Four-star CB talks upcoming Temple visit, recruitment
Although appearing for just 27 snaps as a reserve defender for Green Bay in the Sunday night game, Wyatt certainly made his presence known in a 30-13 victory over Seattle. Early in the third quarter, the third-year defensive tackle made a remarkable play with a spin move and sack of Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith. Although it was his first sack since Week 3 when he totaled two against Tennessee, Wyatt currently has a 72.3 pass-rush grade this season, which ranks eighth among defensive tackles. He now has registered four sacks this season and 11 for his pro career.
Ladd McConkey
After missing a game with an injury, McConkey returned to the Los Angeles Chargers’ starting lineup to make a team-high five receptions for 58 yards, including a seven-yard touchdown, in a 40-17 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The rookie receiver had a big first half, making four receptions for 47 yards and scoring as Los Angeles led 17-13, before the Chargers’ offense fell apart completely in the second half. Currently, McConkey (easily) leads the 8-6 Chargers in receiving this season with 63 receptions for 873 yards and five touchdowns.
Nolan Smith
In helping limit Pittsburgh to 163 yards of total offense, Smith was part of a dominant defensive effort in Philadelphia’s 27-13 win yesterday over the Steelers. The second-year outside linebacker making his seventh consecutive start totaled four tackles, a sack, another tackle for loss, a pass defensed, two quarterback hits, and a career-high four quarterback pressures, including one whereby he leaped over a blocker to apply pressure. Smith appeared for a season-high 95 percent of opposing plays and had an impressive PFF grade of 86.2. Notably, Georgia-turned-Eagles teammate Nakobe Dean totaled a team-high 10 tackles, forced a fumble, and graded out at 90.1, the highest of all Eagles and Steelers players.
The TOP DAWG: James Cook
Continuing a stellar season that should garner him Pro Bowl honors for the second consecutive year, Cook is the Top Dawg of the week for his performance yesterday in Buffalo’s 48-42 upset win at Detroit. The third-year Bills running back rushed for 105 yards—his third 100-yard rushing outing in the last seven games—on 14 carries and two touchdowns, including a 41-yard scoring jaunt in the third quarter whereby he was nearly jerked down by his hair during the run. He also made a reception for a personal season-long gain of 28 yards. In 13 games this season, Cook has rushed for 828 yards, averaged 4.84 yards per carry, made 29 receptions, and scored 14 touchdowns. His 13 rushing touchdowns are tied for the most in the league among running backs.
Worthy of mention, although quarterback Matthew Stafford didn’t nearly have the passing performance he had been experiencing of late (76.2 passer rating after four consecutive 100-plus rated games), the former Georgia quarterback led the Los Angeles Rams to a 12-6 win over the San Francisco 49ers in the Thursday night game. With Stafford at the helm, the Rams have now won four of their last five games and seven of their last nine after a 1-4 start.
Some unfortunate news: Nick Chubb left the Cleveland-Kansas City game yesterday early in the third quarter with an injury that was later diagnosed as a broken foot. The injury likely ends the year for the seven-year running back, who’ll be an unrestricted free agent after the season. Since returning for Week 11 this year after his season-ending knee injury in 2023, Chubb rushed for 332 yards, averaged 3.3 yards per carry, and scored four touchdowns in eight games.
Following the Houston Texans’ 20-12 win over the Miami Dolphins, Kamari Lassiter and Channing Tindall—teammates on Georgia’s 2021 national championship squad—shared a special moment by signing and swapping jerseys:
Finally, another mention of a member of the 2021 championship team, this Georgia-turned-Steelers tight end sparked an altercation when he attempted to, and nearly succeeded in, blocking Darius Slay through a wall at Philadelphia’s Lincoln Financial Field:
Kicking off at 8:00 pm ET, the first Monday night game tonight matches the 4-9 Chicago Bears at the 11-2 Minnesota Vikings. The home Vikings are a 7-point favorite. Whereas Minnesota does not feature a former Georgia player on its current active roster, Chicago has one: running back D’Andre Swift, the Bears’ leading rusher with 742 yards.
Kicking off at 8:30 pm ET, the second Monday night game pits the 6-7 Atlanta Falcons at the 2-11 Las Vegas Raiders. The visiting Falcons are a 5.5-point favorite. Atlanta currently has two Bulldogs on its active roster: outside linebacker Lorenzo Carter and tight end Charlie Woerner, both listed as first-stringers. Las Vegas presently has three former Georgia players on its active roster: No. 1 defensive tackle John Jenkins, second-string strong safety Chris Smith II, and rookie starting tight end Brock Bowers, who entered the week ranked second in the entire league in receptions (87).
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