The 25 best Thanksgiving Day NFL games

This was the first year with regular-season overtime, and the Broncos played in the first overtime game to end in a tie. However, they got the win in regulation on Thanksgiving over the Lions. Detroit was up at halftime, but a big third quarter got Denver the lead and it held on in a close contest.

The ‘70s were a different time in the NFL. Earl Campbell carried the ball 33 times for the Oilers, for 195 yards and two touchdowns, while their quarterback, Dan Pastorini, completed only nine passes on 17 attempts. One of those passes was for a touchdown in the fourth quarter, though, which gave the Oilers the 30-24 win.

Speaking of overtime, this was the first-ever Thanksgiving Day game that featured bonus football. It did not take the Bears long to get the win either. Dave Williams returned the overtime kickoff 95 yards for the touchdown, ending the game right then and there.

So far, we haven’t see a single win from the two stalwarts of Thanksgiving on our list. That changes here. Neither the Lions nor the Packers had a good season, as neither team ended up with a winning record. In fact, Detroit won only four games. Fortunately for Lions fans, one of them was on Thanksgiving, which is always a nice bonus.

Hey, in the same year, the Lions and Cowboys both won exciting, three-point games. For a while, this game wasn’t terribly exciting, as the Cowboys were up 17-3 entering the fourth quarter. However, at that point the Patriots notched 10 points to tie the game at 17-all. Dallas kicker Rafael Septien made a 23-yard field goal late to give the home team a win.

Who doesn’t love a good shootout? This is one of the highest-scoring games in Thanksgiving history, but it was also a close one instead of one of those high-scoring affairs where one team shoulders the load. Anytime two NFL teams score at least 40, it’s bound to be exciting. Fans who had to wait to dig into their dinner probably didn’t have any complaints.

If you’re like us, you miss the Oilers a bit, don’t you? Sure, the team moved to Tennessee and the Oilers have been replaced by the Texans, but it just isn’t the same. This competitive game featured a defensive touchdown, a 77-yard touchdown pass and two scores from a man making his first appearance on this list, Barry Sanders.

Troy Aikman was hurt for this game, but the Cowboys, who would moved to 10-2 with the win, still got the victory. The quarterback that day? A plucky backup signal-caller named Jason Garrett. Dallas may have won, but Garrett was outdueled by Brett Favre, who threw for four touchdowns in this one.

This was another exciting barnburner to kick off Turkey Day right. It’s always nice when the Lions have a great game on Thanksgiving, as they are the team that starts the day of football, even now. Minnesota's Warren Moon threw for 384 yards. Scott Mitchell threw for 410 for Detroit. Oh, and Barry Sanders had a 50-yard touchdown of course.

The fourth quarter of this game was a real cliffhanger. Rich Gannon completed a touchdown pass to make it a 21-21 tie. Then the Lions kicked a field goal for the lead. However, Marcus Allen found the end zone later, and the Chiefs ended up with the victory.

Why include a game that was a blowout? Because the Lions’ 55 points is the most scored by one team in a Thanksgiving Day game. Plus, Detroit doesn’t have a great history of football success. Let’s let them bask in the memory of this one.

You definitely remember this one. It was the coin toss heard around the world. Jerome Bettis claimed he called heads. The ref said he called tails. The Lions won the toss and got the win in overtime. After this, the NFL changed the rules so that the player call heads or tails before the toss, not during it.

After the chaos in Detroit in 1998, the fun wasn’t over. This first quarter alone could get this game on the list. Randall Cunningham threw three touchdowns of over 50 yards, two to Randy Moss and one to Cris Carter. Moss added another 50-yarder in the fourth quarter for good measure.

These were bad times for the Lions. They came into this game winless under Marty Mornhinweg. The Lions came so close in this game. They scored a touchdown with 10 seconds left to make the score 29-27. If they made the two-point conversion, this one was going to overtime. Alas, the Lions failed, and they took their 10th loss on the season.

Like the Lions, the Cowboys were having a bad campaign in 2001. Also like the Lions, they made a late charge to try and get the win. Dallas scored three touchdowns in the fourth quarter to take the game from 26-3 to 26-24. Unfortunately for the Cowboys, that would be the last of their scoring.

For an AFC team, the Broncos have played in a weirdly high number of Thanksgiving Day games. Honestly, neither team really wowed on offense. And yet this game makes the list because it was the fourth-ever overtime game to take place on Turkey Day. Also, the quarterbacks were Jake Plummer and Drew Bledsoe, which is a fun bit of nostalgia.

This is the first game in the era of three Thanksgiving Day games. However, it still involves the Lions. Also, like a lot of Thanksgiving Day games, it involves Detroit losing. There were a lot of field goals in this game, but we also got a classic Brett Favre performance. The Hall of Famer went 31-of-41 for 381 yards and three touchdowns.

The Saints rushed out for an early lead, up 17-0 by the end of the first quarter. Dallas staged a comeback, and took a 27-23 lead in the fourth quarter. With only two minutes left in the game, though, Drew Brees threw a touchdown to Lance Moore, dropping the Cowboys to 3-8 on the year.

Games can’t get much closer than this. The two teams mostly exchanged field goals, but that includes one by Dan Bailey as time expired to give the Cowboys the home win. A one-point win with no time left on the clock? That’s about as exciting a climax as you can get.

This is the most recent overtime Thanksgiving game. There were big numbers all over the place. Matthew Stafford threw the ball 61 times, finishing with 441 yards and two touchdowns. Calvin Johnson had eight catches for 140 yards and a touchdown. Arian Foster ran for two scores. J.J. Watt had three sacks. In the end, the Texans kicked a field goal in extra time to move to 10-1 on the year.

The Patriots obliterated the Jets. It wasn’t close. It was a blowout pretty much from the get-go? Why is this game on the list then? We’ve got two words for you: Butt Fumble. That’s right. This is the game that gave us the infamous “Butt Fumble” by Mark Sanchez. For that reason alone, it belongs here. Yes, it is weird this is the first game on the list not involving the Lions or Cowboys. It is what it is.

Yes, this was a football game that involved Matt McGloin, but it was still really good! The running backs ruled the day here. Rashad Jennings had two rushing scores for the Raiders; DeMarco Murray had three for the Cowboys. Those three scores helped push Dallas to the win.

Later that same day in 2013, we got an intense game between these two heated AFC North rivals. Sure, the Ravens and Steelers were both 5-6 and looking to reach .500, but a win would still have major playoff ramifications. Justin Tucker was the hero for Baltimore, making five field goals. The Steelers scored a touchdown late but failed at a two-point conversion to get the potential tie.

From the AFC North to the NFC North. It was a defensive battle in cold, windy weather, but that’s what you want from a game like this on Thanksgiving, isn’t it? Two rivals slugging it out and playing a game that went down to the wire. That’s a great way to relax while digesting pumpkin pie.

No game from 2018 or 2019 made the list, so our most recent effort comes from 2017. The Lions were 6-4, and a win would have been huge for their playoff chances. The Vikings were up 27-10 during the third quarter, but then the Lions staged a comeback to make the game 27-23. Unfortunately, they couldn’t get any closer, and the Vikings, in that strange, magical Case Keenum year, moved to 9-2.