The NFL was founded on September 17th, 1920 – and since the first year the league existed, football games have been played on Thanksgiving day.

Over 100 years later, the NFL and Thanksgiving go together like;

• Gravy and mashed potatoes
• Pumpkin pie and whipped cream
• (Insert Detroit Lions losing football games joke here)

In 2023, the NFL will play another three games on this turkey-themed holiday.

Of course, the Detroit Lions and Dallas Cowboys will both host their traditional turkey day matchup.

This year, the primetime game under the lights will see Seattle hosting their divisional rivals from San Francisco.

If it’s the NFL Thanksgiving Day action you are looking for, then we have you covered in great detail below.

2023 NFL Thanksgiving Schedule

Game 1 – 1230pm ET – Green Bay Packers vs. Detroit Lions

Green Bay vs Detroit	Point Spread	ATS Records
Green Bay	+7.5	6-5 ATS (6-5 straight up)
Detroit	-7.5	7-3 ATS (8-2 straight up)

Turkey Day for the NFL kicks off at 1230pm Eastern this year when the Detroit Lions host their divisional rivals from Green Bay.

The Lions haven’t won a division title since Wisconsin discovered cheese.

This year, Detroit was actually favored to win the NFC North, and at 8-2 through ten weeks of the season, they are exceeding expectations to date.

After 31 years of watching Brett Favre and Aaron Rodgers under center, Pack fans turn their attention to Jordan Love.

Love has had plenty of good games in year one as a starting NFL quarterback but also plenty of bad.

This will be Love’s first time starting a Thanksgiving Day game, and a road win against a formidable divisional opponent would give Green Bay fans something to be thankful for.

Obviously, the most important thing to remember for the 1230 p.m. kick-off game is setting the Thanksgiving Day menu right, with proper appetizers fans of all teams can enjoy.

Being an NFL fan on Thanksgiving isn’t easy. The amount of food the average fan is expected to consume can be intimidating for some.

Pants with an elastic waistband are a must-have. Shirts or team jerseys that don’t need to be tucked in and that can hang loose are also recommended.

Game 2 – 430pm ET – Washington Commanders vs. Dallas Cowboys

Washington vs Dallas	Point Spread	ATS Records
Washington	+10.5	5-5-1 ATS (4-7 straight up)
Dallas	-10.5	7-3 ATS (8-2 straight up)

In our NFL Thanksgiving metaphor, the Detroit Lions are the appetizer, but the Dallas Cowboys, also known as America’s Team, are the main course.

The 430pm start time means that most of America will have their eyes on this game, another NFC divisional rivalry.

The Washington Commanders enter 2023 with Sam Howell as their quarterback.

This told us that by the time Thanksgiving rolled around, Washington would be focused on 2024 and not the rest of this year.

At 4-7, the Commanders will not make the playoffs this year.

There are many questions in Washington moving forward; who is their starting QB for Game 1 next year is one question that comes to my mind. 

Does Sam Howell get a second season to prove himself?

The Cowboys have far greater expectations than using next year’s draft pick to upgrade at the QB position.

On paper, this game might seem lopsided.

However, divisional rivals playing in a primetime slot with most of America watching means anything can and usually does happen.

I’m taking the 10.5 points and the traveling underdogs from Washington.

Game 3 – 820pm ET – San Francisco 49ers vs. Seattle Seahawks

San Francisco vs Seattle	Spread	ATS Records
San Francisco	-7	5-5 ATS (7-3 straight up)
Seattle	+7	5-4-1 ATS (6-4 straight up)

We want to start the 820 p.m. game by saying that anyone who began the day with appetizers and in front of their TV at 1230 p.m. ET in time for the opening game kick-off, we salute you for making it this far.

As most of us battle the effects of the turkey tryptophan and a third helping of pumpkin pie, West Coast football fans might not even have their belts unbuckled at this point of the day.

San Francisco started the season extremely underrated.

If Brock Purdy had been a first-round pick instead of the last pick in the NFL draft, many bettors might have started the year as San Francisco believers.

However, Purdy is coming off a game where he scored a perfect QB Rating.

On a side tangent – he threw five incompletions on the day, so I’m not sure he should get credit for a perfect rating – but I obviously did not develop the QB Rating algorithm.

Moving on… Seattle has some very talented names on the offensive side of the ball.

However, our in-house Seahawks Expert (Brent@BestOdds.com) tells me that despite all their talent, Seattle isn’t going to score points against the 49ers this week.

In fact, @Brentsky is all over Christian McAffrey to do great things against the Seahawks’ defense. 

Seattle should be thankful if their squad can keep this game close.

Detroit Lions Thanksgiving Day History

The Detroit Lions had an owner in 1934 who was known as a marketing guru long before society understood the impact of marketing on us all.

