From Bounty Bowls to Butt Fumbles, The NFL On Thanksgiving Is Always Fun

For millions around the world, Thanksgiving Day is a day to give thanks--for all of the food you’re about to devour. The stuffing, the mashed potatoes, the mac and cheese, the cranberry sauce, and last but certainly not least, the star of the whole thing, that turkey. Of course, along with all of that, comes the real American pastime, the football. Thanksgiving is the ultimate football-watching holiday. Almost from the moment you start cooking and up until that last slice of pie has been consumed, football is on the television (especially since the NFL added that third game in 2006, saving us from just Detroit and Dallas games every year). It’s a showcase for the league, and over the years there have been some very memorable games, and in some cases, the games were memorable for things other than actual football.

So let’s take a trip down memory lane and take a quick look at some of the more memorable Thanksgiving Day football games.

Chicago Bears @ Detroit Lions, November 27, 1980

Thanksgiving Day 1980 and the hapless 4-8 Bears went into Detroit to play the 7-5 NFC Central-leading (very rare for the Lions to be leading anything in all their years playing on turkey day). The Lions were having their way with the Bears all day, up 17-3 heading into the fourth quarter, when quarterback Vince Evans picked the Bears up off the turf and rallied them to tie the game and take it into overtime (the first OT in the history of the Thanksgiving Day game). Then, before the ref could even put his quarter from the coin toss into his pocket, the Bears’ kick returner Dave Williams ran the kickoff back 95 yards to win the game for Chicago. It’s still one of only two games in NFL history to end on a kick return touchdown. Oh, and the Lions went on to finish 9-7 and lose the tiebreaker to Minnesota, thus failing to win the division and not make the playoffs. Dave Williams still can’t show his face in Detroit. Probably.

Green Bay Packers @ Detroit Lions, November 27, 1986

Another NFC Central battle, this one was memorable simply because neither defense decided to show up. Neither team was any good, the Packers were 2-10 and the Lions weren’t much better at 5-7, but that’s when you can get some of the more fun games. This one ended 44-40 Packers. Anytime you can get two NFL teams to both score 40 points in a game, you know you saw something special, no matter the quality of the teams. This was the second-highest scoring game in Thanksgiving Day history to boot. This game is also notable because Packers wide receiver Walter Stanley had the best game of his life. Stanley accounted for 207 all-purpose yards with three touchdowns, including an 83-yard punt return to win the game for Green Bay. This would be Stanley’s only punt return touchdown of his career, and he really didn’t do anything even close to this the rest of his career.

Philadelphia Eagles @ Dallas Cowboys, November 23, 1989

Just a little past 30-years to the day, these bitter NFC East rivals played in what affectionately would come to be known as the “Bounty Bowl”. On this day of giving thanks, the 1-12(!) Cowboys welcomed in the 7-4 Eagles at old texas Stadium. The Eagles then proceeded to destroy the Cowboys 27-0. Nobody cares about that. After the game was when the fun started. Cowboys head coach Jimmy Johnson alleged that Eagles head coach Buddy Ryan put a $200 bounty on Cowboys placekicker Luis Zendejas (who had played for the Eagles earlier in the season) as well as a $500 bounty on Cowboys quarterback Troy Aikman. Ryan denied all of this, famously uttering the line, “Why would I place a bounty on a kicker who can’t kick worth a damn?” The two teams would meet again in what was officially dubbed “Bounty Bowl 2”, resulting in another Eagles win, however the die had been cast, and these two teams would go on to reach a level of hostility that remains strong to this day.

Chicago Bears @ Detroit Lions, Thanksgiving Day, 1997

Just a quick note for this one. Detroit won this game 55-20. What’s the big deal? Well Detroit is usually terrible but they scored FIFTY-FIVE POINTS here. Still the most points scored by one team on Thanksgiving Day. And it’s Detroit, so let them have this.

Miami Dolphins @ Dallas Cowboys, November 25, 1993

Okay this was arguably the most memorable Thanksgiving Day game of them all, for so many reasons. First, the weather. It was near-freezing temps in Dallas on the day, windy, and snowing​. How lucky were we as fans to get a snow game in Dallas on Thanksgiving?! It gets better. The conditions were terrible, and the lack of scoring was the result. Dallas held a 14-7 edge, but in the second half, the Dolphins would kick three field goals to win the game. The last of these three field goals is where the fun begins. Fins kicker Pete Stoyanovich came on with time expiring to kick a game-winning 41-yard field goal but it was blocked by Cowboys defensive lineman Jimmie Jones. NBC sportscaster Dick Enberg famously called Dallas the winner as the ball would return to Dallas and they would just kneel once and walk away with the win. But inexplicably, Cowboys defensive lineman Leon Lett either forgot or basically didn’t know the rules of football, because after the ball was blocked, it landed like a top and began spinning on its point. Lett for some reason decided to try to pick it up and in doing so he slipped on the snow-covered turf and kicks the ball forward. By rule the ball was live and the Dolphins fell on it. Stoyanovich gets another shot, closer this time, and makes it. Game over. Leon Lett lives on in infamy by making one of the greatest gaffes in NFL history, on any day, let alone Thanksgiving.

New England Patriots @ New York Jets, November 22, 2012

The only game that doesn’t involve the Lions or Cowboys on our list is one of the most notorious in the long history of Thanksgiving Day football games. Why? Two words: Butt Fumble. No one cares at all that the Patriots took the Jets out back to the woodshed in this game, winning 49-19. All people care about is the fact that on one play in the second quarter, in front of 79,000 fans at MetLife Stadium and over 20 million around the world, Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez ran into the buttocks of an offensive lineman, fumbled the ball, and it was picked up by New England and ran back for a touchdown. That one play is on the Jets’ Mount Rushmore of worst plays in franchise history and they have not been the same since. It’s their Citizen Kane of craptacular football. End scene.

We can go on and on here--there are so many games to choose from. However, these six stand out the most. This should be another fun slate of Thanksgiving Day games this year, and who knows what will happen? Let’s just hope something fun does. Enjoy the games! Eat, drink, and be merry!

*Credit to the main photo of this article belongs to Glenn James (Dallas/Miami) Julio Cortez (Jets/Patriots) and Brad Bower (Dallas/Philadelphia) /Associated Press