NFL games on Thanksgiving are a tradition that dates back to the league’s first season of existence in 1920.

The NFL had six games on Thanksgiving in its first season. Over the years, the tradition as we know it took shape: the Detroit Lions hosted their first Thanksgiving game in 1934 as a way for the team to increase attendance, the Dallas Cowboys happily volunteered to host a second game starting in 1966 and the league added a third rotating game on Thanksgiving Day in 2006.

NFL football has become a staple of the holidays. For the three games this season, let’s compare the quality of each of the three games to a dish on the Thanksgiving table:

Turkey, Stuffing and Mashed Potatoes: Bears at Lions

For years there was a constant drumbeat for the Lions to be kicked off their annual Thanksgiving site. Detroit was terrible. Why was one of the three (or for many years two) games on Thanksgiving ruined by a terrible team?

That has changed a lot.

This is the main course of the day as you have the chance to see the best team in football. Yes, that’s the Lions. Seriously, the Lions are the best team in the NFL. Again: The Detroit Lions are the top team in the National Football League. This is the first time in our lives that we can say that, unless you were born before 1957. That was the last time the Lions won a championship. They are capable of winning a Super Bowl this season. They have never been to a Super Bowl in their history.

Will this be a great game? Probably not, but we saw the Packers upset the Lions on Thanksgiving last season. The Bears aren’t a great team, but they’re interesting to watch because they have Caleb Williams with the No. 1 overall pick. Williams had a tumultuous rookie season, but he is still compelling. The Bears can at least give us a good show to start the day. Hopefully, because if we don’t get a good game to start the day…

That weird side dish your aunt brought: Giants at Cowboys

The NFL releases its schedule in April or May and sometimes they are unlucky in important matchups. Sometimes injuries or just poor play by a team they wanted to highlight in prime time or another standalone game unexpectedly ruin the match.

We all could have predicted that Giants at Cowboys wouldn’t be great.

The NFL really believes that we want to see the Giants in their campgrounds all the time, and that’s not the case. So we’re stuck with the Giants on Thanksgiving. The Cowboys being bad wasn’t part of the plan. They struggled early and their season failed. At least they got a nice win against the Washington Commanders last week.

The Giants haven’t won since Oct. 6, and if they don’t win on Thursday, it’s possible they won’t win again until 2025. New York quarterback Daniel Jones gave the starting nod to Tommy DeVito last week, hoping to rekindle DeVito’s funny story from the final day of the season, but DeVito struggled mightily and the Giants’ season somehow got even worse. DeVito is questionable on the Giants’ injury report, so the team may be forced to play Drew Lock in his first Giants start.

It’s simply a game between two bad teams. And in terms of viewership, it may not matter.

Last season’s Cowboys game on Thanksgiving drew 41.4 million viewers, the third-most viewers in NFL regular season history. And people will be watching again this year, even if they shouldn’t. But hey, just because the side dish looks a little strange on the table and you can’t pronounce what it is, doesn’t mean it doesn’t taste good.

Pumpkin Pie: Dolphins at Packers

You should leave room for dessert.

On paper, the 5:6 of the Miami Dolphins and the 8:3 of the Green Bay Packers is not the best duel. But it should be a good game. The Dolphins got off to a rough start this season due to an injury to Tua Tagovailoa and some bad luck in close games after his return. Miami has won three straight games with Tagovailoa playing like a top-five quarterback and is desperate to keep picking up wins and making the AFC playoffs. To stay in contention, the Dolphins may need a surprise win in Green Bay. They are a team that is better than their record suggests, they are desperate, and that makes them dangerous against a good Packers team.

The Packers are one of the best teams in football. They won six of seven games, with their only loss coming to an excellent Lions team. Green Bay is getting better offensively as Jordan Love overcomes some injuries early in the season. The Packers happen to play in the toughest division in the NFL; They might be the best third-place team you’ll ever see.

It was supposed to be a good end to a day full of family, food and football. Even Giants-Cowboys is better than having no football at all.