Why does the NFL have games on Thanksgiving Day?

In the early weeks of the 1934 season, the biggest crowd the Lions could draw for a game was a relatively paltry 15,000. Desperate for a marketing trick to get Detroit excited about its fledgling football franchise, Richards hit on the idea of playing a game on Thanksgiving. read more

Tradition.The Detroit Lions played the Chicago Bears on T- Day in 1934 and it caught on.With the advent of television which displaced radio the sport in general took off like a rocket. read more

The Cowboys beat the Cleveland Browns 26-14 that day, and a second Thanksgiving pigskin tradition caught hold. Since 1966, the Cowboys have missed having Thanksgiving games only twice. Dallas will take on the Los Angeles Chargers on Thursday. read more

The Dallas Cowboys and the Detroit Lions will be in action on Thursday as part of the three NFL games on Thanksgiving Day. If you've ever watched football on Turkey Day, that won't surprise you. The Lions will open the day's action by facing the Minnesota Vikings at 12:30 p.m. ET. read more