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Jim Schwartz makes potential Bills-Lions Thanksgiving game intriguing

Jim Schwartz is the new Bills defensive coordinator, fresh off of a five-year stint as Lions head coach. Could that tie land the Bills a trip to Detroit on Thanksgiving in 2014?

Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Matt Warren is Associate Director of NFL coverage for SB Nation and previously covered the Bills for Buffalo Rumblings for more than a decade.

Each year, the Detroit Lions host a Thanksgiving Day game. New Buffalo Bills defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz coached five games on Turkey Day for the Lions, going 1-4, and could land his new team the nationally televised game in 2014.

Both CBS and FOX have a game on Thanksgiving, with the Lions and Dallas Cowboys alternating networks each year. In 2014, the Lions will play on CBS, meaning an AFC team would have to be the opponent. It just so happens Buffalo has a trip to Detroit on the schedule, with the only other possibility for that game being the Miami Dolphins. The addition of Schwartz to the coaching staff could be the extra spark that moves Buffalo past Miami in the eyes of CBS for the holiday game.

Buffalo last played on Thanksgiving in 1994, when Dave Kreig out-dueled Jim Kelly with 352 passing yards and three touchdowns. Lions receiver Herman Moore caught seven passes for 169 yards and one of those scores as Detroit felled the four-time defending AFC champions, 35-21. Buffalo missed the playoffs that season, finishing 7-9.

Would you like to see the Bills play on Thanksgiving, or would it interrupt your tryptophan routine?