout. The game assured he would break Dan Marino's single-season touchdown pass record of 48, giving Manning 41 on the season with five games left.

He ended up with 49 in Brandon Stokley and Marvin Harrison each caught three of Manning's touchdowns in one of the most lopsided Thanksgiving games in recent history. Only a rookie at the time, Griffin captivated a national audience against the Cowboys in an electric win. The Heisman Trophy winner threw for yards and four touchdowns, leading a point second quarter to give Washington the victory. Griffin had finally become everything Washington fans had hoped for when they traded three first round picks and a second round pick to the St.

Louis Rams and selected him with the No. Sanders ran for yards and three touchdowns in a beatdown of the Bears. Sanders had two touchdown runs of 25 and 15 yards in the third quarter to help Detroit win the game and keep their playoff hopes alive. Barry Sanders on Thanksgiving Day is a just a different animal Lions Bears NFL pic.

Thanksgiving Day will always be special for Tom Brady. Redskins are and Cowboys are This game has major significance as a Redskins win and sweep of the Cowboys would give them a commanding 2. A Cowboys win would give them a divisional split and a three game winning streak to build momentum towards a division win.

Falcons beat the Lions in in their first ever Thanksgiving day game and lost to the Colts in Saints are — in the past month they have beaten the Vikings in Minnesota, handed the Rams their first loss , put up 51 points in Cincinnati, and beat the Eagles Falcons are , having lost two in a row to the Browns and Cowboys. It started out on the college level with yale and princeton starting the annual tradition in Here's how it all started, with a full list of games played since the tradition started in The detroit panthers played in and , and the detroit wolverines played in But the modern iteration of the tradition dates to , when detroit lions owner george richards made the holiday game a bonafide.

Gridiron as opposed to association football. How the thanksgiving tradition began. In , lions owner g. And the rest was history. Richards scheduled a holiday matchup between the lions and the bears. The detroit lions have a long history of playing on thanksgiving. Best moments in thanksgiving history.