Brett Favre was back on the field at Lambeau to help coach Colorado family's Turkey Bowl game

Green Bay Press-Gazette

Former Packers quarterback Brett Favre gives an autographed jersey to Makenna Leyden. The Leyden family won a contest to have their annual backyard Turkey Bowl held at Lambeau Field this year. They played on Tuesday, Nov. 27, 2019.

GREEN BAY - When Brett Favre shows up to guest coach and do the coin toss at your family's Turkey Bowl, you've already won before the game even starts.

The Leyden family from Colorado didn't just get to visit Lambeau Field on Tuesday, they played a game of flag football on the field and got the full-on Packers treatment and all the trimmings — including time with the legendary Packers quarterback.

The family won an NFL contest that awarded one Turkey Bowl squad in the country the chance to play their annual Thanksgiving Day backyard football game at Lambeau Field this year. It was the 44th year the Leyden clan has suited up for their holiday tradition.

The NFL documented the experience of the lucky 12 players with a series of videos, from the family's first look inside Lambeau ("Wow, that is impressive") and their visit to the locker room, where customized jerseys awaited them.

"So is everyone dressed?" Favre asked before he walked in to meet them. Packers outside linebacker Rashan Gary presented them with Nike cleats.

Favre talked to them before they ran out of the tunnel onto the field for introductions and flipped the coin at the start of the game. "I'm not real sure which is which, but I think that's heads," he said.

Favre served as offensive coordinator and Gary as defensive coordinator. The game was officiated by NFL referees and called by a play-by-play announcer as 18 friends and family watched. Each player received an autographed Favre jersey at game's end and had the chance to take a shot at a Lambeau Leap.

In the Instagram video Makenna Leyden of Denver submitted to the contest, she shared photos and videos through the years of a Thanksgiving Day family tradition that started in 1975 with six players and now includes more than 150, including several who graduated in the late 1970s from Thomas Jefferson High School in the Southmoor Park neighborhood of Denver.

She offered 10 reasons for the Leyden Turkey Bowl. Among them:

"Our oldest active turkey bowler is 63 and has played 154,800 seconds. Problem is they can't walk for three days after the game."

"Most frequently used phrase during the bowl: 'I used to be quicker!'"

"We award an MVP every year. Last year it was our Aunt Bernice, she's 85, been at every game for 43 years!"

Her dad Perry Leyden and uncle, Douglas Leyden, were among those who played at Lambeau. The family's contest experience was featured on "Fox NFL Sunday" on Thanksgiving.

The Leyden family from Colorado won a contest to have their annual backyard Turkey Bowl at Lambeau Field. Former Packers quarterback Brett Favre and outside linebacker Rashan Gary were the offensive and defensive coordinators for the game.

The Turkey Bowl contest prize package, part of the NFL's 100 seasons celebrations, also included round-trip airfare for the 12 players, hotel accommodations, a welcome dinner, brunch buffet, swag bag, and tubing and ice skating in the Titletown District. Estimated retail value: $24,405.

Contact Kendra Meinert at 920-431-8347 or kmeinert@greenbay.gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter @KendraMeinert.