National Football League

The Lions have (still) never won on Thanksgiving when the moon is in this phase

Published Nov. 23, 2023 3:53 p.m. ET

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There is rarely much crossover between astrology and the NFL. Even for fans superstitious enough to believe their horoscope corresponds to their favorite NFL team, they probably aren't looking at the phase of the moon to give them a sign about their team.

Unless they are Detroit Lions fans on Thanksgiving.

The Lions entered Thursday's game having won five straight against their hated NFC North rivals, the Green Bay Packers. They were 7.5-point favorites before the game and received the majority of public bets on the spread and money line, per FOX Sports gambling expert Patrick Everson. Not to mention, their 8-2 record entering Thursday was the best this late in a season for a Lions team since 1962.

Yet Detroit sputtered on both sides of the ball against an injury-battered Green Bay squad, committing three turnovers on fumbles and going one-for-seven on fourth down as head coach Dan Campbell's characteristic aggressiveness came back to bite his team for one of the first times this season.

[Packers vs. Lions highlights: Green Bay dominates on Thanksgiving Day] 

Jordan Love, meanwhile, carved up the Lions defense for 268 yards and three touchdowns in a 29-22 Packers win.

What does this have to do with the moon?

According to sports social-media influencer Jay Cuda, the Lions were 0-12 entering Thursday in Thanksgiving games when the moon was in a Waxing Gibbous phase, which is the phase between Half Moon and Full Moon.

The moon's current phase for the Lions' 2023 Thanksgiving showdown with the Packers? Yep, Waxing Gibbous.

Cuda's post currently has over 11 million views on X, formerly known as Twitter.

So yes, there will be much-deserved discussion around family dinner tables and elsewhere (like the "NFL on FOX Podcast") after the game about what this loss means for the Lions' playoff hopes, their struggles on defense, quarterback Jared Goff's seeming regression and whether Campbell overdid it by going for it on fourth down so much.

But maybe the Packers' surprising victory was already written in the stars — er, moon. Either way, one of the weirdest NFL holiday trends continues.

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