Thanksgiving Day and American football are two of the United States’ grandest, most internationally-known cultural symbols. When you mix them together with a little betting – NFLbets traditionally (get it?) covers one team and the over/under in each game – well, damn, Thanksgiving is awesome.
A brief run-through of a few historic factoids follow. As always, NFLbets reminds NFL bettors that most (most, not all) historical precedent in football bears no relation whatsoever to or on future events. In terms of the Thanksgiving Day NFL games, however, there are a couple noteworthy stats.
The New York Giants lost 28-20 to the Dallas Cowboys on Thanksgiving Day.
Adam Thielen couldn't finish his turkey leg after the Vikings' win over the Patriots. He will have a Thanksgiving dinner at home.
Dallas Cowboys beat New York Giants 28-20 on Thanksgiving Day. The game was the most-watched NFL regular-season game on network television in league history.
The Buffalo Bills beat the Detroit Lions 28-25 on Thanksgiving Day at Ford Field.
The Vikings' win over the Patriots on Thanksgiving means the Bears can't win the NFC North.
Von Miller is out for Thursday's Thanksgiving Day game against the Buffalo Bills.
The Lions are 7-7 after their dramatic 20-17 win over the Jets. Detroit's only loss in the last seven games came at home against the Bills on Thanksgiving.
Detroit Lions fans' confidence in the team's direction grew with each of the last three wins. The team lost to the Bills on Thanksgiving, but fans are still optimistic.
Dallas beat NYG 23-16 in Week 3 on Monday Night Football and 28-20 on Thanksgiving.
Thanksgiving is in the rearview mirror. There is still plenty of NFL action for Week 12.
The Detroit Lions are playing a Thanksgiving game against a team they should beat.
Ezekiel Elliott had his best performance of the season against the New York Giants on Thanksgiving.
Dallas Cowboys beat the New York Giants on Thanksgiving. Since then, they have played three games against non-rivals.
The Patriots scored 26 points against the Vikings on Thanksgiving Day.
The Lions have won four of their last five games. They beat the Bills on Thanksgiving.
Carolina is favored to beat Denver at home for Thanksgiving.
The Detroit Lions have won four of their last five games. The Vikings lost to the Buffalo Bills on Thanksgiving Day.
Buffalo Bills beat Detroit Lions 28-25 on Thanksgiving Day. The team is now in first place in the AFC East.
The Lions beat Buffalo on Thanksgiving. They covered the spread for the fourth consecutive week.
The No Fun League fined four Cowboys players for their Thanksgiving celebration.
The NFL season begins after Thanksgiving.
Dallas Cowboys are coming off a Thanksgiving win against the New York Giants. The Cowboys defense is the key for the Cowboys against Indianapolis Colts.
The Dallas Cowboys haven't played well on Thanksgiving since the opening of AT&T Stadium.
The New York Giants defense didn't play well on Thanksgiving. They have a division game against Washington in ten days.
Buffalo Bills and New England Patriots play each other on Thursday. It's the first time the teams have played eachother since Thanksgiving.
Dallas Cowboys host the Indianapolis Colts in prime time on Sunday. The Cowboys are resting after defeating the New York Giants on Thanksgiving.
Greg Cote's team was 10-6 overall and 5-10-1 against the spread. They had Upset of the Week with Panthers beating Broncos and had Lions with the points on Thanksgiving.
Von Miller suffered knee damage in Buffalo's Thanksgiving Day victory against the Detroit Lions.
Von Miller was carted off the field with a knee injury during the Thanksgiving Day win over the Lions. He will be out for at least a month.
There have been a lot of new subscribers since the Thanksgiving/Black Friday sales.
James Houston made his NFL debut on Thanksgiving. He recovered a fumble on his first snap and recorded two sacks in his three snaps on defense.
The Patriots lost to the Vikings on Thanksgiving.
NFL bettors were probably more thankful for what happened on Sunday than for the games on Thanksgiving.
The Lions are 3-1 straight up over their last four games and 4-0 against the spread. The Lions' three-game winning streak was snapped on Thanksgiving against Bills.
The Giants lost to the Dallas Cowboys on Thanksgiving Day. They are expecting reinforcements for Sunday's game against the Washington Commanders.
The Buffalo Bills beat the Detroit Lions 28-25 on Thanksgiving. They will play the New England Patriots next.
Buffalo Bills beat Detroit Lions 28-25 on Thanksgiving Day. Tyler Bass made a last-second field goal to win the game.
Jameson Williams was cleared to begin practicing last week. The Detroit Lions didn't practice because of the short turnaround to the Thanksgiving game.
