As a young kid growing up watching the NFL on Thanksgiving, history tells us that Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow doesn’t exactly have fond memories of watching the Detroit Lions, no matter who they were playing.
Speaking to Cincinnati media on Tuesday, Burrow, who returns to action this Thursday for the Bengals’ Thanksgiving game against the Baltimore Ravens, talked about watching football with his family as a kid.
When [he recalled those early memories](https://x.com/BleacherReport/status/1993436063256522757?s=20), he immediately pointed to one of the most electric quarterback-receiver duos in Lions history.
“I think just like a lot of kids, you grow up going through Thanksgiving,” Burrow began. “You have your meals with your family, and then you go and sit on the couch, and typically there’s not a lot on except football. Back in the day, it was the Lions and somebody. You’d go watch Matthew Stafford throw for 300, 400-some yards with Calvin Johnson and probably lose the game, but it was fun to watch.”
Ouch.
While Burrow’s words contained a little shade, the Bengals starter wasn’t wrong. During the seven seasons Matthew Stafford and Calvin Johnson shared the field in Detroit (2007–2015), the Lions went 4-3 on Thanksgiving. They lost their first four together — two to the Green Bay Packers (Detroit’s opponent again this year), and one each to the New England Patriots and Houston Texans.
Detroit then flipped the script, winning the final three Thanksgiving games Johnson played in, beating the Packers, Chicago Bears, and Philadelphia Eagles before his retirement after the 2015 season.
As for the holiday tradition itself, the Lions are 38-45-2 all-time on Thanksgiving. That record includes a nine-game skid from 2004–12 and the current drought that began in 2016 — stretches that weigh down the franchise’s overall mark.
The Thanksgiving tradition dates back to 1934, and, aside from 1939–44 during World War II, the Lions have played every year since.
Before last year’s victory over the Bears — Dan Campbell’s first win in the holiday game since becoming head coach in 2021 — the Lions had dropped eight straight. Their last win before that was a 16-13 victory over the Minnesota Vikings in 2016.
Now at 7-4, with playoff hopes and a potential third straight division crown hanging in the balance, the Lions will host the Packers this Thursday, looking to avenge the season-opening beating they took at Lambeau Field.