What each NFL team should be thankful for this Thanksgiving

The first-year quarterback, Kyler Murray, and coach Kliff Kingsbury have shown promise, which is certainly something to be thankful for this season. But Jones has been incredible, leading the NFL with 12.5 sacks. He has at least half a sack in every game but two this season.

Sunday's performance against Tampa Bay was a setback, but Morris has helped the Falcons improve defensively since becoming Atlanta's secondary coach following its bye week. Morris' coaching could save Dan Quinn's job, and if it doesn't, Morris has coached well enough to be considered a candidate to replace Quinn should Atlanta want to keep continuity from the current staff.

The Ravens have a lot to be thankful for, but Jackson has to be at the top of the list. He's taken the league by storm since becoming Baltimore's starter last year, leading the team to a 15-3 record. Jackson is averaging 8.1 yards per pass attempt this season and has thrown only five interceptions while rushing for 876 yards. He's also accounted for 30 total touchdowns.

Throughout this season, there's been a lot of talk about easy schedules for certain teams, but the Bills don't come up enough in that conversation. Buffalo's had, by far, the easiest schedule in the league (opponents have a .339 win percentage). Furthermore, its .239 strength of victory is ranked lowest in the AFC (outside of Cincinnati, which has a .000 strength of victory). Buffalo can thank that slate for its two-game lead in the AFC wild-card race.

It's hard for a running back to win the MVP in today's NFL, especially on a team below .500, but McCaffrey is performing like an MVP candidate. He's leading the NFL with 1,123 rushing yards and 12 rushing touchdowns through 12 weeks. He also has 68 catches and 586 receiving yards. He's first in the NFL in touches (289), yards from scrimmage (1,709) and total touchdowns (16).

The Bears offense has been putrid this season. They are 29th in yards and 30th in passing yards, but imagine where they would be without Robinson. The 26-year-old has 63 receptions, 764 receiving yards and four touchdowns this year.

There's not much to be excited about with the Bengals, as the team moved to 0-11 with a six-point loss to the Steelers on Sunday. The good news, though, is every other team in the league has at least two wins. Without a draft lottery system, that means the Bengals could go 2-3 down the stretch and still lock in the top pick in 2020.

The Browns will be without Myles Garrett for the rest of the season. No one on the Browns roster can replace what Garrett provides, but his absence will give other players a chance to shine and showcase their skills in the league. Schobert has been a good player for three years, and it's now time he becomes more of a leader without Garrett. Schobert has 97 tackles, 2.0 sacks and four interceptions this season.

If he had performed better against the New England Patriots, Prescott would have a better case in the MVP race, but he's still in the discussion. Prescott leads the NFL with 3,433 passing yards and is on pace for his first 30-touchdown season. Even with the poor performance Sunday, Prescott has nine touchdowns and three interceptions in the last four games.

The Broncos don't have much to be thankful for this season, but they do still have Miller. While he's not playing at quite the same level as he did last year, Miller has six sacks, including 3.5 in the last four games. Denver fans can always be thankful to Miller for Super Bowl 50 too.

Losers in seven of their last eight games, the Lions are trending in the wrong direction, and the fan base can't even count on watching Matthew Stafford the rest of the year. Detroit can be thankful for its annual Thanksgiving tradition but also for the addition of Bo Scarbrough. On Sunday, he rushed for 98 yards against Washington.

Jones has been a little inconsistent the last couple of weeks, and his yards per carry average has decreased more than a yard since last year. But his 11 rushing touchdowns put him among the leaders, and he's on pace for his first 1,000-yard rushing season. The Packers obviously still have Aaron Rodgers, but Green Bay now has a rushing attack to help its signal-caller win games, and for that the Packers should be thankful.

A few years ago, the Texans won despite their quarterback. Now the position seems to be the primary reason why the team wins. Watson is in the MVP discussion with 2,899 passing yards, 25 total touchdowns and just seven interceptions.

After becoming an All-Pro as a rookie, Nelson has emerged as one of the best offensive guards in the league. The Colts have quite a few good young players, but Nelson is certainly the best of them. Plus, if he ever does score a touchdown, he will have one of the best celebrations.

Nick Foles was supposed to be the answer, but he suffered a broken collar bone in Week 1. Gardner Minshew came onto the scene to insert some excitement, but Foles has reclaimed his starting role. Now at 4-7, it looks as though this will be another non-playoff year for Jacksonville, but at least the Jaguars had those few exciting weeks of Minshew mania. 

