The Dallas Cowboys are one of two teams that historically play on Thanksgiving. In 1966, the fledgling Cowboys team, in its sixth year of existence, was searching for a way to gain national exposure and trying to build a fanbase when general manager Tex Schramm agreed to play on the holiday. The gambit paid off when the Cowboys set an attendance record, and the rest, as they say, is history.
The tradition of football on Thanksgiving predates professional football in America. The first known game played on the holiday came in 1876 when Yale and Princeton held a game. By 1920, when the National Football League was established, the tradition of football on Thanksgiving was already ingrained in American culture. The Detroit Lions became the first team to agree to an annual Thanksgiving appearance and are the perpetual host of the early game.
After an experiment substituting the St. Louis Cardinals for the Dallas Cowboys failed miserably in 1975 and 1977, the Cowboys were granted a guarantee to play at home in the second time slot. The annual Cowboys Thanksgiving game has become one of the most-watched weekday games of the season.
The Cowboys-Raiders 2021 Thanksgiving game drew an average of 38.3 million viewers. Amazon, which took over regular-season Thursday Night Football broadcasting this season, reported 15.3 million viewers on average for the first Thursday game in 2022.
The Cowboys have had many memorable Thanksgiving games over the 54 years the team has played the game. Among the most popular is the 1969 game against the San Francisco 49ers, which is said to be responsible for jump-starting this long-standing NFC rivalry. The game ended in a 24-24 tie and is still the only tie game on Thanksgiving.
Some Cowboys games on Thanksgiving are memorable for what went wrong rather than what went right. The Leon Lett game is a classic heartbreaker that saw the Miami Dolphins come to Texas Stadium. In a game marked by icy and snowy conditions in Dallas, the Cowboys had an opportunity to end the game, but Lett touched the ball on a blocked field attempt. Miami recovered and was able to kick the game-winning field goal on the next play.
Division-rival Washington has been a source of some of the most memorable moments on Thanksgiving Day games. The two teams have met nine times on Thanksgiving, and the Cowboys have dominated the series with a 7-2 all-time record.
In 1990, the Cowboys faced the then-Redskins in a memorable game that signaled the start of the Cowboys Dynasty of the1990ss. The team, led by quarterback Troy Aikman, receiver Michael Irvin, and running back Emmitt Smith, demonstrated their dominance, defeating Washington 27-17 to end a four-year losing streak.
This year, the Cowboys will face another division rival, the New York Giants. The two teams have met only once in a Thanksgiving Day contest, in 1992. Dallas triumphed 30-3 in that game. New York has played 14 times on Thanksgiving, but only thrice in the Super Bowl era. In those three games, the Giants have not scored an offensive touchdown.
Dallas will look to continue the tradition of denying the Giants opportunities to score and will add to the legacy of Thanksgiving Day classic games this season. Both teams have a lot riding on the game and come in with matching records but a significant difference in division records. Rumors are also swirling that both teams are courting the services of Odell Beckham Jr.
The Cowboys and Giants Thanksgiving Day game will begin at 3:30 p.m. CT at AT&T Stadium and will be broadcast on the Fox channel.