How does the NFL decide who plays these games?
Tradition. The Lions and Cowboys always host Thanksgiving day games. If you’re asking how their opponents are chosen, or why additional teams don’t host Thanksgiving day games, then I don’t know.
Yeah, I was looking for how the opponents are chosen, I knew Dallas and Detroit were the host teams (I should have put that in the OP).
How did the tradition start?
I should have read the link first, since says how the Detroit tradition was started.
Thanksgiving NFL games were started to force everyone in America to see the Detroit Lions at least once a year whether we want to or not.
Other teams have asked to be hosts, but the Lions and Cowboys won’t give up the game. Many teams like the game because it gives their teams a long rest period toward the end of the season (10 days).
Of course, there is the short week before it, but it seems like players like long rest more than short preparation.
Plus, BobT, the inconvenient short week before Thanksgiving applies to both teams playing, so neither has an advantage. The longer rest period will apply to the teams playing on Thanksgiving, but not, in general, their next opponents. Thus, playing on Thanksgiving would seem to be an advantage in preparing for the next game.
Didn’t the Cowboys actually play the Lions one Thanksgiving? I’m pretty sure it was the early 90s, when CBS still had the NFC games. Is that true? If so, who was the second game that day? Or wsa there only one?