In addition to the Lions and the Cowboys, four other NFL teams will continue to play in three more games on Thanksgiving.
Lions and Cowboys Thanksgiving Day games: The Detroit Lions’ traditional Thanksgiving Day game dates back to 1934. The only exception was the years 1939 to 1944, which were not played due to the Second World War. The games have become an institution in the National Football League.
The idea for the Thanksgiving Day game came from former Lions owner G.A. Richards designed as a means of increasing viewership and public awareness of the team. Richards purchased the Portsmouth (Ohio) Spartans and brought them to Detroit before the tradition began.
The first Thanksgiving Day game was seen by more than 26,000 fans.
The Dallas Cowboys played on Thanksgiving Day 1966 and won against the Cleveland Browns 26-14. The Cowboys’ first Thanksgiving Day game was attended by 80,259 people. The Cowboys have played a Thanksgiving Day game every year since, except for 1975 and 1977.
Similar to the Lions, the Cowboys also saw the festival as a means to generate national attention for the team.
The Lions originated the concept, and the game predates the Super Bowl and many of the NFL teams, making tradition the biggest reason the Lions and Cowboys compete in their respective games every year.
In 2006, the NFL added a prime time Thanksgiving Day game played by two alternating teams.
Thanksgiving Day Statistics: The Lions lost their first Thanksgiving Day game and were unsuccessful in many of the matchups: the franchise has an overall record of 37-45-2 in Thanksgiving Day games. The Lions have posted seven straight losses in Thanksgiving Day games heading into the 2024 contest.
As the inventors of the game concept, the Lions have the most wins on Thanksgiving Day with 37 victories, but also one of the worst overall records.
The Cowboys have had more success in their games, posting an overall record of 33-22-1.
Die Chicago Bears and the Green Bay Packers don’t play every year, but do happen often, as they each have an overall record of 20-15-2 and 15-20-2 on Thanksgiving, respectively. Both teams play on Thursday.
Die Jacksonville Jaguars are the only NFL team that has never played in a Day of Thanksgiving game. Several teams have never won on Thanksgiving Day, including the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Cincinnati Bengals, who each have an 0-1 record.
2024 Thanksgiving Day Games: Here’s a look at them three 2024 Thanksgiving gamesthe way you can track them, and the betting odds.
- Chicago Bears (4-7) bei Detroit Lions (10-1): 12:30 p.m. ET on CBS, a unit of Paramount Global TOTO
- New York Giants (2-9) bei den Dallas Cowboys (4-7): 4:30 p.m. ET on FOX, a unit of Fox Corporation FOXFOX
- Miami Dolphins (5-6) bei den Green Bay Packers (8-3): 8:20 p.m. on NBC, a unit of Comcast Corp CMCSA
The Giants are 7-6-3 overall in Thanksgiving Day matchups and the Dolphins have an overall record of 5-2 on Thanksgiving Day.
All three home teams are favorites in their Thursday games. The betting odds of DraftKings Inc DKNG show that the Lions have an advantage by 9.5 points, the Cowboys by 3.5 points and the Packers by 3.5 points.
If you bet on all three favorites to win, the odds are +212, meaning a $100 bet will turn into a profit of $212 if the Lions, Cowboys and Packers all win. If you bet on all three favorites to win the margin and achieve the above totals, the odds are +638, meaning a $100 bet will turn into a profit of $638 if all three teams win .
Since 2004, Thanksgiving Day favorites are 48-9 in games and 38-19 against the spread, like this Data von Action Network.
A Bears win could be one of the biggest Thanksgiving Day upsets since 1980, depending on how the lead plays out. The current record is the Dolphins’ victory over the Cowboys as a 10-point underdog in 1993. The Packers’ victory over the Lions in 2023 as an 8.5-point underdog is second.
Why this is important: The NFL games on Thanksgiving Day could be part of a huge week for betting shops. The Macquarie analyst, Chad Beynonestimates that U.S. bettors will place $4.5 billion worth of bets in the week beginning Nov. 25 through Dec. 1, according to Casino.org reported.
That amount would be an 11% increase over last year and is made possible by a record 38 states and Washington DC legalizing sports betting this year.
The prime time games, which usually take place at night, often see an increased number of bets with more viewers. The three games on Thanksgiving Day could all be treated as prime-time games, Beynon said.
The Thanksgiving Day games feature the red-hot Lions, who have won nine straight games and are currently the favorites to win Super Bowl LIX. The Lions are one of only four teams that have never been to the Super Bowl.
DraftKings lists the Lions as +250 favorites to win the Super Bowl, putting them ahead of the Kansas City Chiefs (+450), who are hoping for their third straight championship. The Packers have odds of +1,600 and the Dolphins have odds of +9,000.
The other teams on Thursday (Giants, Bears, Cowboys) all have +100,000 odds to win Super Bowl LIX as they most likely won’t make the NFL playoffs.
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This article was previously published and updated by Benzinga.
This image is an illustration created by MidJourney through artificial intelligence.
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