I Want My Quarter Back

Looks like you got a touchdown! Way to go, DrTom! :D

Yay. Sports ball. Thanks, DrTom.

Wow look at me, I solved a sports puzzle? Had a little trouble with the list from Wikipedia but going back to trusty Mr. G got me there. Also, 39D was such a good clue!

First meta I have solved in a couple days! And a sports meta, at that. Thanks, Dr Tom.

Initially resisted the mechanism on the grounds that it wouldn't be too accessible, but eventually started a list and there it was. Fun idea, thanks.

Winner!

Necessary google for anyone who isn't a football fan, but pretty straightforward, at least!

Nice. Once I saw the teams, I figured it had to be their QBs.

At first I didn't see anything, and then I pushed the laptop away to arms' length and saw 28A and 42A. Looked for more and saw the rest. Once I had the pieces, I stupidly tried to grab the city names before looking again at the title. Oh duh. At that point I had to look up most of the corresponding bits, except for KC. Those guys all move around so often it's hard to keep up if you're not playing in a fantasy league. Nicely done!

Thanks for the (pre)seasonal meta. I forget from year to year and had to Google three of these. At least I knew Montana was no longer in the running. I should pay more attention. In my QB searches I also learned that none of the Steelers' three from last year (I actually remembered the names of two of them) are still on the team and that their starter will be this kid (he's only 35) named Wilson. Oh well, Go Steelers, whoever you are.

Fun one, DrTom! Needed to google for a couple of them.

Good one, DrTom! At this point I can't tell you who the Patriots starting QB will be.

Oy. Football is about half of the entertainment I consume right now, and the team names didn't jump right out at me immediately... I kept trying to find clues/answers that might be missing a quarter of their letters relative to other clues/answers. Good grief. Then I was like... wait a second... QUARTER BACK? QUARTERBACK? FOOTBALL! OH COME ON, KURT. facepalm

Fortunately, it was about a 15 second solve once I made that connection. I consume waaaaaaaaaaaaaay too much NFL right now. But I'm a Bears fan, and these are (finally) exciting times for us!

Yay! I solved a sportsing meta TWICE. It was just as much fun on the replay. Thanks, Tom!

Had to reveal because my Roman math was bad (and couldn’t tell an MMA from a CMA). This was educational, having to look up every single one of these names. I recognized a few (Mahones for one). Well done! Has THEMAPPLES ever been in a puzzle? My dad says that all the time.

The very last thing I filled in was 32A, which triggered an automatic GO BILLS in my head, and from that and the title it was a very quick path to the solution.

I saw the teams from the kick-off but as ajk mentions, I too resisted that route thinking things were still too "up in the air" -- the way the Cap'n references the Patriots who are the news in our neck of the woods. When googling brought too many cases of multiple names, I took a time out. Later I came back and approached things backwards. When I found more definitive names for the last few letters -- AMPS, I back-field-in-motion-solved for the C and H. Glad I eventually went the whole ? yards. Thanks, Tom!