The Detroit Lions history in Thanksgiving Day games

The Detroit Lions have been a Thanksgiving Day tradition ever since the team moved to the Motor City in 1934.

This year, the Lions host the Green Packers for the 22nd-ever Thanksgiving matchup between the two teams, the most on the holiday in NFL history. The Lions hold a winning record all-time over their NFC rivals on the holiday with a 12-8-1 record.

The Lions have played 83 total times on Turkey Day and the tradition has happened every year since 1945. Then-team owner G.A. Richards started the tradition to try to gain traction with Detroit's fanbase in the team's first season in the city.

The Lions lost the first-ever Thanksgiving game to the Chicago Bears, 16-13, in front of a sold-out, 26,000 person crowd at University of Detroit Stadium, located on 6 Mile. It was the first nationally broadcast Thanksgiving game, carried by over 90 radio stations.

Here is a look back into the long history of the Lions' games on the holiday.

All-time Thanksgiving record

Since the tradition started, the Lions have an all-time 37-44-2 record on Thanksgiving Day games. The Lions were above .500 for most of the 20th century before falling off thanks to two long losing streaks. The Lions are 6-17 on Thanksgiving this century, dragged down by a nine-game skid in 2004-12 and an active six-game losing streak dating back to 2016.

That 2016 win came against the Minnesota Vikings when Jim Caldwell was the head coach and Matthew Stafford was under center. The Lions won, 16-13, as Stafford began the game with a 2-yard touchdown pass to Anquan Boldin. Matt Prater added three field goals and the defense held former No. 1 overall pick Sam Bradford and the Minnesota offense in check all afternoon.

Thanksgiving winning and losing streaks

That nine-game losing streak from 2004-12 was the worst Turkey Day run in franchise history. It spanned four head coaches — Steve Mariucci, Dick Jauron (as interim), Rod Marinelli and Jim Schwartz — before it finally came to an end with a 40-10 win over the Packers in 2013 in Schwartz's final season. The worst loss during the streak was a 47-10 thumping by the Tennessee Titans during the winless 2008 season.

The best stretch of Thanksgiving performances came in the first half of the 1950s when the Lions were one of the best teams in the NFL. The Lions won six straight on Thanksgiving from 1950-55, including five straight over the Packers. Hall of Fame quarterback Bobby Layne, who was part of three NFL-champion Lions squads, was under center for the streak. The biggest win was 34-15 win over Green Bay in 1953, a year the Lions won it all.

Memorable Thanksgiving moments in Detroit

Lawrence Taylor's winning pick-six: The 1982 Thanksgiving battle between the New York Giants and the Lions was a defensive battle defined by a memorable highlight for one of the best defensive players of all-time. With the score tied 6-6 in the fourth quarter, Lawrence Taylor dropped into coverage on the goal line and jumped in front of a Gary Danielson pass to the flat. Taylor returned the interception 97 yards for a pick-six, the only touchdown of the game, to give New York a 13-6 win.

The Jerome Bettis coin flip fiasco: Detroit native Jerome Bettis is responsible for the most infamous moment of the Lions’ Thanksgiving tradition. Bettis’ Steelers tied the 1998 game on a Norm Johnson field goal with 4 seconds left in regulation. When the Hall of Fame running back went to midfield to call the overtime coin toss, he appeared to call tails, but referee Phil Luckett heard heads. The coinflip landed on tails, and the Lions got the ball to start overtime and went on to win on a Jason Hanson field goal, 19-16.

Jim Schwartz vs. the red challenge flag: The Lions' miserable nine-game skid can be best defined by the 34-31 overtime loss to the Houston Texans in 2012. Justin Forsett scored on an 81-yard run in the third quarter, though the touchdown never should have counted. Forsett’s elbow and knee hit the ground short of a first down, but Lions coach Jim Schwartz threw a challenge flag on the play. Unfortunately, because the play was set to be reviewed automatically, Schwartz's challenge drew a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty AND wiped out the official booth review that would have called back the score. The Texans completed their comeback after Hanson missed a field goal in overtime.

Ndamukong Suh's stomp: Another defining moment in the Lions' losing streak happened in the 2011 loss to the Packers. Suh cemented his reputation as one of the NFL’s dirtiest players on Nov. 24, 2011, when he was ejected from the 27-15 loss after he stomped on the right arm of Packers offensive lineman Evan Dietrich-Smith. Suh was suspended two games for the first quarter incident.

Barry Sanders' national show: Barry Sanders had a lot of memorable performances during his 2,053-yard 1997 season, but his dazzling Thanksgiving game against the Bears ranks near the top. He ran for 167 yards and three touchdowns to lead the Lions to a 55-20 win. Sanders scored on runs of 40, 25 and 15 yards as the Lions scored 45 straight points to rally from a two-possession deficit.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: The Detroit Lions history in Thanksgiving Day games