One NFL team has been snubbed on Thanksgiving Day yet again. The Jacksonville Jaguars have been around for nearly 30 years but have never played on the holiday, with the league refusing to schedule them.
This Thanksgiving will pit the Dallas Cowboys against the New York Giants, while the Detroit Lions will play the Chicago Bears, and the Green Bay Packers will face the Miami Dolphins.
The Jags, meanwhile, will go another year without playing on the holiday.
The team has played in London on several occasions but continues to miss out on Thanksgiving for a few reasons that actually make sense.
Of course, money tops the NFL’s list of priorities, which explains why Jacksonville continues to be overlooked. The city is the fourth-smallest among NFL locations, so its market isn’t comparable to New York, Miami, Chicago, and Dallas. It also has one major professional sports team.
The Jacksonville Jaguars Have Little To Show For Their Near-30 Years Of Existence
The Jags also haven’t won anything since they were founded in 1995, having never made a Super Bowl appearance.
They appeared in two AFC Title Games during their first five years of existence but haven’t done anything of note in the playoffs since this side of the year 2000. While other small-market teams have shown mettle on the field, the Jaguars have not made a case for themselves.
That they’re 29 years in existence has also played into the NFL’s decision-making. Football Thanksgiving traditions have been around much longer than the Jags, so they’ve had to wait in line… for a long time.
Location, as you would imagine, has plenty to do with it, too. The Jacksonville Jaguars play in North Florida, while the teams that typically play on Thanksgiving have no links to them in terms of rivalries or conference concerns. So, there’s hardly any reason to have them play against Dallas, Chicago, Green Bay, or Detroit.
The Packers-Dolphins game is the only fixture on this year’s slate that isn’t a rivalry game. But they have their markets and past success going for them.
