‘Funniest thing I’d ever seen’ – Ranking the greatest Thanksgiving moments in NFL history
Six NFL teams will spend Thanksgiving on the field, including the Kansas City Chiefs and Dallas Cowboys.
On Black Friday, Caleb Williams and the surging Chicago Bears will face Jalen Hurts and the drama-ridden Philadelphia Eagles.
While Thanksgiving is mostly overlooked outside of the United States, it’s one of the biggest annual holidays in America.
Turkey Day has also become synonymous with sitting around the television to watch a ton of football, after eating an overload of food.
Tom Brady, Randy Moss, Jerome Bettis, O.J. Simpson and Mark Sanchez have all been involved in memorable Thanksgiving moments centered around football.
This year, the the Packers face the Lions (FOX), then it’s the Chiefs vs the Cowboys (CBS) and Bengals vs the Ravens (NBC), before a Black Friday follow-up between the Bears and Eagles (Prime Video).
Here is talkSPORT’s look back at some of the best Thanksgiving moments in NFL history.
5. Jerome Bettis calls tails — or does he?
Jerome Bettis is one of the best Steelers in franchise history and The Bus was still in his prime in 1998.
A referee’s hearing apparently was not.
After Detroit — which plays annually on Thanksgiving — and Pittsburgh were tied 16-16 following four quarters of holiday action, overtime was required.
A standard coin flip turned into on-field chaos.
Bettis called tails and the coin ended up showing that side.
But a ref heard “heads,” Detroit won the toss that should have favored Pittsburgh, and the Lions captured the contest 19-16 in OT.
4. Randy Moss stuffs the Cowboys
Randy Moss Moss’d the Dallas Cowboys on turkey day.
Entering the NFL as a tall but speedy rookie wide receiver in 1998, Moss quickly put the league on notice.
He recorded 69 catches for 1,313 yards and a whopping 17 touchdowns in year one, earning serious MVP votes and being named Offensive Rookie of the Year.
But there’s no better way to announce yourself to America than on TV, and Moss did just that in a Thanksgiving performance for the ages.
The former Marshall star collected only caught three passes against the Dallas Cowboys, who were then still widely accepted as America’s Team.
Moss made all three catches count, totaling 163 yards and three TDs in a stat line that still defies belief.
He ranks fourth on talkSPORT’s list of the greatest wide receivers in NFL history.
3. Leon Lett does the unbelievable — again
The Cowboys have long been at the heart of NFL games on Thanksgiving.
Few moments are as memorable as a 1993 play featuring Leon Lett, who had given away a Super Bowl touchdown in the previous season.
During a snow-filled contest that featured heavy coats and cold hands, Miami lined up for a late-game field goal.
The kick was blocked and the ball rolled around in the snow, then it spinning and rolling.
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If Dallas had let the ball go untouched, the Cowboys’ one-point win would have held up.
Instead, Lett eventually slid in for a snowy scoop, which gave the ball back to Miami.
The Dolphins’ second field goal attempt was good and Miami won 16-14 during the final seconds in an all-time stunner.
2. The Juice gets loose on the field
There was a time when O.J. Simpson was nationally known as a famous NFL running back and one of the best athletes in the world.
That moment was still a reality in 1976, when The Juice was coming off an 1,800-yard season and almost impossible to stop in the open field.
Simpson set a Thanksgiving and then-NFL record by rushing for 273 yards and two TDs against the Lions on Thanksgiving in ’76.
Buffalo lost 27-14 and Simpson’s career soon went downhill.
But there was a period when football on Thanksgiving was synonymous with The Juice’s backfield dominance.
Simpson passed away in 2024 at the age of 76.
1. The infamous Butt Fumble is born
No look back at the NFL on Thanksgiving is complete without one of the most famous — and hilarious — plays in league history.
Mark Sanchez never made a Pro Bowl despite being a No. 5 overall pick.
He only spent four years being the New York Jets’ primary QB and finished his career 37-36 as a starter.
But Sanchez did hold a 4-2 record in the playoffs and the former USC star created a play forever known as the Butt Fumble.
Sanchez ran directly into the hard backside of an unknowing Jets offensive lineman.
The New England Patriots collected the surreal fumble for an easy TD.
Playing that day for Bill Belichick’s team was Tom Brady, who couldn’t help but smile when he saw it on a replay later on from his hotel room.
“The first time I saw it I laughed out loud to myself in a room by myself for 20 seconds,” Brady told The Let’s Go podcast.
“I thought it was the funniest thing I’d ever seen in my life in sports. And the fact that our team was the beneficiary of it, and I was on the sideline, still makes it one of the funniest things I ever remember in sports.”
The image of Sanchez’s helmet slamming into a teammate’s butt hasn’t been forgotten since and never will be.
Sanchez faces an uncertain future, but the Butt Fumble will live forever.
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