What Is the Tradition Behind the Dallas Cowboys and Detroit Lions Playing Every Year on Thanksgiving?

Thanksgiving is just one sleep away and while that does mean a lot of good family time, it does also include a few crucial NFL games. This year on thanksgiving fans will be treated to not one but three amazing matchups. The game day starts off with the Buffalo Bills taking on the Detroit Lions, this will be followed by the New York Giants taking on the Dallas Cowboys and finally, the New England Patriots taking on the Minnesota Vikings. 

Thanksgiving day is one that brings in a noteworthy amount of viewership, with many viewing records set on this day. Last year, Raiders-Cowboys on Thanksgiving had the highest regular-season audience, with 40.8 million average viewer. However, there is an interesting tradition that is followed every year for thanksgiving in the NFL. The Dallas Cowboys and the Buffalo Bills always play on thanksgiving day. let’s take a closer look at why that is the case.

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The tradition of having NFL games on thanksgiving is something that was originated by the Detroit Lions and their owner George A. Richards in 1934. In a bid to attract more fans to the stadium, Richards started organizing matches on thanksgiving, which has become a longstanding tradition of the league. 

Despite other teams having played before on Thanksgiving, Detroit managed to cement their tradition given that the team also had secured a network deal with NBC to broadcast this game across almost one hundred stations in the United States. The Cowboys started playing regularly on thanksgiving since 1966. They have missed games on thanksgiving on just two occasions, in 1975 and 1977. 

The Dallas Cowboys have smashed viewing figure records this season. In game week two during their game against the Cleveland Browns, the game drew in an audience of 27.2 million, which was the highest at the time. A few weeks back, the Cowboys smashed their own record by drawing in close to 30 million viewers during their game against the Packers. All indicators suggest that this record will be broken once again as they take on the New York Giants on thanksgiving. 

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