The Detroit Lions caught a stray from Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Joe Burrow on Tuesday.
Burrow discussed his memories of growing up and watching games on Thanksgiving ahead of the Bengals’ matchup against the Baltimore Ravens on Thursday. At least one of those games always features the Lions, which left Burrow with a pretty brutal impression of the team.
“It was the Lions and somebody. You’d go watch Matthew Stafford throw for 300, 400-some yards with Calvin Johnson, and probably lose the game, but it was fun to watch,” Burrow said.
Joe Burrow has fond childhood memories of watching Matthew Stafford put up huge numbers on Thanksgiving… and lose 😂. pic.twitter.com/7gc6z0xm33
— Andrew Siciliano (@AndrewSiciliano) November 25, 2025
For better or worse, Burrow accurately summed up the Detroit teams of the early 2010s. Johnson and Stafford put up huge numbers, but they did not translate to nearly enough wins. It even helped push Johnson toward an early retirement.
Things have changed for the Lions, but their Thanksgiving struggles have not. Prior to their win over the Chicago Bears last year, the Lions had not won on Thanksgiving since 2016. One can argue they were fortunate to win last year’s contest, too.