Season five of Buffalo Rumblings is here. New England Patriots took a page from the Detroit Lions' playbook and created a Thanksgiving-day pizza recipe.
The Cowboys are on a winning streak after beating the Giants on Thanksgiving. The analytics roundup is back.
Justin Jefferson is the top receiver in the NFL. He had nine catches for 139 yards and a touchdown against the New England Patriots on Thanksgiving Day.
Ed Oliver was named AFC Defensive Player of the Week for his performance against the Detroit Lions on Thanksgiving. It was his first career award.
Von Miller suffered damage to the meniscus in his right knee in the Bills' win over the Lions on Thanksgiving Day.
The Vikings won their first home Thanksgiving game with a 33-26 victory against the Patriots.
Buffalo Bills beat Detroit Lions 28-25 to kick off American Thanksgiving.
Ed Oliver impressed in the Buffalo Bills' win over the Detroit Lions on Thanksgiving.
Malcolm Rodriguez and Rodarius Williams made their Thanksgiving Day debuts last Thursday.
Isaiah McKenzie had his best game of the season on Thanksgiving. The Patriots are focused on Stefon Diggs and Gabe Davis.
Isaiah McKenzie led the Buffalo Bills in receiving yards with 96 yards and a touchdown in their 28-25 victory over the Detroit Lions. All-22 looks at his success on Thanksgiving Day.
The New York Giants lost 28-20 to the Dallas Cowboys on Thanksgiving Day. They are now 7-4 on the season and in the playoff race.
The Lions lost to the Buffalo Bills on Thanksgiving. They are currently 4-7.
The Pittsburgh Steelers are not playing on Thanksgiving.
Jacksonville Jaguars beat the Baltimore Ravens in Week 12. Detroit Lions lost to the Buffalo Bills on Thanksgiving.
The NFL season kicked off on Thanksgiving with a lot of close games. The feast continued on Sunday with more action packed games, which are highlighted by TWSN NFL analysts.
BetMGM offers a $1,000 risk-free bet for new customers. The code NPBONUS is available for today's NFL Thanksgiving slate.
The Detroit Lions had their three-game winning streak snapped on Thanksgiving. They had a weekend off.
Thanksgiving weekend has come and gone. One gator defender nabbed a Turkey day turnover.
The New England Patriots lost to the Minnesota Vikings 33-26 in their Thanksgiving game.
After playing on Thanksgiving, the Patriots were NFL observers on Sunday.
The Detroit Lions lost to the Buffalo Bills on Thanksgiving. The team was close to beating the Kansas City Chiefs in 2019, but the game turned out to be a failure.
The Buffalo Bills won on Thanksgiving Day for the third time in the last four years.
Andrew Thomas played poorly in the New York Giants' Thanksgiving game against the Dallas Cowboys. Thomas is still one of the best offensive linemen in football.
Week 12 of the NFL schedule began on Thanksgiving Day. Three key games shook up the playoff picture and divisional standings.
The Minnesota Vikings' win over the New England Patriots on Thanksgiving means the Chicago Bears are out of the NFC North title race.
Six NFL teams have already played thanks to a three-game slate on American Thanksgiving.
All Indiana Bets is here to help you wrap up your Thanksgiving weekend.
NFL Week 12 has a loaded betting slate. There are no Thanksgiving Day games, so we get the full 13-game Sunday and Monday schedule of betting markets.
The Bills beat the Lions on Thanksgiving afternoon. They play the Patriots on Thursday.
DraftKings offers NFL free-to-play games, live betting odds, and more bonuses. The Thanksgiving insurance offer has been extended to Sunday games.
It's a rain-soaked Sunday post-Thanksgiving in the NFL for Week 12. There are seven different matchups on the slate.
Buffalo Bills beat Detroit Lions 28-25 on Thanksgiving Day. Stefon Diggs wore a Dog bone necklace.
Arizona Cardinals and Los Angeles Chargers hope to follow up their Thanksgiving performances with strong performances.
The Giants lost in Week 12, on Thanksgiving at the Cowboys.
Buffalo Bills beat Detroit Lions on Thanksgiving Day.
The Bills beat the Lions 28-25 on Thanksgiving. They are now 8-3 on the season and could be in first place in the AFC East by the end of the weekend.
The Patriots lost to the Vikings on Thanksgiving night. The team met with the media on Saturday.
SB Nation Reacts is a survey of fans across the NFL. Tampa Bay Buccaneers fans were busy preparing for Thanksgiving.
Brian Daboll got heated during the first quarter of the New York Giants' 28-20 loss to the Dallas Cowboys on Thanksgiving.
