According to NFL Media, the Bears-Lions game averaged 37.5 million viewers on CBS, which makes it the most-watched early Thanksgiving Day game on record. As a whole, it was a record-setting Thanksgiving Day for the NFL,

The Detroit Lions were able to set a new NFL record for viewership on Thanksgiving in their normal time slot.

The Detroit Lions and Dallas Cowboys have long hosted games on Thanksgiving Day. Here is why those NFL teams are a vital part of the holiday.

The Detroit Lions' Thanksgiving tradition dates back to 1934, when the franchise moved to the Motor City. The Lions are 37-45-2 in Thanksgiving games.

Lions quarterback Jared Goff (16), defensive tackle DJ Reader (98), wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown (14), running back Jahmyr Gibbs (26) and linebacker Al-Quadin Muhammad (69) celebrate their win against the Bears with a turkey drumstick Thanksgiving Day in Detroit. / Kimberly P. Mitchell / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Detroit Lions (11-1) hosted Chicago Bears (4-8) on Thanksgiving and snapped a 7-game holiday losing streak. Check out the recap from Ford Field.

The early Thanksgiving window featuring the Lions always performed well not because of the Lions but because it was football, it was on TV, and there was nothing else on. Now that the Lions have transmogrified into a powerhouse,

After setting the all-time viewership record for the early Thanksgiving game last year, the Lions crushed that mark in their win over the Bears last week.

The Detroit Lions have never been this good heading into Thanksgiving in the Super Bowl era. They only have sported a 10-1 record just twice the the franchise's 95-year history, the last being in 1934 -- also the last time the Lions won 10 of their first 11 games heading into Thanksgiving.

Few combinations go together better than Thanksgiving and football and this year's ratings bear that out. Per Austin Karp of Sports Business Journal, the NFL had its most-watched Thanksgiving ever this year,