Bring on the turkey! Here’s a look at some the New York Giants’ past matchups on Turkey Thursday.
When it comes to Thanksgiving, the New York Giants are not exactly the turkey and mashed potatoes that are the Detroit Lions and the Dallas Cowboys on the fourth Thursday in November. But they have appeared on the holiday 14 times, tallying a record of 7-4-3. Only three of those games have come after the AFL-NFL merger in 1970.
They’ll add to that tally this holiday season, when they hit the road tonight, on the fourth Thursday of November, to take on the Washington Redskins, battling their NFC East rival in the annual football tripleheader’s nightcap at FedExField (8:30 PM, NBC).
Here’s a look back at those games, complete with a brief recap.
11/25/26- Giants 17, Brooklyn Lions 0
In their final road game of the 1926 season, held at Ebbets Field, Doc Alexander returns a fumble 52 yards to cap off the scoring.
11/28/29- Giants 21, Staten Island Stapletons 7
Benny Friedman tallies all but six of the Giants’ points, throwing for two touchdowns while adding extra points to all of the New York scores.
11/27/30- Stapletons 7, Giants 6
The Giants score via a blocked punt return by Glenn Campbell, but are done in by a 5-yard rush by Doug Wycoff.
11/26/31- Stapletons 9, Giants 6
Part of a four-game winless streak, the Giants’ lone scoring comes from Friedman’s 15-yard touchdown rush.
11/24/32- Giants 13, Stapletons 13
Wrapping up their intricate Thanksgiving rivalry with Staten Island, the Giants are able to muster a tie, going 1-2-1 in the series. The Stapletons folded three years later.
11/30/33- Giants 10, Brooklyn Dodgers 0
To put it in baseball terms, the Giants pitched a complete game shutout, as this Thanksgiving win is part of a seven-game winning streak, leading up to an appearance in the 1933 NFL Championship Game.
11/29/34- Giants 27, Dodgers 0
En route to their title in the 1934 NFL Championship Game, the Giants force another shutout, this time forcing four Brooklyn turnovers in the victory.
11/28/35- Giants 21, Dodgers 0
As a non-Brooklyn baseball legend once said, “it’s deja vu all over again”, as the Giants again shutout the Dodgers en route to the title game.
11/26/36- Giants 14, Dodgers 0
A run of prosperity finally ends for the Giants, who fall short of the NFL title game, but keep the holiday tradition of shutting out Brooklyn alive, as Tuffy Leemans scores a touchdown and the defense forces seven turnovers.
11/25/37- Giants 13, Dodgers 13
The Giants allow Brooklyn some points this time around, as four turnovers prevents another victory. Coupled with a blowout loss to the Redskins a week later, the loss keeps the Giants out of the 1937 title game.
11/24/38- Giants 7, Dodgers 7
The Giants get 44 years to stew over this tie, one obtained through a fourth-quarter score, but they surely would get over it by winning the 1938 championship game weeks later.
11/25/82- Giants 13, Detroit Lions 6
The 1982 season is shortened to nine games due to a players’ strike, but that doesn’t stop the Thanksgiving festivities. Making their first Turkey Day appearance since the merger, the Giants get their first win of the year, as Lawrence Taylor breaks a 6-6 tie by taking Gary Danielson’s third interception of the day a whopping 97 yards for the winning score. Harry Carson and Terry Jackson had the other INTs. Taylor also had a sack in the game, and his pressure on Danielson forced Carson’s interception.
11/26/92- Dallas Cowboys 30, Giants 3
In what becomes the final year of the Ray Handley era, the Giants are chosen as the Cowboys’ annual Thanksgiving opponent in the midst of Dallas’s 1990’s dynasty. The Giants held the high octane Dallas offense to minimal scoring in the first half, trailing only 9-3 at halftime, but two long Emmitt Smith scores, part of a 120-rushing yard day, end hopes of an upset.
11/26/09- Denver Broncos 26, Giants 6
The Giants previously partook in the relatively new primetime game in their most recent Thanksgiving appearance, but apparently had too much turkey, sleepwalking through a road game that was never even close. Knowshon Moreno and Correll Buckhalter combine for 136 rushing yards for Denver. Currently injured Giant Brandon Marshall is the game’s top receiver, picking up 86 yards on six receptions for the Broncos.
Geoff Magliocchetti is on Twitter @GeoffMags5490
