Cooper Rush and Tommy DeVito have a chance to do something incredible — put an entire nation to rest in the middle of the afternoon.
That’s what the Lions on Thanksgiving was always reserved for. You kick your feet up and couldn’t care less about the end result unless there’s Fantasy Football or betting implications, and even then, it’s a slog.
If you do Thanksgiving like my family, we start with appetizers around noon, and then a good nap takes place with the Lions playing some NFC North foe that usually kicks their teeth in.
But Detroit has undergone one of the more impressive franchise turnarounds in recent memory under the guise of Dan Campbell, Jared Goff and Amon-Ra St. Brown. You’d be hard-pressed to argue that they aren’t the most fun team to watch in the NFL right now — and they’re easy to root for.
Which means you’ll probably want to stay awake for next Thursday’s Lions-Chicago Bears game, even if the latter of the two teams has been the gum on the shoe of the NFL this season.
For the first time in a long time, in the annual tradition of the Lions and Cowboys on Thanksgiving, the former is the bigger game. The Cowboys showcase on Turkey Day always felt like it meant more, probably because we once saw a Mitchell Trubisky-David Blough matchup in a non-August football game. But even then, it was a 24-20 game — and at least one of the two teams left Detroit at or above .500.
This feels a bit different.
Cooper Rush versus Tommy DeVito.
Yes, the same Cooper Rush, who completed 32-of-55 passes (58.2 percent) for 354 yards with one touchdown against one interception, and was sacked five times in a 34-10 loss to the Houston Texans. He’s a game removed from a 13-of-23 (56.5 percent) for 45 yards stat line in a 34-6 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles. Since taking over as the starter, Dallas has scored just 16 offensive points, its lone touchdown on a 64-yard explosive play to KaVonate Turpin.
He’s already been benched once for Trey Lance, and there remains a very real possibility he could be benched again with a disastrous showing against the Washington Commanders in Week 12.
Speaking of benching, Daniel Jones being sent to the shadow realm as the No. 3 quarterback on the depth chart has opened the door for DeVito. The job was given to him because Jones has a $23 million injury guarantee, while Drew Lock’s contract is laden with playtime incentives. DeVito is on a minimum deal and could perhaps play himself into a long-term backup role.
Sources: The New York Giants are expected to replace Daniel Jones with Tommy DeVito as their new starting quarterback. pic.twitter.com/pVLVWVNDBY
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) November 18, 2024
Devito did play well enough to put the Giants out of Caleb Williams, Jayden Daniels and Drake Maye territory.
He could even play well enough to put the Giants out of Cam Ward and Shedeur Sanders contention, but this Giants team doesn’t have a Saquon Barkley. They do have a Tyrone Tracy Jr. if you will, but that only takes you so far.
Back to what’s really at stake here – the worst-ever Thanksgiving Day matchup.
Here’s the truth: this matchup leaves so much to be desired. There’s no feel-good story here unless you want to talk yourself into Tommy DeVito being the Giants’ quarterback of the future. If anything, this is more like Thanksgiving Day leftovers a week or two later: stale, bland, and honestly, kind of a chore to digest.
When you step back and look at it, this game isn’t just bad, it’s historically bad. We know that Tom Brady can’t be uber critical of NFL teams (and officials), but maybe the quarterback play in this game is where he really pushes the envelope. And that says a lot if that’s what we have to look forward to when everyone else is trying to avoid talking politics with their relatives.
We’re talking about a game where the biggest draw might be how quickly you can switch to it on the inside of your eyelids. Last year’s Cowboys-Commanders game drew over 40 million viewers, good enough for the second most-watched regular season game of all time.
If Devito-Rush draws anywhere close to that, it will be a minor miracle and proof enough that America will watch the Cowboys on Thanksgiving no matter what. Or at least fall asleep with the television on.
This isn’t the Thanksgiving tradition we’re used to. On a scale of viewership versus game quality, it may be one of the worst matchups America has ever seen.
The Cowboys have been the main event for years, but now they’re just one piece of a trainwreck. The Giants are also a very bad football team. And together, they’re serving up a Thanksgiving matchup that’s very bland and needs a little bit more seasoning.
