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If it’s Thanksgiving, it must mean it’s time to watch the Detroit Lions lose on national television again. While that’s the perception – and it’s technically an accurate one – the numbers say there’s almost a 50/50 chance that the Lions will prevail over the Chicago Bears.

The 2021 Thanksgiving tripleheader lineup

As has become the recent tradition, Thanksgiving Thursday was scheduled as a tripleheader day for NFL fans. The Nov. 25, 2021, lineup will be:

  • Chicago Bears at Detroit Lions, 12:30 p.m. ET, Fox
  • Las Vegas Raiders at Dallas Cowboys, 4:30 p.m. ET, CBS
  • Buffalo Bills at New Orleans Saints, 8:20 p.m., NBC

The 0-9-1 Lions have played on Thanksgiving every year since 1934 except in the World War II era of 1939-44. The Bears’ last Turkey Day appearance came just two years ago in 2019 when they knocked off the Lions, 24-20.

The start of a Detroit Lions tradition

Thanksgiving games in Detroit began in 1934, the Lions’ first year in the city. New owner G.A. Richards moved the franchise from Portsmouth, Ohio, and was looking to make a splash in a market that had thus far given pro football a lukewarm reception.

Richards got more than he could imagine with that first game. The undefeated Chicago Bears, the defending league champions, helped attract a capacity crowd of 26,000, and the Lions’ media guide said thousands more had to be turned away. The Bears earned a 19-16 victory behind a pair of Ace Gutowsky touchdowns.

Based on the immense interest in that first game, the Lions and the NFL made the holiday game a tradition. The Bears were the opponent through 1938, and the mid-week contest was put on hold in 1939 because of World War II. The Thanksgiving event was reinstituted in 1945, and the Lions have played 24 different teams since.

What is the Detroit Lions’ record on Thanksgiving?

For all their struggles throughout the remainder of most seasons – they’ve posted winning records in just 10 of the last 37 years – the Detroit Lions are competitive in Thanksgiving games. Their record is 37-42-2.

The Green Bay Packers and Bears have provided the competition in nearly half the games. The Lions are 12-8-1 against Green Bay and 8-10 against Chicago. The Packers were the opponent for 13 consecutive years beginning in 1951.

Three Thanksgiving games involving Detroit have gone to overtime, with two of them being particularly memorable. In 1980, David Williams of the Bears returned the opening kickoff of the extra period 95 yards for a touchdown, making for what was at the time the shortest OT game in NFL history.

In 1998, the Lions edged the Pittsburgh Steelers on a 42-yard field goal by Jason Hanson. The overtime began with controversy over the handling of the coin toss to determine who would possess the ball first. Steelers captain Jerome Bettis insisted he called tails, but audio afterward determined that he said “heads-tails.”

When the coin landed tails, referee Phil Luckett awarded the toss to the Lions, who took the kickoff and drove to the winning field goal.

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Staff Writer, Producer - Motorsports

John Moriello

John Moriello started covering sports in 1982, began digital publishing in 1995, and joined Sportscasting in 2020. A graduate of St. John Fisher University, he finds inspiration in the underdogs and the fascinating stories sports can tell (both the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat). John expertly covers all aspects of NASCAR.

Beginning with his 2014 coverage at Fox Sports of the aftermath of the dirt-race tragedy in which Kevin Ward Jr. died after being struck by a car driven by NASCAR Hall of Famer Tony Stewart, John has excelled as a journalist who specializes in the motorsports world. He previously spent more than three decades covering high school sports and worked as a beat writer covering Big East football and basketball, but NASCAR is now where the true expertise falls.

John is a member of the New York State Basketball Hall of Fame (2013), the President of the New York State Sportswriters Association, and a two-time Best of Gannett winner for print and online collaborations whose work has appeared on FoxSports.com and MaxPreps.com.