Loading...
Thanksgiving is many people’s favorite time of year, and having the chance to watch football with family all day makes it that much better. Numerous Thanksgiving Day games have occurred throughout NFL history, although only a few showcased the high-level skill of individual players.
Thanksgiving NFL games only come around once a year, so grab your turkey and stuffing as we discuss the top 5 NFL Thanksgiving Quarterback performances, including what team they played for, how good their performance was and the result.
Whether you’ve heard the name Bob Griese or not, the 1977 Dolphins quarterback set his all-time scoring record in this November 24 Thanksgiving Day game against the Cardinals.
With temperatures below 40 degrees, Griese threw 6 touchdown passes to give the Dolphins a crushing 55-14 lead. Overall, this was one of four games Griese played where he threw more than three touchdown passes, ultimately solidifying his status as a Hall of Fame quarterback.
Following up on Bob Griese and his Thanksgiving Day feat is the Indiana Colts QB Peyton Manning and his fantastic game again against the Detroit Lions on November 25, 2004. Like Griese, Manning would throw 6 separate touchdown passes to give the Colts an easy 41-9 victory.
Manning, however, would accomplish 9 games where he threw at least 5 touchdown passes, so this was nothing new for him. Still, though, 6 passing touchdowns in 1 game are hard to beat for any quarterback, which is why Peyton Manning deserves to go down with one of the best Thanksgiving quarterback performances to date.
David Krieg would start for the injured Lions QB Scott Mitchell, to which he proved that he’s no backup quarterback. In this November 24, 1994 game, Krieg attempted 25 passes, completing 20 of them for 351 yards, 3 touchdowns and no picks.
In a comfortable 35-21 victory over the Buffalo Bills, Krieg would end the game with a perfect 158.3 passer rating, something not commonplace in the NFL. Still, Krieg and his efforts would lead the Lions to a 5-2 record, earning a spot in the NFC playoffs that year.
In this hectic Thanksgiving Day bout between the Cowboys and Vikings, a total of 82 points would be scored, making it one of the highest-scoring Thanksgiving games to date. The Cowboys were down 21-6 for most of the game.
Troy Aikman, quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys, would need to set a career-high passing yards record to have a shot at winning the game. He’d throw 455 passing yards to help his struggling Cowboys offense overcome the Vikings, and while only adding 1 TD to the mix, he’d complete 34 of his 57 attempted passes. However, Aikaman’s performance was not good enough for the Cowboys to win, as they’d never close the large-point deficit.
With 21 completed passes out of 27 attempts for 341 yards, Tom Brady would help his team beat the Detroit Lions on Thanksgiving Day November 25, 2010, with 4 touchdown passes.
Despite the final scoreline, the Patriots were trailing halfway through the game 24-17, all before Brady threw 3 touchdown passes. In the end, the Pats would come out victorious 45-24, thanks to Brady and his perfect passer rating, 1 of three games in which the legendary quarterback would obtain such a feat.
Liam has been a major sports fan and soccer player for over a decade, with a particular focus on major top-level soccer leagues, including the EPL, La Liga, Serie A, Bundesliga and MLS. He has written numerous promotional articles for various top sportsbooks and continues to publish historical and factual sports articles covering the NFL, MLS, NHL, MLB, EPL and more.