Brief History of Thanksgiving Week Games!

It’s that time of year again, when the whole country is forced to watch the Detroit Lions host one of the best teams in the NFL, for what in recent years, has usually been a bloodbath. Thursday the Lions will face the Bills, as many of us will face the reality of missing the playoffs…

KYLE: “What about me? Am I gonna make it?”

SC LEAGUE: “Sure Kyle, you’re probably gonna make it…”

But before we finalize anything like that, we have to see how Turkey Day shakes out. Here’s the lineup (Jones, I’m sure you’ll be shocked to find non-1 pm Sunday games this week)…

• 12:30 – Bills @ Lions (CBS)
• 4:30 – Giants @ Cowboys (FOX)
• 8:20 – Patriots @ Vikings (NBC)

With the six teams involved, there are a ton of implications for fantasy this week. Just to give an idea, in Week 11, those six teams were represented by 43 players (DAL 12, MIN 8, DET 7, NE 6, NYG 6, BUF 5) and many of those same players will be started again on Thursday. Well, maybe not Gano. That’s about 24% of the players who started coming from a pool of teams that make up only 18% of the NFL. And of the twelve teams in our league, only Ryan fielded a roster without any of those teams represented.

So there’s a good chance that by Friday morning, we’ll know a lot more about the playoff picture than we do now. Until then, let’s take a look at Turkey Days of the past and see what kind of track record everyone’s got.

First, what happened last year? Well, the top-scoring Thanksgiving team in 2021 was the Quasars, who beat the Skippers (who had the 2nd most points that week) 2758-2595. The 2021 Turkey Dump belonged to Trigger, who put up a tryptophan-infused 1408 points, handing Tan one of his easier wins. Additionally, we had some really close games that made for an interesting watch; Steve beat Jones by a measly 163, and that was only the third-closest matchup. We saw Dave squeak by Ryan with an 89-point victory, and Kyle edged out Kronner by a sum of just 70. Of course, none of that compares to the (current/pending) victory by Matt, who just beat Tan 1811-1810.

UPDATED CHART: With losses by Josh and Tan, there is some movement here. Josh stays in first, but Chris drops to 4th as Sanchez moves up into 2nd by himself, breaking a 3-way tie. Timmy’s Turkey-Day luck continues with what is now a .591 on the Holiday, which is obviously higher than his all-time percentage, and this is a pretty big sample size. Wins by Jones and Matt keep them tied, but they also move ahead of Kyle who slides to 9th. A loss by Dave allows Kronner to jump up into a tie for 10th. Kaiser also has a good week, while Trigger and Ryan continue to be dismal in the Late-November classic. 

RANK	PREV.	MANAGER	WINS	LOSSES	W%
1	1	Josh	8	3	0.727
2	2	Steve	5	2	0.714
3	2	Jason	4	2	0.667
4	2	Tan	14	8	0.636
5	5	John	3	2	0.600
6	7	Tim	13	9	0.591
7	8	Jones	12	10	0.545
7	8	Matt	12	10	0.545
9	5	Kyle	3	3	0.500
10	10	Dave	10	12	0.455
10	11	Kronner	10	12	0.455
12	12	Byrd	5	7	0.417
13	13	Kaiser	8	12	0.400
14	14	Toepel	5	9	0.357
15	15	Trigger	7	15	0.318
16	16	Ryan	3	9	0.250

So based on this, I wouldn’t want to face Josh this week, though if anyone is in a position to take the Sentinels down a notch, it’s Second Deck. Who’s second best on this list anyway… oh. It’s Chris. His .666 win percentage on Thanksgiving is the perfect pairing with my .429 as I try to sink my claws into that 6th-place spot.

Kaiser and I have both had 12 Thanksgiving weekends ruined over the years, but Trigger has us both beat with a torturous 7-14 record, while Ryan has the worst Win% at .273 – Trigger has a better chance to improve his standing here (against Timmy) than Ryan would seem to have against Sanchez, who is rolling right now. That said, many thought Tim’s best chance at not getting shut out for the year was last week against Kyle, but Timmo does have a damn good track record for this week at .571, second best of the original teams.

