The turkey is in the oven, the parade is rolling down Woodward Avenue, and on TVs across America a familiar sight flickers to life: a sea of Honolulu blue kicking off just after lunchtime. For generations of fans, the Detroit Lions are as much a part of Thanksgiving as stuffing and pumpkin pie.
But every year, as Detroit trots out for another holiday showdown, the same question gets asked on couches and in group chats everywhere: Why is it always the Lions? Of all 32 NFL teams, how did this franchise, famous as much for heartbreak as for glory, end up with a permanent reservation on the nation’s football calendar?
The answer starts nearly a century ago with a struggling team, an empty stadium, and a radio mogul looking for a hit.
A team in search of a crowd
The Lions didn’t even start out as the Lions. They began life as the Portsmouth Spartans, a small-town NFL club from Ohio. In 1934, radio executive George A. Richards bought the franchise and moved it to Detroit, rebranding it as the Lions to complement baseball’s Tigers and to signal that his new team intended to rule the football “jungle.”
The move gave Detroit a pro football team, but it didn’t instantly deliver fans. The Lions played at the University of Detroit Stadium, where crowds were modest and gate receipts were disappointing. Richards, who owned powerful station WJR and had deep connections in the broadcasting world, knew he needed something dramatic to get attention.
If he couldn’t fill the stands the conventional way, maybe he could turn one regular-season game into a must-see event for the whole country.
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The First Thanksgiving Game: A gimmick that worked
Richards’ big idea was simple but bold: host a special game on Thanksgiving Day, a time when most people were home, off work, and looking for entertainment.
To make it truly irresistible, he invited the Chicago Bears, then a powerhouse and the reigning NFL champions. His pitch to the league and to NBC’s radio network was that this wouldn’t just be another football game; it would be a national spectacle. NBC agreed to carry the broadcast across a sprawling network of stations, turning a local promotion into coast-to-coast programming.
On Thanksgiving Day 1934, the plan paid off. The 26,000-seat stadium was sold out, with thousands more reportedly turned away. Detroit lost a tight contest, 19-16, but it hardly mattered. The stands were full, the Lions were suddenly on the national radar, and the radio broadcast had introduced millions of listeners to Thanksgiving football in Detroit.
What started as a marketing gimmick had worked so well that it didn’t make sense to treat it as a one-time stunt. A tradition was quietly born.
From stunt to institution
After that first success, the Lions kept coming back to Thanksgiving. Year after year, they hosted holiday games, usually against big-name opponents, carving out a ritual of their own on the NFL calendar.
There were interruptions during World War II, but once play fully resumed, Detroit’s stranglehold on the Thanksgiving afternoon slot was firmly established. For a long time, the Lions were essentially the Thanksgiving game.
As technology evolved, the tradition only grew stronger. What had started on radio crossed over to television, giving the Lions a national audience that many other teams could only dream of.
By the time the Dallas Cowboys joined as a regular Thanksgiving host in the 1960s, Detroit’s place was too entrenched to question. Networks appreciated the reliable ratings. The league valued the continuity. Families wrapped their schedules around the midday kickoff. Whether the Lions were contenders or bottom-feeders, the game itself had become part of the holiday’s cadence.
Why do the Lions still play every year?
At this point, the answer is less about contracts or schedules and more about identity. The Lions’ Thanksgiving game is a blend of tradition, business, and civic pride. The NFL could, in theory, move another team into that midday slot, but it would be messing with nearly a century of continuity.
TV partners know that the Lions draw reliable holiday viewership, whether fans are tuning in to cheer for Detroit, root against them, or just let the game hum in the background while they make candied yams.
For Detroiters, especially, the game is woven into the fabric of the day. It pairs with the downtown parade, family gatherings, and the bittersweet hope that maybe this is the year.
The original stunt has long since faded into history, but the ritual it created remains. At some point, the question stopped being “Why do the Lions play on Thanksgiving?” and became “Would Thanksgiving feel right if they didn’t?”
Detroit Lions Thanksgiving Day games results
Take a closer look at every Lions Thanksgiving Day game result, from 1934 onwards.
