Top Dawgs in the NFL (Week 14)

Continuing our new series for this season, UGASports highlights the top NFL performances by former Georgia players for the week entering the Monday night game(s). With our most outstanding performer for the week—or the Top Dawg—revealed towards the end, we spotlight the top NFL performances by Bulldogs for December 7 through December 10.

Baltimore inside linebacker Roquan Smith was at it again. In the Ravens’ 37-31 win over the Los Angeles Rams in overtime, Smith totaled a game-high 10 tackles, including two for loss, and a quarterback hurry while playing all 77 of his team’s defensive snaps. Smith’s performance came just a few days after it was announced he was one of 32 nominees for the Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Award, or “the league's most prestigious honor given annually to the player who best represents the greatness and compassion of Walter Payton on and off the field.” Notably, former Georgia player Jonathan Ledbetter of the Arizona Cardinals was also nominated for the award.

Philadelphia defensive tackle Jalen Carter added to what had already been an impressive rookie campaign by scoring a touchdown yesterday at Dallas via a 42-yard fumble return. One of the Eagles’ few highlights in a 33-13 loss to the Cowboys, Carter’s touchdown pulled his team within 11 points of their hosts in the third quarter. He also assisted on a tackle in the second quarter. For the season, Carter has totaled 27 tackles, including six for loss, four sacks, seven quarterback hits, two forced fumbles, a fumble recovery, and a touchdown.

In the Los Angeles Rams’ 37-31 overtime loss at Baltimore, former Georgia quarterback Matthew Stafford completed 23 of 41 passes for 294 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions (103.1 passer rating). For Stafford, who had quarterbacked the 6-7 Rams to three straight wins before the setback, it marked the first time since Weeks 13-15 of the 2021 season he had a passer rating exceeding 100 for three consecutive games.

Following a sizzling performance yesterday in Buffalo’s thrilling 20-17 upset victory over the Kansas City Chiefs, James Cook is recognized as the Top Dawg of the NFL weekend for the second time this season. At Kansas City, Cook rushed for a game-high 58 yards on 10 carries while totaling a game-high 83 receiving yards on five receptions. The second-year veteran running back tallied the game’s first score with a 25-yard touchdown reception—and then added a celebratory flip in the end zone. Cook’s 141 tandem yards (rushing + receiving) were the most he totaled in a single game since he had 159 in Week 2 of this season. For this season, Cook has rushed for 789 yards (4.84 yards per carry), made 38 receptions for 391 yards, and scored four touchdowns.

Worthy of mention is Tampa Bay punter Jake Camarda, who averaged 54.2 yards on six punts while all six of his kickoffs went for touchbacks in a 29-25 win over Atlanta. Camarda, who now averages 50.0 yards per punt this season, could very well become only the second punter who played at Georgia to be named to a Pro Bowl (Bobby Walden in 1969 the other).

Finally, defensive end Leonard Floyd’s stat line (1 tackle, 1 quarterback hurry) in Buffalo’s 20-17 win at Kansas City doesn’t seem all that impressive. However, Floyd certainly made an impact in the upset victory as his hurry on Patrick Mahomes late in the game, forcing the Chiefs’ quarterback to throw incomplete, essentially clinched the win.

There are two Monday night games tonight. The Tennessee Titans (4-8) at the Miami Dolphins (9-3) features Channing Tindall, a second-string linebacker with the Dolphins, as the lone former Georgia player currently on the active rosters of the two teams. The other game is the Green Bay Packers (6-6) at the New York Giants (4-8). Defensive lineman Devonte Wyatt and inside linebacker Quay Walker are starters for the Packers, while the Giants feature three former Georgia players on their active roster: starters left tackle Andrew Thomas and defensive end Azeez Ojulari, and No. 2 tight end Lawrence Cager.