NFL
What NFL team has never played on Thanksgiving?
The Browns have been waiting since 1989 for the chance to compete on this day, but there is still one franchise that has never played on this Holiday.
The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida, and they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South Division.
Founded alongside the Carolina Panthers in 1995 as an expansion team, the Jacksonville Jaguars are the only team that has not played on Thanksgiving. Besides the Jacksonville Jaguars, only the Cincinnati Bengals, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and Carolina Panthers have played in just one Thanksgiving Day game throughout their franchise histories.
The tradition of playing NFL games on Thanksgiving Day began in the 1920s with the Detroit Lions, and they have continued to host a game on Thanksgiving Day every year since. The Dallas Cowboys also began hosting games on Thanksgiving Day in the 1960s, yet the youngest Florida-based franchise never got to compete on this great American Holiday.
The Jacksonville Jaguars have been performing well this season with a record of 7-3. They are currently leading the AFC South division and are ranked 3rd in the AFC. In the first 10 games, the Jaguars recorded an impressive 24 touchdowns and accumulated 230 points, averaging 23.0 points per game. On the defensive side, the Jaguars have been strong and have allowed only 204 points to the opponents, an average of 20.4 points per game.
Aside from the Jaguars, the Cincinnati Bengals, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and Carolina Panthers have played in just one Thanksgiving Game in their renowned histories.