By Blessing 
As a kid growing up watching Thanksgiving football, Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow didn’t always enjoy what he saw from the Detroit Lions. Those holiday games left an impression on him — and not exactly a good one.
Speaking with Cincinnati reporters on Tuesday, ahead of his return for the Bengals’ Thanksgiving matchup with the Baltimore Ravens, Burrow reflected on those childhood moments spent watching football with his family.
When he dug into those early memories, one duo instantly came to mind — one of the most electrifying quarterback-receiver pairings the Lions have ever had.
“I think just like a lot of kids, you grow up going through Thanksgiving,” Burrow said. “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.”
That “probably lose the game” line stung — but Burrow wasn’t taking an unfair shot. The numbers back him up. During the seven seasons Matthew Stafford and Calvin Johnson shared the field (2007–2015), the Lions went 4–3 on Thanksgiving. They opened that stretch with four straight losses — two to the Green Bay Packers, and one each to the New England Patriots and Houston Texans.
But things eventually turned. Detroit won its last three Thanksgiving games with Johnson, defeating the Packers, Chicago Bears, and Philadelphia Eagles before Megatron retired after 2015.
Detroit’s broader history on the holiday hasn’t been smooth either. The Lions own a 38-45-2 all-time Thanksgiving record, weighed down by two brutal stretches: a nine-game skid from 2004–12 and the ongoing drought that began in 2016.
The tradition itself goes back to 1934, and aside from a pause during World War II (1939–44), the Lions have appeared every year.
Last season, Detroit finally snapped its latest holiday losing streak with a win over the Bears — Dan Campbell’s first Thanksgiving victory since becoming head coach in 2021. Before that, their most recent win had come in 2016, a tight 16-13 battle against the Minnesota Vikings.
Now sitting at 7-4 with postseason hopes rising and a potential third straight division title in reach, the Lions prepare to host the Packers this Thursday. And this time, they’re looking to repay Green Bay for the season-opening defeat they suffered at Lambeau Field.