The thought of the American holiday of Thanksgiving conjures up several images – roasted turkey with all the traditional side dishes, family and friends gathering together to share their gratitude, and football.
The Dallas Cowboys, in particular, are a part of that Thanksgiving tradition. The Cowboys and the Detroit Lions are the two NFL teams that always host turkey day games. Here’s a look at how that tradition came about.
Why Do the Dallas Cowboys Always Play on Thanksgiving?
The Lions’ Thanksgiving history started decades earlier than the Cowboys, but that doesn’t make them any less of a part of the tradition.
The Cowboys were established in 1960, and it wasn’t by the current owner, Jerry Jones. The Cowboys’ beginnings were mired in adversity as they were the league’s first modern era expansion team, and many of the original league owners weren’t happy about it.
That didn’t stop Clint Murchinson Jr. from founding the team. He remained the majority owner until he sold the team in 1984 to H.R. “Bum” Bright. In 1989, Bright faced his own financial troubles and sold the team to Jones, who immediately began working on getting the Cowboys another Super Bowl win.
After former GM Tex Schramm saw the success the Lions were having on Thanksgiving Day, he decided Dallas would also host a holiday game and signed them up.
Despite being limited by calf and knee injuries in practice this week, Cowboys WR George Pickens is expected to play on Thanksgiving against the Chiefs, per source.https://t.co/dX978SFjLR pic.twitter.com/RNmqbcwqQD
— Dianna Russini (@DMRussini) November 26, 2025
While the Lions wanted to get their fans into their stadium, Schramm wanted to get the Cowboys national attention. The team was struggling at that time under head coach Tom Landry, and the Thanksgiving game guaranteed some revenue.
Schramm need not worry, the Cowboys broke their own record for attendance with 80,259 fans who came to watch their team beat the Cleveland Browns 26-14 at the Cotton Bowl.
Since then, the Cowboys have only missed two Thanksgiving games. Once in 1975 and the other in 1977, the NFL gave the games to the then St. Louis Cardinals in an attempt to boost their national exposure.
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The Lions have always played the early game, and the Cowboys play the late game. The league has added a prime time game to the schedule, which rotates between teams.
For the 2025 holiday schedule, the Lions will host the Green Bay Packers, while the Cowboys will face the Kansas City Chiefs in Arlington, Texas. The prime time game is the Cincinnati Bengals at the Baltimore Ravens.
Headed into their 2025 game, the Cowboys are 34-22-1. They enter this game against their divisional foe with a 5-5-1 record, while the Chiefs are 6-5.
According to PFSN’s metric, the Cowboys’ offense has an Offensive Impact score of B+ and a Defensive Impact grade of D. The Lions need to beat the Packers to keep their playoff hopes alive.
