Thanksgiving football ends with a first in NFL history
Food, family, football; what a time Thanksgiving is. This year was as good as any, as NFL fans got to watch Thanksgiving football end in historic fashion.
Since 1933, long before the NFL merger, the Detroit Lions have hosted opponents on Thanksgiving. Years later, in 1966, the Dallas Cowboys followed suit and joined in on the tradition. To this day, neither of these teams has gone without playing a home game on Turkey Day.
In 2006, the league gave fans an additional Thanksgiving football game, annually increasing the total number of contests during the Thursday holiday to three. This year, fans got to watch the Buffalo Bills battle the Lions, New York Giants square off against the Cowboys, and New England Patriots take on the Minnesota Vikings.
After three entertaining matches, Thanksgiving football ended in a way it never had before. For the first time in the three-game era, all three contests ended with a one-possession deficit. This is also the first time since 2002 that this feat was achieved at the conclusion of Thanksgiving football, regardless of how many games were played.
Buffalo beat Detroit by three (28-25). Dallas won by eight against their New York division rivals (28-20). Minnesota finished the day with a seven-point win in New England (33-26). And with that, NFL history was made.
Fans were truly treated to some exhilarating Turkey Day football, largely thanks to a last-minute drive by the New York Giants.
The New York Giants' last-second touchdown made this Thanksgiving football stat possible
Due to the combined efforts of New York's offense and a missed field goal from Cowboys kicker Brett Maher, the Giants were able to make their game a one-possession contest as the clock hit zero.
With 1:13 left in the fourth quarter, Maher went out to kick a 46-yard field goal, but the veteran kicker missed to the right.
The Giants took over at their own 45 and marched downfield with ease. Eventually, with eight seconds left on the clock, Big Blue got in for six.
yay Daniel Jones to Richie James TD https://t.co/GQ14179BIs
New York followed their touchdown with an onside kick, but Dallas recovered; making Thanksgiving history. This is thanks to Daniel Jones and Richie James, with some help from Brett Maher.