Cutlets on the menu: Imagining NFL Thanksgiving Day QBs as dishes on the table

There are two things that just about everyone can associate with the Thanksgiving holiday: food and football. NFL Thanksgiving Day is a tradition that is almost perfectly on par with sitting down with loved ones and eating a feast with a dozen or more dishes people fill their plates with.

With that being the case, though, it got the old noodle spinning a little bit — if we're watching a minimum of six NFL quarterbacks take the field on Thanksgiving Day, why not bring food into the mix? So that's exactly what we're doing. It's going to be an imagination of these quarterbacks as Thanksgiving dishes, some of them oddly specific, some of them standard and at least one out of left field.

So let's be thankful for the food, let's be thankful for the NFL on Thanksgiving, and let's be thankful that we live in a world where I'm able to compare starting quarterbacks to what many of us will be eating on Thursday.

Chicago Bears QB Caleb Williams - Leftovers on Friday

It's been an erratic season for Caleb Williams as a rookie. The No. 1 overall pick hasn't always had everything working in his favor, whether that was Shane Waldron, whether that's been the offensive line, or whether that's been the continued presence of Matt Eberflus. But we've seen him continue to improve and, more importantly, offer promise for the Bears.

And that's why he's day-old Thanksgiving leftovers. One of my hottest food takes is that Thanksgiving leftovers might actually be superior to the Thursday meal. Have you ever put together a sandwich comprised of various dishes with turkey as the star? It's legendary (especially if you also prefer to enjoy an adult beverage on Thanksgiving Day). As it pertains to Williams, though, he might be good now but, if we wait a little bit — namely, for next season and beyond — it could become something even more special.

Detroit Lions QB Jared Goff - The Turkey

Did I come into this exercise expecting to compare Jared Goff to the main course of Thanksgiving Day? I can't say that I did. The more I start to think about it, though, the more it makes sense. When it comes to turkey, I personally enjoy it by itself. Having said that, anyone in their right mind will tell you that your turkey is just exponentially better when it's dressed up with gravy, when you get a bite of stuffing in there, when a little cranberry sauce bleeds onto it, and so on.

That's the perfect encapsulation of how I feel about Goff. There's a reason that he was the No. 1 overall pick by the Rams. There's also a reason that LA moved on from him. He's thrived in Detroit because of what's been put around him to make him even better and truly special. This is one of the most talent-deep offenses in the NFL in all phases and with Ben Johnson calling plays. None of that is to disparage Goff because, again, I like turkey by itself. It's just taken to another level with the right accouterments and touches around it.

New York Giants QB Tommy DeVito - Cutlets

Obviously, we're giving Tommy DeVito the cutlets treatment. Frankly, from what we've seen, I don't think he'd have it any other way. And really, when you talk about it on Thanksgiving, it fits. Who brings cutlets to the Thursday feast? It's not exactly a dish you're used to seeing and, frankly, it's almost like it doesn't belong.

That's not incredibly dissimilar to DeVito, who was an unlikely cult hero last year and, on top of that, was a surprise to get the nod over Drew Lock when Daniel Jones was benched and then released. Unfortunatly, we might not actually get the cutlets on Thanksgiving Day as injuries have left DeVito unlikely to play on a short week.

Lock, just to include the guy who's likely to play in this one, would be the Doritos that the irresponsible member of your family brings. You're not sure why they're there or how that was what someone came up with, but alas, there they are.

Dallas Cowboys QB Cooper Rush - Mashed Potatoes without Gravy

Unlike turkey, a dish I'm completely happy eating by itself, mashed potatoes do not fall into the same category. The gravy is necessary and non-negotiable. You think I want to eat just straight-up potato paste on my plate when there are so many other delicious options on the table? No — but if you smother those bad boys in gravy, we're in business.

Cooper Rush is the potatoes without the gravy, though. There might not be a less remarkable quarterback in the NFL who will start in Week 13 than Rush. Yes, he's had some moments but the player himself is just not someone who's going to get the blood flowing or the adrenaline levels any higher. It's bland but, hey, at least there's some sustenance there, right?

Miami Dolphins QB Tua Tagovailoa - Stuffing

Especially under Mike McDaniel, we've seen every end of the spectrum from Tua Tagovailoa. We've seen the Dolphins quarterback play well enough to realistically be considered in the NFL MVP conversation. At the same time, there have been multiple stretches when the conversation has turned to Miami needing to replace him. It's all over the pace, which is why he's clearly the stuffing on the Thanksgiving table.

No Thanksgiving dish varies as wildly as the stuffing. There are roughly 40,000 different ways to make it, it can turn out differently every single time you do try to make it (even with the same recipe). Moreover, when it's good stuffing, it might be the star of the meal. When it's bad, you can't even scrape it off the plate for the dog because they don't want that mess either. Throwing on top of it that stuffing is horrendous when cold and Tua has traditionally underperformed in colder weather, it all adds up perfectly.

Green Bay Packers QB Jordan Love - An Unidentified Casserole

Danny Heifetz of The Ringer recently described Jordan Love as having an angel Aaron Rodgers on one shoulder and a devil Brett Favre on the other and he picks which one to listen to play-to-play. There are flashes with Love and the Packers wherein he has that combination of physical talent and cerebral play that made Rodgers a multi-time MVP. There are other times when he's going full gunslinger like Favre's worst tendencies.

Who among us hasn't been to a Thanksgiving meal and seen a casserole sitting on the table that you have no idea what's in it? You feel obligated to take some but you have no idea what you're going to get. That's what it feels like watching Love at this point. Even though the Packers have been awesome overall, the quarterback himself has been high-variance player drive-to-drive or even snap-to-snap. It could be the best casserole you've ever tasted or something that's a full-blown abomination. That's just the risk you take.