Turduckens, Turkey Legs & TDs: Tom Brady Shares Favourite Thanksgiving Recollections

Tom Brady might not have played for one of the two NFL teams that annually play on Thanksgiving Day, but the seven-time Super Bowl winner has a long history with the holiday. 

In fact, Brady made his NFL debut on Thanksgiving Day, just not under the most ideal circumstances. With the New England Patriots trailing the Detroit Lions 34-9 in the fourth quarter of their 2000 Thanksgiving matchup, Brady replaced Drew Bledsoe in garbage time. He completed just one of three passes for six yards that day, but Brady seems to look back at that day relatively fondly.

“Wasn’t very productive,” Brady said of his NFL debut in the latest edition of Story Time with Tom. “It was a pretty inauspicious start to my career. But, I will say, it brings back a lot of memories.”

Of course, Brady became the Patriots’ full-time starting quarterback a year later and led the team to a title in Super Bowl XXXVI. In the season after Brady’s first Super Bowl win, he actually played the Lions again on Thanksgiving Day. The 2002 matchup was a lot different, with Brady throwing for 210 yards to lead the Patriots to victory.

Brady on Thanksgiving for a third time in 2010, taking down the Lions again on the holiday. He had one of the best performances ever on Thanksgiving that year, completing 21 of 27 passes for 341 yards, four touchdowns and a perfect 158.3 passer rating in a 45-24 Patriots win.

That performance helped Brady earn player of the game honors, allowing him to eat some Thanksgiving food on the field after the game. But his favorite Thanksgiving memory from his playing career came two years later, when the Patriots took down the New York Jets, 49-19, behind a 35-point second quarter. 

Brady earned player of the game honors again for his performance in that game, throwing for 323 yards and scoring four total touchdowns. That led to a moment Brady enjoyed in the postgame celebration.

“I had tried a turkey leg at one point because I did play on Thanksgiving Day and I did win player of the game. There was a great clip of myself and Vince Wilfork. We played the Jets on a Thursday night,” Brady said. “When they gave me the turkey leg, I looked at it and I could feel it was kind of a cold turkey leg. I was like, ‘Do I really want to just bite into this?’ So, I gave the most chinchy little bite. Of course, Vince went all in like it was a chicken wing. He was like stuffing that thing in his mouth. He was devouring it. I was a little apprehensive about what I was biting into. It’s actually a funny clip.”

That was the last time Brady played on Thanksgiving Day in his career, and he actually never played a Thanksgiving game with John Madden on the call. So, he didn’t get the chance to try a turducken until he was on the call for the New York Giants-Dallas Cowboys game last season. It gave him the opportunity to live out a childhood dream.

“I just remember as a kid watching all these games on Thanksgiving and then seeing the players of the game gnawing into those big turkey legs,” Brady said. “It was great because the linemen, they loved it. They couldn’t wait to get home to try their Thanksgiving turkey. But to have it on the football field and celebrate it with your teammates as an award from John Madden for playing a great game and winning on Thanksgiving Day was the highlight for an NFL player.”

Brady’s also a fan of the turducken.

“I think that’s a great business, for whoever invented the turducken,” Brady said. “You definitely found a niche. One thing you want to do is go into an area where no one else is at in business. I think you nailed it there.”

Nowadays, Brady can enjoy Thanksgiving without having to worry about playing on that same day or later in the week. However, he’ll still be working the holiday as he’ll be on the Packers-Lions game for FOX (1 p.m. ET on FOX and the FOX Sports app).

Tom Brady and Vince Wilfork enjoyed turkey legs following the Patriots’ Thanksgiving win ovr the Jets in 2012. (Photo by Matthew J. Lee/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)

As Brady became accustomed to playing on Thanksgiving Day, he offered some advice for those who might be playing on Thursday and on Sunday. 

“I love my little butter biscuits. But I think pregame, keep it light. Afterward, you can go splurge,” Brady said. “You’ve got a long weekend. You’ve got three days off. Don’t overindulge on this holiday if you’re playing on Sunday. The guys that aren’t playing on Thursday, just enjoy your Thanksgiving, watch some football and don’t overdo it. You’ve got a game to play three days later. But if you’re playing on Thanksgiving, win the game, go home and eat as much turducken as you want.”

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