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NFL FUN FACTS

Aside from the fantasy impact, most of us are self-loathing Lions fans at heart. So here are some just random Lions/Thanksgiving stats that might help you with some meaningless non-political discussion come Thursday.

• The concept of American football games being played on Thanksgiving Day dates back to 1876, shortly after the game had been invented, as it was a day that most people had off from work.
• Since its inception in 1920, the National Football League (NFL) has played games on Thanksgiving Day.
• The NFL’s Thanksgiving Day games have traditionally included games hosted by the Detroit Lions (since 1934) the Dallas Cowboys (since 1966, excluding 1975 & 1977). Since 2006, a third prime-time game has also been played, but with no fixed teams.
• Through the first 18 years of the NFL, the Chicago Bears (originally called the Staleys) and Chicago Cardinals (now in Arizona) also played on Tukey Day.
• Since 1978, Thanksgiving games have been hosted in Detroit and Dallas every year, both of whom are NFC teams. To make sure that the AFC-network (CBS since 1998) and the NFC-network (Fox since 1994) got at least one game each, one of these games is between NFC opponents, and one is an AFC-NFC matchup.

MEMORABLE GAMES

• 1920: The Chicago Tigers and Decatur Staleys (who would become the Bears) challenged each other to a Thanksgiving duel in Chicago during the league’s inaugural season, with the loser being relegated out of the league at the end of the season. The Tigers were the only NFL team to fold after the 1920 season.
• 1929: Chicago Cardinals’ Ernie Nevers scores 40 points (still the NFL record) in a rout over their crosstown rivals the Chicago Bears, who scored only 6 points.
• 1962: The Detroit Lions handed the 10–0 Green Bay Packers their only defeat of the season. The game was dubbed the “Thanksgiving Day Massacre” due to the Lions’ defense, who sacked Bart Starr 11 times.
• 1976: O. J. Simpson set the NFL record for most rushing yards in a single game, with 273. However, the Bills were 4/21 passing for 29 yards and the Lions defeated the Bills 27–14.
• 1980: With the Detroit Lions and Chicago Bears tied 17–17 at the end of regulation, the game went to overtime, the first Thanksgiving game to do so, and the first overtime game ever at the Silverdome. Bears running back Dave Williams returned the fifth-quarter opening kickoff 95 yards for a game-winning touchdown, ending the shortest overtime period in NFL history at the time (13 seconds).
• 1993: The Dallas Cowboys led the Miami 14–13 with just seconds remaining in a snow-filled Texas Stadium. Miami attempted a game-winning 40-yard FG that was blocked. Cowboys lineman Leon Lett tried to grab the ball, slipped, fell, and knocked it forward. By rule, the ball was live and the Dolphins fell on it at the two-yard line. The Dolphins won 16–14.
• 1998: The Steelers and Lions went to overtime tied 16–16. Pittsburgh’s Jerome Bettis called the coin toss in the air, but head referee Phil Luckett declared Detroit the winner of the toss after Bettis reportedly said “He…tails.” Luckett concluded Bettis’ call was “heads”, but Bettis insisted he had said “tails.” The Lions went on to kick a field goal on the first possession, winning 19–16. As a result of the fiasco, team captains are now required to call the coin before the coin is tossed.
• 2008: The 10–1 Tennessee Titans routed the 0–11 Detroit Lions by a score of 47–10, one of the most lopsided results in history on Thanksgiving. The Lions would go on to finish the season 0–16, first team to ever do so. The next year they hired Titans Defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz as their new Head Coach.
• 2012: Detroit Lions head coach Jim Schwartz challenged a play in which Houston Texans running back Justin Forsett’s knee clearly touched the ground before sprinting for an 81-yard touchdown. Referee Walt Coleman stated that, by rule, scoring plays are automatically reviewed and the play was not challengeable by a coach. Because of the improperly attempted challenge, the review was canceled and the Lions were instead given a 15-yard penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct. The NFL then passed a new rule that stated that if a coach attempted to challenge a play that is automatically reviewed, the review would continue. It was called the ‘Jim Schwartz rule’.
• Also 2012: The prime-time contest became infamous for the “Butt fumble”, an incident in which New York Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez ran headfirst into the buttocks of Brandon Moore, one of his own offensive linemen. He subsequently fumbled the ball; and it was recovered by the New England Patriots, who immediately returned it for a touchdown.