George A. Richards owned the Lions back then and decided that a Thanksgiving game was what the franchise needed to deflect some of the attention away from the very popular Detroit Tigers baseball team.

Despite dropping the first Thanksgiving game to the Chicago Bears, the idea of a holiday game proved to be a huge success.

The stadium was sold out, and the Lions had to turn away fans at the gate.

With 83 Thanksgiving games, Detroit has played the most Turkey Day games in NFL history.

Detroit has a Thanksgiving record of 37-44-2. (.458%)

In 1986, Detroit hosted Green Bay in a Thanksgiving Day classic.

The Packers trailed by 10 points in the 4th quarter but staged a holiday comeback, capped by an 83-yard punt return by Walter Stanley that held up as the game-winning touchdown.

Green Bay won 44-40 in what was the highest-scoring Thanksgiving played to date.

Dallas Cowboys Thanksgiving Day History

Although the Cowboys didn’t become a Thanksgiving staple until almost 30 years after the Lions, the Dallas Cowboys have become synonymous with our favorite foodie holiday.

The Cowboys have played 55 Thanksgiving games, 28 fewer than the Lions.

With an all-time Turkey Day record of 32-22-1, the Cowboys trail Detroit by only five wins for the Thanksgiving Day record.

Maybe the most memorable Thanksgiving Day game for Cowboys fans ended in disappointment.

In 1993, Dallas held a late 14-13 lead against the visiting Miami Dolphins.

Miami was trying for a game-winning field goal late in the 4th quarter, but the kick was blocked.

Instead of letting the ball come to a rest and taking over possession, Cowboys star Leon Lett had what can only be described as a brain cramp.

Lett tried to jump on the ball but was unsuccessful in his efforts, and when the snow cleared, Miami regained possession.

Dolphins kicker Pete Stoyanovich wouldn’t miss the second time, and Miami escaped this holiday encounter with a 16-14 victory.

The Thanksgiving Primetime Game

In 2006, the NFL decided that football fans across America were physically strong enough to withstand the impacts of tryptophan.

For the first time in Thanksgiving Day history, a third NFL game would be played.

This third game would be played at night, in the 8 pm primetime window.

However, unlike the two holiday early games, the third Thanksgiving game will not feature an anchor team playing in this time slot each year.

Instead, the teams will be rotated and differ on an annual basis.

The first-ever primetime Thanksgiving game featured the Denver Broncos taking on their division rivals from Kansas City.

The Chiefs won the game 19-10, and a new Thanksgiving tradition was born.

There have been a lot of memorable primetime Turkey Day games and some not-so-memorable ones.

NY Jets fans may still be trying to block out the 2012 classic, which ended 49-19 in favor of Tom Brady and his New England Patriots.

Maybe more memorable than watching the G.O.A.T. light it up on Thanksgiving is that the 2012 game is best remembered for Mark Sanchez and his infamous butt-fumble.

Ah, the Holidays.

Sometimes, they are great. Occasionally, we spend them with weird family members, and sometimes, we create a butt-fumble meme that is still going strong more than a decade later.

How To Bet Thanksgiving Day Games

Many of the betting strategies and techniques that apply to Thursday Night Football betting also come in handy when betting on Thanksgiving football.

After all, the teams playing on this Holiday face a shortened week.

All six teams playing on Thanksgiving will have played their Week 11 game just five days prior.

The schedule makers do take into consideration the shortened week for players.

Thanksgiving road teams all played at home the Sunday prior to the Holiday.

Limiting the amount of travel is a small consolation for playing on short rest, but it does help.

NFL Turkey Day Games Stats

– The Lions are as inept as a franchise can be. Still, they have a 37-44-2 outright record in Thanksgiving games.

– In contrast, the Cowboys are a very positive 31-21-1 on Turkey Day, despite the Leon Lett brain cramp game.

Single Game Records	Player	Stat Total
Most Passing Yards	Troy Aikman (1998)	455 Yards
Most Passing TDs	P. Manning / B. Griese	6 TDs
Most Receiving Yards	Andre Johnson (2012)	188 Yards
Most Rushing Yards	O.J. Simpson (1976)	273 Yards

History Of Thanksgiving Day Football

The first official NFL games hosted on Turkey Day date back to 1920.

However, in terms of current teams that play on this day, the Detroit Lions have hosted a Thanksgiving Day game since the 1934 season.

The Cowboys joined the tradition in 1966. Except for the 1975 and 1977 seasons, they’ve always hosted a game on Thursday.

A third game, usually between divisional rivals, was added to the slate as a primetime game in 2006. It was the Broncos vs Chiefs affair at Arrowhead Stadium.

This year’s three Thanksgiving games are divisional rival games, hopefully adding to the excitement and drama even more.