Every Thanksgiving consists of the Detroit Lions and Dallas Cowboys hosting separate games while another game is held at night. The Cincinnati Bengals have only played in one Thanksgiving game during their entire franchise history.

Bengals Thanksgiving game history

The Bengals first (and last, as of 2023) appeared on Thanksgiving Day on November 25, 2010 when they faced the New York Jets . It was a rematch of the 2009 AFC Wild Card game and once again, the Bengals came out on the losing end of things. They lost the Thanksgiving match-up by a score of 26-10.

That means that the Bengals are 0-1 when they play on Thanksgiving. It isn’t a stretch to think that the Stripes will be given more Thanksgiving games now that they have a Super Bowl contending team but that’s not necessarily true for AFC contenders.

With two NFC teams getting the annual games and only one night game, it definitely makes it tougher for AFC teams to get picked. For instance, the Chiefs haven’t been featured on Thanksgiving since 2006, long before Andy Reid and Patrick Mahomes got to Kansas City.