When Was The Last Time The Detroit Lions Won A Thanksgiving Day Game – And Why Do The Lions Play on Thanksgiving Every Year?

The Detroit Lions may not have been the best team in the NFL for the past 30+ years, however, under head coach Dan Campbell that is changing quickly. The surging 8-2 Lions head into their annual Thanksgiving Day game with a huge chip on their shoulder. Why? It’s a divisional game vs. the Packers, and it has been a long time since the Lions have walked off-the-field winners on Turkey Day!

Why the Lions play on Thanksgiving

First off, let’s get one thing straight. If it wasn’t for the Detroit Lions, there wouldn’t be Thanksgiving Day football. It’s true!

According to Click on Detroit, back in 1934 George Richards bought the Lions, who were the Portsmouth Spartans at the time, and moved the team to Detroit.

The Lions, at that time, were looking for new ways to draw fans. As a marketing idea, Richards convinced NBC to broadcast a Thanksgiving game on 94 stations across the country. The idea was a success from the very first year! The Lions would end up selling out their first Thanksgiving Day game (26,000 seats) – and they started to get national recognition for being the only team that wanted to play on Thanksgiving.

Since then the annual Thanksgiving Day NFL games have grown 1000-fold in popularity. The Dallas Cowboys jumped on board the Turkey Day schedule in 1966 for the same reason the Lions did 32 years prior. They wanted and needed more popularity.

Then GM Tex Schramm thought it was a great chance to showcase the Dallas Cowboys on a national scale – and also show off the soon-to-be very popular Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders as well. As we now know, the move was a brilliant one.

Detroit Lions Thanksgiving Day Drought

For many years NFL fans used to groan on Thanksgiving. Not due to too much food, but the fact that they had no choice but to watch the woeful Lions.

That isn’t the case in 2023. While the Lions’ last Thanksgiving win came in 2016, when they defeated Minnesota 16-13, this year is a whole different story.

Not only is Detroit a big favorite to win Thursday afternoon, but the players know how much this particular game means to the fans and the city. They also know that the team has lost this game seven straight Thanksgiving Day contests in a row.

I have a good feeling that streak will end this season. That you can bet on!