Thanksgiving weekend is a big time for college football. The Detroit Lions will be watching the games with an eye to the 2023 NFL draft.
The Dallas Cowboys play on Thanksgiving Day. They have three games in 11 days.
138 million people tuned into the three Thursday games on Thanksgiving Day.
The Minnesota Vikings lost to the Dallas Cowboys 40-3 last Sunday. The team has a short turnaround for a Thanksgiving night game against the New England Patriots.
Week 12 in the NFL is already underway with three games played on Thanksgiving. All of them were decided by eight points or less.
The only teams guaranteed to play on Thanksgiving are the Dallas Cowboys and Detroit Lions. Since 1977, the Lions have played 23 of 45 Turkey Day games against an NFC North rival – the Green Bay Packers, Chicago Bears and Minnesota Vikings.
The NFL's media viewership stats for the 2022 calendar year show that over 185 million people watched the NFL this year. The most-watched game of the year was Giants-Cowboys on Thanksgiving. Cowboys were in four of five most watched games of 2018. However, the league's average viewers per game are down. The change is due to Thursday Night Football moving to its streaming-exclusive Amazon Prime format.
Dallas Cowboys beat New York Giants last Thursday. The Cowboys dominated the Minnesota Vikings four days earlier. Dallas came from behind to win the game. Last Thursday's game was decided by a last-minute score.
Rodriguez made six tackles and a pass breakup in the Lions' 28-25 loss to the Buffalo Bills. Rodarius Williams made his debut for the Giants against the Dallas Cowboys. Both players were former Oklahoma State football players. Rodriquez was the second-highest graded linebacker and fourth- highest among all NFL defensive players in Week 12.
A.J. Brown had a horrible Thanksgiving holiday. He lost 7 pounds and had to miss a practice because of a stomach bug.
Josh Allen made plays with his legs during the Thanksgiving Day game between the Buffalo Bills and the Detroit Lions.
The Detroit Lions are preparing for a game against the Jacksonville Jaguars. The Jaguars beat the Baltimore Ravens last week. Detroit lost to the Bills on Thanksgiving. Minnesota Vikings can clinch the NFC North with a win and a Lions loss in Week 13. Washington holds the final playoff spot, but the Lions have the tiebreaker over the Commanders. The NFC East features four teams at least two games over .500. There is no room for error. It's a tie between Washington and Minnesota. They can win the division with one victory. If they lose, they'll lose the playoff race.
The Dallas Cowboys play three games in 11 days after Thanksgiving. They play the Green Bay Packers on Nov. 13, the Minnesota Vikings on November. 20 and the New York Giants onNov. 24. Here, we predict the outcome of each of the games.
138 million people watched the three Thanksgiving Day games. The New York Giants-Dallas Cowboys game was the most-watched regular season game ever. Buffalo Bills beat Detroit Lions 28-25, while Giants lost to Cowboys 28, 20. New England Patriots beat Minnesota Vikings 33-26. All three games had a Madden Player of the Game award. John Madden died in December 2021 at age 85.
The Cowboys beat the Giants on Thursday. Fox Sports drew 42 million viewers for the NFC East matchup. It's the most viewers ever for an NFL game. The previous record was 41.47 million people watching the game in 1990.
• Thanksgiving Day games were first played in the inaugural season of the NFL. The rogue AAFC and AFL also scheduled such games as a matter of course on their schedule, and the USFL might’ve, too, had it miraculously survived Donald Trump’s sending that league into a graveyard spiral.
• The Detroit Lions began hosting the annual game in 1945; for 13 consecutive years beginning in ’51, the Green Bay Packers came to Detroit. The Dallas Cowboys began hosting a Thanksgiving Day game annually in ’66.
• These are just two of five teams to have played more than 20 Thanksgiving Day games.
• The Cowboys are the most successful of any franchise which has played in nine or more Thanksgiving day games, going a healthy 30-19-1 SU (a winning percentage of .622) from 1966 through 2017, as compared to their overall regular-season mark of 477-321-6 (.593).
• The only other team to have a winning record in nine or more Thanksgiving Day games are the Decatur/Chicago Staleys/Bears at 17-15-2 between 1920 and 2015. Note that about half of these games were played against the Lions in Detroit, a series which is knotted 8-8 going into 2018’s holiday matchup.
• The Lions are 37-39-2 all-time, which includes an 1-11 beginning in 2001, surely not at all coincidentally the first season Matt Millen was the club’s general manager. Take out this plateau-within-a-plateau and Detroit is instead a respectable 36-28-2 (.545) on Thanksgiving.