This was an easy one. Last year's MVP, Mahomes is already the face of the Kansas City Chiefs and may be that for the entire league as well. The Chiefs need to be thankful for their quarterback every day.

Rivers may be on his final legs as the starting quarterback with the Chargers. In the last two games, he has seven interceptions. But even if this is his final five games with the team, and his tenure ends without a Super Bowl appearance, what a ride it has been. Rivers has won more games than any other quarterback in franchise history.

It doesn't look like Donald is going to win a third straight Defensive Player of the Year Award, but he is still one of the most feared defensive forces in the league. After a slow start, Donald has a league-high 16 tackles for loss, 16 quarterback hits and 8.0 sacks this season.

Although he has a torn right ACL, Williams emerged as a quality receiver for the Dolphins during the first half of the year, and Miami found him as an undrafted free agent. As long as he can fully recover, Williams should be part of the rebuild in Miami.

Cook has been outstanding in his third season. He is among the rushing leaders with 1,017 yards and 11 touchdowns, and he's become a quality pass-catcher as well with 45 receptions for 455 yards. Cook's emergence has enabled Minnesota to return to its identity and for Kirk Cousins to blossom behind center.

Tom Brady may finally be showing his age this season, but the Patriots still sit at 10-1 because of their historic defense. New England is second in yards allowed and first in points yielded with just 10.6 per game. Safety Devin McCourty is tied for the league lead with five interceptions, and the Patriots lead the NFL with 29 takeaways.

When Drew Brees suffered his thumb injury, the NFC South seemed wide open. Now, even before Thanksgiving, the Saints are one win and Panthers loss away from clinching another division title. Teddy Bridgewater did an incredible job replacing Brees, but Payton placed Bridgewater in great positions to succeed and developed winning game plans every week even without a Hall of Fame quarterback.

Jets quarterback Sam Darnold has become one of the league's emerging stars behind center the last couple of weeks, so the Giants better be thankful for their pick in the 2018 draft instead: Barkley. He hasn't had nearly the same impact as he did during his rookie season, but Barkley is one of the best young backs in the NFL.

So much was made about Sam Darnold's "seeing ghosts" quote on "Monday Night Football," but the truth is that no quarterback outside of Lamar Jackson has solved those Patriots this season. Plus, since that game, Darnold is averaging 8.3 yards per attempt and has completed more than 67 percent of his passes. He has six touchdowns and only one pick in the last two games.

He experienced a rough Week 12, but Jacobs is still a candidate for Offensive Rookie of the Year. He needs 43 more yards for his first 1,000-yard season, and he's averaging 4.8 yards per carry. Jacobs also has 1,103 yards from scrimmage in 11 games.

Fletcher Cox is still Philadelphia's best defensive lineman when healthy, but he hasn't been 100 percent this season, and it's shown in his production. Graham hasn't missed a beat without him fully healthy, though, as he's on pace for a career high in sacks. Graham has 7.5 sacks, 37 tackles and 14 quarterback hits in 11 games.

Although it was against Tom Brady and Russell Wilson, Pittsburgh looked like a below-average defense in the first two games of the season. But since the Fitzpatrick trade, the defense has been a top 10 unit. Fitzpatrick is tied for first in the NFL with five interceptions, and the Steelers are second with 28 takeaways.

A lot has gone better for the 49ers this season compared to last year. Quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo has returned healthy, and defensive end Arik Armstead leads the team with 10 sacks. But the organization should be most thankful for first-round pick Nick Bosa. While Bosa is contributing like a Defensive Player of the Year, his presence alone has helped the other San Francisco pass rushers.

Where would the Seahawks be without Wilson? Seattle isn't built around its defense anymore and relies heavily upon Wilson to deliver in close games. He almost always does, as the Seahawks are 5-0 in games decided by four points or fewer.

Fizzing out in Denver, Barrett has taken off with his second opportunity to start with the Buccaneers this fall. He is tied for the league lead with 12.5 sacks and already has 22 quarterback hits. Barrett had just 8.5 sacks and 23 quarterback hits over the last three years prior to 2019.

Since taking over for the benched Marcus Mariota, Tannehill has looked like a franchise quarterback. In five games, he has completed 71 percent of his passes for an average of 9.3 yards per pass with 10 touchdowns and three interceptions. Thanks to winning four of the last five with Tannehill as the starter, the Titans are still in the playoff race.

It's been an ugly year for Washington, but the franchise did find this wide receiver in the third round. McLaurin has 40 catches, 638 receiving yards and five touchdowns in 10 games this season.