Bounty Bowl The Bounty Bowl was the name given to two notorious NFL games held in 1989 between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Dallas Cowboys . The first , the 1989 Thanksgiving Classic game in Dallas was most noted for allegations that the Philadelphia Eagles put a $ 200 bounty on Dallas Cowboys kicker Luis Zendejas , cut by Philadelphia earlier that season . The second was a highly touted rematch between the two teams that was held two weeks later in Philadelphia , noted for the rowdy behavior of fans attending the game . Philadelphia , already heavily favored to win both games due to the Cowboys having an extremely poor season that year , swept the series . Bounty Bowl I : The 1989 Thanksgiving Classic . On November 23 , 1989 , Philadelphia Eagles head coach Buddy Ryan found himself at the center of yet another controversy . The Eagles defeated Dallas by a score of 27 - 0 , Dallas ' only Thanksgiving game shutout . During the lopsided game , vitriol came to the surface on the field as the rivals got into several skirmishes , most notably when Dallas placekicker Luis Zendajas left the game with a concussion following a hard tackle by linebacker Jessie Small after a kickoff . Following the game , broadcast on CBS with Pat Summerall and John Madden calling the game , Cowboys head coach Jimmy Johnson alleged that Ryan had taken out a bounty on two of his players , Dallas ( and former Philadelphia ) kicker Luis Zendejas and quarterback Troy Aikman . Johnson said : Zendejas claimed that when he was with the Eagles , a player had once received $ 200 – $ 100 each for hits on a punter and kicker . This is what led his coach Jimmy Johnson to make the accusation that a bounty had existed in this game as well . Buddy Ryan responded to Johnson ' s accusations : This game marked the first time a most valuable player was picked for a Thanksgiving game . John Madden handed out the first " Turkey Leg Award " to Reggie White . Such an award became an annual Thanksgiving tradition among CBS and Fox ( and later , the NFL Network ) . In 2008 and on April 11 , 2010 , the game was included on a list of the ten most memorable moments in the history of Texas Stadium by ESPN . This series of events set the stage for the scheduled rematch two weeks later in Philadelphia , dubbed " Bounty Bowl II . " Bounty Bowl II . After rumors spread that Eagles coach Buddy Ryan had put a bounty out on Dallas kicker Luis Zendejas during the first meeting two weeks earlier , the Eagles fans were more than rowdy when the rematch was held in Philadelphia . CBS Sports touted the game as " Bounty Bowl II , " complete with wanted posters and the offending players , with the bounty posted , as part of the network ' s pre - game opening , and it lived up to its expectations as a media event . With NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue in attendance on gameday December 10 , 1989 , the Veterans Stadium crew did not remove the snow that had piled up for several days . The volatile mix of beer , plentiful snow , the bounty and the intense hatred for " America ' s Team " led to the Eagles ' notoriously rowdy fans throwing everything within reach . Notable targets included back judge Al Jury , who was knocked to the ground by a barrage of snowballs ; Cowboys punter Mike Saxon , who was targeted in the end zone ; and Cowboys coach Jimmy Johnson , who was hit with snowballs , ice , and beer as he was hastily escorted off the field by Philadelphia Police . Johnson later called the fans " thugs " . Verne Lundquist and Terry Bradshaw announced the game for CBS , and they spent the afternoon denouncing Eagles fans and dodging snowballs aimed at the broadcast booth ( broadcast booths are traditionally open during broadcasts ) ; at the end of the game , Lundquist stated on the air that an oral surgery a few days prior had not been as unpleasant as broadcasting an Eagles game . Even the Eagles ' players were struck . As Eagles defensive lineman Jerome Brown stood on the players ' sideline seats pleading for the fans to stop throwing things , he too was hit . Future Pennsylvania governor and Eagles fan Edward Rendell got caught up in the fallout from that game when he admitted to a reporter that he was involved in the bedlam . The then - former Philadelphia district attorney and future mayor and governor had bet another fan $ 20 that the fan couldn ' t reach the field with a snowball ; Rendell lost . As a result of the chaotic melee , the team added security and banned beer sales for their last remaining home game of the regular season vs . the Arizona Cardinals and the subsequent NFC Wild Card playoff game vs . the Los Angeles Rams . The Eagles won the game 20 - 10 . Porkchop Bowl . A third game in the heated rivalry took place the next season , known as the " Porkchop Bowl . " Philadelphia won this game as well , 21 - 20 . After the Porkchop Bowl , the series rivalry settled down to the usual level between division rivals . Dallas finally beat Philadelphia in Week 16 of the 1991 NFL season . Philadelphia did not play another Thanksgiving game until the 2008 NFL season .