MOST GAMES PLAYED ON THANKSGIVING

1. Detroit Lions (82) [Detroit Heralds, Detroit Panthers, Detroit Wolverines]
2. Dallas Cowboys (56)
3. Chicago Bears (37) [Decatur Staleys, Chicago Staleys]
4. Green Bay Packers (36)
5. Arizona Cardinals (21) [Chicago Cardinals, St. Louis Cardinals, Phoenix Cardinals]
6. New York Giants (15)
7. Washington (12) [Boston Braves, Boston Redskins, Redskins, Football Team]
8. Denver Broncos (11)
9. Buffalo Bills (10)
10. Kansas City Chiefs (10) [Dallas Texans]

Oddly, the Vikings have only played 8 games on Thanksgiving since 1969, despite our division dominating the holiday. Furthermore, Tampa Bay has played only once, and it was after they left the division. They lost to Dallas 38-10 in 2006.

THANKSGIVING GAME MVP STATS

Only the Lions and Cowboys are guaranteed a Turkey day game every year, the TV networks have been handing out MVPs for each of those games. CBS started in 1989, FOX in 1994, and NFL Network in 2007. Sometimes it goes to the home team, and sometimes not. Since 1989 (they did skip some years), the Dallas Cowboys have received one of these such awards 15 times, while the Lions have done so 11 times.

• Dallas Cowboys (15)
• Detroit Lions (11)
• Packers (5)
• Bears/Broncos (4)
• Eagles/Pats/Vikings/Redskins/Saints (3)
• Dolphins/Colts/Texans/Bills/Ravens (2)
• Titans/Panthers/Raiders/Falcons/Jets/Seahawks/Steelers (1)

Some of the notables…

• 1989 – Reggie White (First CBS Turkey Leg)
• 1991 – Erik Kramer & Jerry Ball (CBS Turkey Leg)
• 1995 – Moore/Perriman/Morton (Fox Turkey Leg)
• 1997 – Morton/Luther/Barry (Fox Turkey Leg) [First Lion w/2]
• 1998 – Stephen Boyd (CBS All-Iron Award) [My BOOOOOY]
• 1999 – Frerotte/Greg Hill/Morton/Porcher (Fox Turkey Leg) [Morton w/3]
• 2000 – Chalie Batch (CBS All-Iron Award)
• 2003 – Dré Bly (Fox Galloping Gobbler)
• 2006 – Joey Harrington for Miami vs Lions (CBS All-Iron Award)
• 2008 – Like the whole fucking Titans team (CBS All-Iron Award)
• 2013 – Reggie Bush (Fox Galloping Gobbler)
• 2014 – Calvin Johnson (CBS All-Iron Award)
• 2015 – Matthew Stafford (Fox Galloping Gobbler)
• 2016 – Stafford/Slay/Prater (CBS All-Iron Award)

CBS Awards; CBS Turkey Leg (1989-1993, 2019-2021), CBS All-Iron Award (1998-2016), N/A (2017-18), CBS Madden Player of the Game (2022).

FOX Awards; Fox Turkey Leg Award (1994-2001), Fox Galloping Gobbler Award (2002-2016), Fox Game Ball (2017-2018, 2021), Fox WWE Championship Belt (2019-2020), Fox Madden Player of the Game (2022).

NFL Network; NFL Network Pudding Pie Award (2007-2011)

NBC Awards; NBC Madden Thanksgiving Player of the Game (2012-2015), NBC SNF on Thanksgiving Player of the Game (2016-2021), NBC Madden Player of the Game (2022).