I'm old enough to remember when people used to complain about the advantage the Lions and Cowboys got from playing on Thanksgiving each year. As recently as the 90s, those teams went a combined 14-6 on Thanksgiving. Back then there weren't Thursday night games each week, so it was just a once-a-year occurrence.
Lately, if the Lions and Cowboys are getting any advantage from hosting these Thanksgiving games, it hasn't been apparent in the results.
Detroit, believe it or not, has lost seven straight Thanksgiving Day games. Dallas has gone just 4-6 in its last 10. The Lions have been lousy in a lot of those years, but the Cowboys have typically been a playoff team. And the Lions have been better lately. But visitors have been going into their stadiums and feasting on the freakish turkey legs handed out by the announcing teams.
Here are the results from the last 10 Thanksgivings, with the winning team in bold. Combined, Detroit and Dallas are just 7-13 the last 10 years. They've won 2 of the last 10 games.
THANKSGIVING DAY RESULTS, 2014-2023 | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Year | Visitor | Pts | Home | Pts |
2014 | Chicago Bears | 17 | Detroit Lions | 34 |
2014 | Philadelphia Eagles | 33 | Dallas Cowboys | 10 |
2015 | Philadelphia Eagles | 14 | Detroit Lions | 45 |
2015 | Carolina Panthers | 33 | Dallas Cowboys | 14 |
2016 | Minnesota Vikings | 13 | Detroit Lions | 16 |
2016 | Washington | 26 | Dallas Cowboys | 31 |
2017 | Minnesota Vikings | 30 | Detroit Lions | 23 |
2017 | Los Angeles Chargers | 28 | Dallas Cowboys | 6 |
2018 | Chicago Bears | 23 | Detroit Lions | 16 |
2018 | Washington | 23 | Dallas Cowboys | 31 |
2019 | Chicago Bears | 24 | Detroit Lions | 20 |
2019 | Buffalo Bills | 26 | Dallas Cowboys | 15 |
2020 | Houston Texans | 41 | Detroit Lions | 25 |
2020 | Washington Football Team | 41 | Dallas Cowboys | 16 |
2021 | Chicago Bears | 16 | Detroit Lions | 14 |
2021 | Las Vegas Raiders | 36 | Dallas Cowboys | 33 |
2022 | Buffalo Bills | 28 | Detroit Lions | 25 |
2022 | New York Giants | 20 | Dallas Cowboys | 28 |
2023 | Green Bay Packers | 29 | Detroit Lions | 22 |
2023 | Washington Commanders | 10 | Dallas Cowboys | 45 |
I didn't include the Thursday night games from those years, because there's no novelty in playing on Thursday night anymore, but road teams have done well in those games too -- 6-4 the past 10 years.
Detroit (versus Chicago), Dallas (versus the Giants) and Green Bay (versus Miami) are all favored on Thursday. But if recent history is any indication, at least one of those three favorites will be taking an L.
--Andy Richardson