10 most memorable NFL moments on Thanksgiving

Here is a look at the 10 most memorable NFL moments from the games played on Thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving will always be known for Turkey first and foremost, but the holiday is more than just a meal. It is a time to express gratitude for the blessings, gifts and positive things in your life.

It is also a time for football. Traditionally the Dallas Cowboys and Detroit Lions always play on Thanksgiving, though over the years other games have been added allowing other teams to participate in the tradition.

Those Thanksgiving games are just your normal regular season games, but there seems to be a bit of magic on Turkey day that has created some memorable moments on the day.

Some are fondly remembered by one franchise while others are incidents that others would like to forget.

The list also isn’t simply highlights from the Cowboys and Lions, teams that traditionally play on the holiday. Other teams and players were able to embarass their counterparts to stake their claim in Thanksgiving day NFL lore.

We’ve looked back and tried to identify the most memorable moments the NFL has seen on Thanksgiving day.

While you enjoy your turkey and family, check out these 10 most memorable NFL moments on Thanksgiving in NFL history.

10. Bob Griese tosses six TDs (1977)

Back in 1977, the Thanksgiving matchup that didn’t feature either the Cowboys or the Lions featured the Miami Dolphins taking on the St. Louis Cardinals. To be clear, this wasn’t a classic matchup by any stretch of the imagination. The Dolphins came onto the field as clearly the better team in the matchup and they proved it emphatically with a 55-14 victory over St. Louis. However, it was how they accrued those 55 points that made for a memorable moment.

Dolphins quarterback Bob Griese was hardly a superstar at his position at the time. The then 32-year-old signal-called was in the league with the likes of Roger Staubach and Terry Bradshaw, two players whose stars would always shine brighter than his. However, no one shined brighter than Griese on Thanksgiving as he had the best game of his career and, at the time, a record-setting passing day in terms of scoring.

Griese tossed six touchdown passes on the day, the most any NFL quarterback had thrown on Thanksgiving to that point and just one shy of the NFL record of seven. Even more remarkable is the fact that Griese managed to find the end zone six times while just barely surpassing 200 yards through the air. Peyton Manning has since tied Griese’s record of six touchdown passes, but that kind of output was unheard of in that era and truly left an impression when the Dolphins quarterback did it on Thanksgiving.