Watching football on Thanksgiving has become a tradition for millions of families acro s the country. If your family is one of those, you may have noticed that two teams seem to always play on Thanksgiving: the Lions and the Cowboys.While there's no official contract that these two teams must play every Thanksgiving, it's been a constant tradition for decades. The Lions began playing on Thanksgiving back in 1934, while the Cowboys Marcus Easley Jersey began their Thanksgiving games on 1966. So, it's definitely not a new tradition by any means.So, how did these traditions begin? Here's the history behind the Lions and Cowboys alwaysplaying on Thanksgiving.Which NFL teams always play on Thanksgiving?Detriot LionsThis year marks the 82nd time the Lions have played on Thanksgiving, which is the most any team has played on the holiday. Their matchup against the Bears this year will be the 19th time these division rivals have played on Thanksgiving.The Thanksgiving game tradition began in Detriot back in 1934. The then team ownerGeorge Kent Hull Jersey A. Richardshad purchased the Lions earlier that year, and he wanted to build a fanbase. So, he decided to host the back-to-back world champions, the Chicago Bears. The Bears won the first Thanksgiving game 19-16 with 26,000 fans in attendance. Since then, Detriot has hosted a Thanksgiving game every year, except from 1939-1944 due to World War II.MORE: Dallas CowboysIn 1966, the Cowboys joined the Lions' Thanksgiving tradition by hosting their own Thanksgiving game. The Cowboys general manager at the time, Tex Schramm, wanted the team to have more national attention, so he decided to have the Cowboys host a holiday game.They played the Browns and won 26-14 in front of around 80,000 fans.Since this first game, the Cowboys have played on every Thanksgiving except in 1975and 1977. The reason behind this is because the St. Louis Cardinals (NFL team, at the time) took over the tradition to see if they could gain traction. The two games were fails, so the tradition came back to the Cowboys.MORE: NFL teamsThanksgiving game appearancesHere are the number of appearancesfor all NFL teams on Thanksgiving, including the games in 2021.Note: The only team thathas never played on Thanksgiving is the Jacksonville Jaguars.TeamThanksgiving gamesDetroit Lions82 (82 consecutive)Dallas Cowboys53 (43 consecutive)Green Bay Packers36Chicago Bears35Arizona Cardinals23New York Giants15Washington Football Team12Denver Broncos11Buffalo Frank Reich Jersey Bills10Pittsburgh Steelers9Kansas City Chiefs9Minnesota Vikings8Las Vegas Raiders7Philadelphia Eagles7Miami Dolphins7Tenne see Titans/Houston Oilers6San Francisco 49ers5New England Patriots5New York Jets5Los Angeles Chargers5Seattle Seahawks4Los Angeles Rams4Indianapolis Colts4New Orleans Saints4Atlanta Falcons4Cleveland Browns3Baltimore Ravens3Houston Texans2Tampa Bay Buccaneers1Carolina Panthers1Cincinnati Bengals1Jacksonville Jaguars0What NFL teams are playing on Thanksgiving 2021?In 2006, the NFL decided to add a third game slot on Thanksgiving. The teams who play in the third and final slot Dion Dawkins Jersey of the day rotate every year, giving almost all the NFL teams a chance of playing on Thanksgiving.This year, the Lions will replay the first Thanksgiving game by hosting the Bears. Then, the Cowboys will host the Raiders. The night game will take place in New Orleans as the Saints host the Bills. Here's the broadcast schedule for the three games.GameKickoff timeTV channelBears at Lions12:30 p.m. ETFox, Raiders at Cowboys4:30 p.m. ETFox, Bills at Saints8:20 p.m. ETNBC, The Bears and Lions have already played this season, and the Bears won 24-14 in Week 4. Currently, the Bears (3-7)are in third place while the Lions (0-9-1)are in fourth place in the NFC North standings.The last time the Raiders played on Thanksgiving was in 2013 when they lost to the Cowboys 31-24.The Cowboys (7-3) are tied for the best record in the NFL so far this season, and they are leading the NFC East standings. The Raiders (5-5) are in third place in the AFC West division.The Bills defeated the Cowboys on Thanksgiving in 2019 26-15. The Saints last played in 2019 as well, beating the Falcons 26-18.The Bills (6-4) just moved down to the second spot in the AFC East standings after the Patriots won in Week 11. The Saints (5-5) remain in second place in the NFC South standings behind the Buccaneers.Below are the all-time Thanksgiving game records for the six teams playing this holiday.Detriot Lions:37-42-2Chicago Bears:19-15-2Dallas Cowboys:28-15-1Las Vegas Raiders:3-4New Orleans Saints:3-0Buffalo Bills: Levi Wallace Jersey 4-4-1