Thankful G-Men

For the first time in 17 years, Giants fans won’t have to settle for watching just the lowly Lions and hated Cowboys on Thanksgiving.

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell announced at the league’s annual meetings that the Giants will play the Denver Broncos on Thanksgiving night, Nov. 26, at Invesco Field at Mile High. The game will be televised nationally on NFL Network at 8:20 p.m. ET.

It will be the Giants’ first Thanksgiving Day game since Nov. 26, 1992, when they lost to the Cowboys in Dallas, 30-3. The Giants are 7-6 on Thanksgiving but have played on the holiday just twice since 1938, including a 13-6 victory over the Lions on Nov. 25, 1982.

The Giants first played on Thanksgiving in 1926, their second year of existence, when they defeated the Brooklyn Lions, 17-0. After a two-year hiatus, they played a Thanksgiving Day game every season from 1929-38. They did not play again on Thanksgiving until 1982.

The rest of the 2009 regular-season schedule will be completed and announced in April.