Christian Barmore terrorizes Denver QB Russell Wilson with three sacks in 3Q

The New England Patriots put together an incredible third quarter against the Denver Broncos on Sunday night, and former Alabama star Christian Barmore was a big reason why.

Barmore sacked Broncos quarterback Russell Wilson three times during the third quarter to help turn a 7-3 halftime deficit into a 23-7 lead entering the fourth quarter.

Christian Barmore started off the third quarter with a sack on the first play from scrimmage and didn’t slow down.

Later in the third quarter, he sacked Russell Wilson on third-and-12 to force a punt.

Finally, Barmore sacked Wilson on the final play of the third quarter and forced a fumble in the process.

THE RIDE NEVER ENDS! pic.twitter.com/RCloYwMJJj

— Mr Matthew CFB (@MrMatthew_CFB) December 25, 2023

Christian Barmore is in his third season in New England after being drafted by the Broncos out of Alabama in the second round of the 2021 NFL draft.

Barmore entered Sunday’s game with 40 tackles and 5.5 sacks on the season.

Prior to making plays in the NFL, he was incredibly disruptive at Alabama. During his senior season, Barmore recorded 37 tackles and led the Crimson Tide with eight sacks. He was named the Defensive MVP of the national championship game after making five tackles, including two tackles for loss.

He was named an All-American that year and received first-team All-SEC honors.

Amari Cooper sets new single-game receiving yards record for Browns vs Texans

Christian Barmore wasn’t the only Alabama star who had a huge game on Sunday.

Wide receiver Amari Cooper lit up the scoreboard and etched his name in the record books for the Cleveland Browns on Christmas Eve against the Houston Texans. Cooper caught 11 passes for a franchise-high 265 yards, breaking the Browns’ single-game receiving yards record of 261 yards last set by Josh Gordon in 2013.

Getting out to a 22-7 lead at halftime, Cleveland took down the Texans 36-22. Quarterback Joe Flacco, filling in for injured starter Deshaun Watson, went 27-for-42 for 368 passing yards with three touchdowns and two interceptions. Flacco tossed two touchdown passes to Cooper, including a 75-yard completion for a score.

According to ESPN stats, Cooper joined Terrell Owens on Sunday as the only wide receiver with 200-yard receiving games for three different franchises. The former Alabama star also posted 200-yard games for the Dallas Cowboys and the Raiders.

Through 15 games, Cooper has 1,250 yards on 72 receptions with five touchdowns. His 17.4 yards-per-catch average ranks third in the league. With his performance on Sunday, he surpassed his 2022 season receiving yards total of 1,160 yards.