One of the great American traditions returns Thursday: Thanksgiving football! While Thursday Night Football has taken some of the uniqueness out of playing the midweek games, it's still a time-honored tradition around the country to watch the NFL while stuffing your face with food.
This year's iteration of games includes the Lions and Bears (combined record: 3-16-1), the Cowboys and Raiders, and the Bills versus the Saints. It would take a lot, though, for any of them to crack our list of the most memorable Thanksgiving NFL moments of all-time:
5) 1976 - Lions 27, Bills 14: Our first performance comes in a loss, and a fairly convincing one at that. Detroit scored the first 20 points of the game to put things in cruise control late, but what stands out to this day is the record-setting performance of OJ Simpson. The Buffalo running back set a then-NFL record with 273 rushing yards and two touchdowns. He got very little help - his quarterback, Gary Marangi, completed 4-of-21 passes - but Simpson's performance is remembered to this day (even if the legacy of it is obviously clouded by... well... you know).
4) 1980 - Bears 23, Lions 17 (OT): Chicago overcame a 17-3 fourth quarter deficit to force overtime, and only needed one play to make a little NFL history. On the opening kick of the extra session Dave Williams went 95 yards to the house for the victory, the third and final kick return touchdown of his career. It's one of only two times in league history that a kick return was returned for a score in overtime.
3) 1998 - Lions 19, Steelers 16 (OT): Again the game wasn't known so much for the 65 minutes the two teams played, as much as a singular moment. In the coin flip to determine possession in overtime, the Steelers' Jerome Bettis claimed he called "tails". Referee Phil Luckett heard "heads", it was tails, after an argument Detroit was given the ball, marched down the field and scored a game-winning field goal without Pittsburgh ever touching it.
2) 1974 - Cowboys 24, Washington 23: Clint Longley appeared in nine games over a three-year NFL career, completing fewer than 50 percent of his passes with five touchdowns to four interceptions. Alas, he'll live in Thanksgiving Day lore forever with his heroics in '74. Dallas trailed 16-3 in the third quarter when, adding injury to insult, Hall of Famer Roger Staubach got hurt, thrusting the rookie Longley into his first NFL game. He led a pair of touchdown drives to give the Cowboys a 17-16 edge, and after Washington took the lead back, Longley had a little magic left. He led the winning drive, capped by a 50-yard touchdown to Drew Pearson with 28 seconds left to lift Dallas to the one-point win.
1) 1993 - Dolphins 16, Cowboys 14: As if there were any other choice? In the snow in Dallas (yes, really) we've seen the video every Thanksgiving for nearly three decades, and likely will for another three. Going for the win, Miami saw its field goal attempt blocked, Dallas' Leon Lett inexplicably tried to pick up the loose ball, failed but made contact, so it was a fumble that the Dolphins recovered. Take two at the field goal was good and Miami won by a pair.