• The Green Bay Packers have frequently appeared in Thanksgiving Day games as both a huge draw nationally and a division mate of the Lions. The Pack is just 14-20-2 in these games but let’s put an asterisk on this one as well, courtesy those Lions: Between 1951 and ’63, Green Bay was a weak 4-9 at Detroit in Thanksgiving games. Right around then, the Lions went into possibly interminable decline while the Packers were becoming a team of legend, and Packers at Detroit on Thanksgiving Day wouldn’t happen again until 1984. Since then, Green Bay is up 6-2 SU.
• Finally, by dint of sheer longevity, the Chicago/St. Louis/Phoenix/Arizona Cardinals have played in 23 Thanksgiving Day games from 1920 to 2008. In traditional Cardinals fashion, the team is a terrible 6-15-2 (.261 – well worse than even the overall franchise winning percentage of .399 over these years).
Of all the NFL games to bet on every year, the Thanksgiving Day games are second only to the Super Bowl in popularity. And thanks to certain traditions, these games represent one of the few instances in which long-term history is of use to the NFL bettor. Below run some FAQs on that most hallowed of all Thanksgiving traditions – betting on football!
NFLbets isn’t exactly sure how this myth remains so pervasive. Though the Dallas Cowboys have played on every Thanksgiving Day since 1996 and typically play a division rival, it’s not always the case that Washington draws the Dallas game on the second-favorite day for NFL betting. Of note: The Cowboys are 9-1 SU vs Washington on Thanksgiving and are 6-2 ATS in this matchup since 1990.
The only teams guaranteed to play on Thanksgiving are the Dallas Cowboys and Detroit Lions. Since 1977, the Lions have played 23 of 45 Turkey Day games against an NFC North rival – the Green Bay Packers, Chicago Bears and Minnesota Vikings.
For much of the post-merger period, the Lions have been mired in mediocrity, running up a 317-439-4 SU record from 1970 to 2018, a winning percentage of just .371. In this respect, the Lions are far more successful in Thanksgiving Day games, at 22-27 SU (or .449). And though Vegas lines rarely set the Lions as favorites on Thanksgiving Day despite institutional memory as well as any real or perceived homefield advantage, the Lions are a good bet on T-giving: They’re 25-24 ATS since 1970 in this game.
Bears at Lions is the second -most commonly-played Thanksgiving Day matchup – after Packers at Lions. Since 1945, Chicago has a 7-5 advantage in this game. Of note: Since the last realignment of divisions in the NFL, the Lions are 4-5 SU and ATS against their three NFC North division mates.
In terms of straight-up wins, Detroit is the all-time leader in Thanksgiving Day wins with 37. However, their cumulative win-loss record of 37-40-2 through 2018 ranks them just 20th overall. Only nine teams have played at least 10 games, and incredibly the Cowboys are tops at 31-19-1 (.618), followed by the New York Giants at 7-5-3 (.567) and Chicago Bears (18-15-2 or .543).
Worst in the NFL are Washington at 3-9 (.273) and the Chicago/St. Louis/Arizona Cardinals at 6-15-2 (.304). Only the Cincinnati Bengals (at 0-1), Tampa Bay Buccaneers (0-1) and Cleveland Browns (0-3) have gone winless on Thanksgiving Day; the Baltimore Ravens (2-0), New Orleans Saints (2-0), Carolina Panthers (1-0), Houston Texans (1-0) are the only undefeated sides; and only the Jacksonville Jaguars have never played on the holiday.
Maybe if you bet them on the money line (ML) – because as good as the so-called “America’s Team” is on Thanksgving for the fans, the Cowboys are just 20-19-1 ATS from 1978 to 2018.
Can this history teach us anything? In the case one of the perennial hosts, sure! While winning or losing on Thanksgiving in a certain year says nothing about doing so afterward, the superior records of these teams on the holiday would seem to indicate an institutional knowledge of how things are done for this particular game: The frequently-losing Lions become at least an average home team for Thanksgiving, i.e. figure them 3 to 6 points more than typical. And despite NFLbets’ cynicism about the historical record, we believe the Lions’ current 5-1 ATS run *is* meaningful.
Meanwhile, the home turf (literally) advantage Dallas gets on Thanksgiving has disappeared at some point during this decade – or perhaps it’s just the Cowboys Effect, which tends to overrate the ’Pokes. The Cowboys haven’t won ATS on Thanksgiving since 2010, going 0-7 ATS since then, with a mere 3-4 SU to show for it. Maybe the institutional memory is failing in Dallas, after all…
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