Printable 2014 NFL Thanksgiving Football Schedule

Printable 2014 NFL Thanksgiving Football Schedule

The 2014 NFL Thanksgiving football schedule takes place on November 27^th, 2014. There are three games on the ticket for Turkey Day this year with the first being the traditional Chicago vs Detroit game that is being aired on CBS at 12:30 PM EST. The afternoon game features the Eagles traveling to take on the Dallas Cowboys, while the nightcap features the defending champion, Seattle Seahawks, traveling to take on the San Francisco 49ers.

Thanksgiving Football Television Networks

For the 2014 Thanksgiving games, there will be three different networks lined up to broadcast the contests. CBS will air the 1230 game between Chicago and Detroit, while Fox will show the 4:30 PM game between the Eagles and Cowboys. NBC will show the night game between rivals Seattle and San Francisco played at the 49ers home field.

History of NFL Thanksgiving Football Games

The idea of playing football (American style) on Thanksgiving goes back to 1876. This was shortly after the American version of the game was invented and featured Yale and Princeton playing one another on Thanksgiving. About ten years later, the University of Michigan started a tradition to play on Thanksgiving between 1885 and 1905 and is considered to be the start of classic Thanksgiving football matchups.

The NFL has held regular Thanksgiving football games in the United States since the league was started up in 1920. Today, there are three NFL games played each Holiday with two of the games always being hosted by the Dallas Cowboys and the Detroit Lions. During these games, one team from each conference pays either team on a rotational basis. The third game does not feature fixed opponents and has been played since 2006.

During the history of NFL Thanksgiving football, there are two franchises who have never played on Turkey Day: Jacksonville and Carolina. Each of these teams joined the NFL in 1995. The Cleveland Browns have not played on this day since they rejoined the NFL in 1999 as an expansion team. The Rams have not been featured during the game since 1975. The franchise with the longest drought of playing in the game is the San Diego Chargers who haven’t played on Turkey Day since one year before the AFL-NFL merger in 1969.

2014 NFL Thanksgiving Football Schedule

Will H