| Year | Opponent | Result (score) |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 |  Chicago Bears |
W, 23–20 |
| 2023 |  Green Bay Packers |
L, 29–22 |
| 2022 |  Buffalo Bills |
L, 28–25 |
| 2021 | Chicago Bears |
L, 16–14 |
| 2020 |  Houston Texans |
L, 41–25 |
| 2019 | Chicago Bears |
L, 24–20 |
| 2018 | Chicago Bears |
L, 23–16 |
| 2017 |  Minnesota Vikings |
L, 30–23 |
| 2016 | Minnesota Vikings |
W, 16–13 |
| 2015 | Philadelphia Eagles |
W, 45–14 |
| 2014 | Chicago Bears |
W, 34–17 |
| 2013 | Green Bay Packers |
W, 40–10 |
| 2012 | Houston Texans |
L, 34–31 (OT) |
| 2011 | Green Bay Packers |
L, 27–15 |
| 2010 |  New England Patriots |
L, 45–24 |
| 2009 | Green Bay Packers |
L, 34–12 |
| 2008 |  Tennessee Titans |
L, 47–10 |
| 2007 | Green Bay Packers |
L, 37–26 |
| 2006 |  Miami Dolphins |
L, 27–10 |
| 2005 |  Atlanta Falcons |
L, 27–7 |
| 2004 |  Indianapolis Colts |
L, 41–9 |
| 2003 | Green Bay Packers |
W, 22–14 |
| 2002 | New England Patriots |
L, 20–12 |
| 2001 | Green Bay Packers |
L, 29–27 |
| 2000 | New England Patriots |
W, 34–9 |
| 1999 | Chicago Bears |
W, 21–17 |
| 1998 |  Pittsburgh Steelers |
W, 19–16 (OT) |
| 1997 | Chicago Bears |
W, 55–20 |
| 1996 |  Kansas City Chiefs |
L, 28–24 |
| 1995 | Minnesota Vikings |
W, 44–38 |
| 1994 | Buffalo Bills |
W, 35–21 |
| 1993 | Chicago Bears |
L, 10–6 |
| 1992 | Houston Oilers | L, 24–21 |
| 1991 | Chicago Bears |
W, 16–6 |
| 1990 |  Denver Broncos |
W, 40–27 |
| 1989 |  Cleveland Browns |
W, 13–10 |
| 1988 | Minnesota Vikings |
L, 23–0 |
| 1987 | Kansas City Chiefs |
L, 27–20 |
| 1986 | Green Bay Packers |
L, 44–40 |
| 1985 |  New York Jets |
W, 31–20 |
| 1984 | Green Bay Packers |
W, 31–28 |
| 1983 | Pittsburgh Steelers |
W, 45–3 |
| 1982 |  New York Giants |
L, 13–6 |
| 1981 | Kansas City Chiefs |
W, 27–10 |
| 1980 | Chicago Bears |
L, 23–17 (OT) |
| 1979 | Chicago Bears |
W, 20–0 |
| 1978 | Denver Broncos |
W, 17–14 |
| 1977 | Chicago Bears |
L, 31–14 |
| 1976 | Buffalo Bills |
W, 27–14 |
| 1975 |  Los Angeles Rams |
L, 20–0 |
| 1974 | Denver Broncos |
L, 31–27 |
| 1973 |  Washington Redskins |
L, 20–0 |
| 1972 | New York Jets |
W, 37–20 |
| 1971 | Kansas City Chiefs |
W, 32–21 |
| 1970 |  Oakland Raiders |
W, 28–14 |
| 1969 | Minnesota Vikings |
L, 27–0 |
| 1968 |  Philadelphia Eagles |
L, 12–0 |
| 1967 | Los Angeles Rams |
L, 31–7 |
| 1966 |  San Francisco 49ers |
L, 41–14 |
| 1965 | Baltimore Colts |
T, 24–24 |
| 1964 | Chicago Bears |
L, 27–24 |
| 1963 | Green Bay Packers |
T, 13–13 |
| 1962 | Green Bay Packers |
W, 26–14 |
| 1961 | Green Bay Packers |
L, 17–9 |
| 1960 | Green Bay Packers |
W, 23–10 |
| 1959 | Green Bay Packers |
L, 24–17 |
| 1958 | Green Bay Packers |
W, 24–14 |
| 1957 | Green Bay Packers |
W, 18–6 |
| 1956 | Green Bay Packers |
L, 24–20 |
| 1955 | Green Bay Packers |
W, 24–10 |
| 1954 | Green Bay Packers |
W, 28–24 |
| 1953 | Green Bay Packers |
W, 34–15 |
| 1952 | Green Bay Packers |
W, 48–24 |
| 1951 | Green Bay Packers |
W, 52–35 |
| 1950 | New York Yanks | W, 49–14 |
| 1949 | Chicago Bears |
L, 28–7 |
| 1948 | Chicago Cardinals | L, 28–14 |
| 1947 | Chicago Bears |
L, 34–14 |
| 1946 | Boston Yanks | L, 34–10 |
| 1945 | Cleveland Rams | L, 28–21 |
| 1938 | Chicago Bears |
W, 14–7 |
| 1937 | Chicago Bears |
L, 13–0 |
| 1936 | Chicago Bears |
W, 13–7 |
| 1935 | Chicago Bears |
W, 14–2 |
| 1934 | Chicago Bears |
L, 19–16 |
Which teams have faced the Lions most on Thanksgiving?
Although the Lions faced the Bears first, they've gone toe-to-toe with the Packers the most. Detroit holds a respectable 12-9-1 record against Green Bay on Turkey Day.
Dan Campbell & Co. hope to pad that record on Thursday when the two teams renew their decades-long rivalry. The Lions are narrowly favored by 2.5-points at home, with the game total set at 48.5.
Read our Packers vs. Lions predictions ahead of kick off at 1:00 p.m. ET.
The Lions and Thanksgiving are inseparable
When Thanksgiving rolls around and the Lions appear on your screen, you’re not just watching another regular-season game. You’re tuning into an 80-plus-year story that began as a desperate promotion and grew into a defining piece of American sports culture.
The Lions play on Thanksgiving because, somewhere along the way, the holiday and the team became inseparable.
