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Dawgs in the NFL: Wild Card Weekend and More

Palmber-Thombsby:Palmer Thombs•about 9 hours•

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James Cook
Jan 5, 2025; Foxborough, Massachusetts, USA; Buffalo Bills running back James Cook (4) scores against the New England Patriots in the second half at Gillette Stadium. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-Imagn Images

The NFL Playoffs are in full swing with Wild Card Weekend complete and the Divisional Round set to begin on Saturday. For 18 teams, the 2024 campaign was over just a few days into the new year when the 17-game regular season wrapped up. Six more teams saw their season come to an end in the Wild Card round leaving just eight in the race to Super Bowl LIX in New Orleans.

For Georgia, there are several former Bulldog stars that are still alive. UGA has had at least one former player in the Super Bowl in each of the last 23 seasons, and that streak will go on for a 24th as well. In the AFC, the Kansas City Chiefs (Malik Herring), Buffalo Bills (James Cook, Sedrick Van Pran-Granger), Baltimore Ravens (Ben Cleveland, Nick Moore, Roquan Smith) and Houston Texans (Kamari Lassiter) all have at least one former Georgia player on their active roster.

Representation in the NFC is greater in numbers but far fewer in teams. The Philadelphia Eagles have five (Jalen Carter, Lewis Cine, Jordan Davis, Kelee Ringo, Nolan Smith) while the Los Angeles Rams house a trio (Stetson Bennett, Warren McClendon, Matthew Stafford) as well. Eagles linebacker Nakobe Dean suffered a season-ending knee injury in the Wild Card win, otherwise that number would be even higher. Those two teams will play on Sunday at 3:00 p.m. ET (FOX) while the matchup of the Detroit Lions and Washington Commanders will be one of few games to feature no Georgia representation.

It’s not just the names that’s impressive. The play of several individuals has stood out this season as well. From Stafford’s healthiest season to date to Cook tying a Bills franchise record for rushing touchdowns, Brock Bowers and Ladd McConkey taking the league by storm as rookies and continued domination on the defensive side of the ball by the Dawgs in the NFL – plus so much more – Sundays (plus Thursdays, Mondays and every day the NFL is on) have felt like a commercial for the Georgia Football program.

HIGHLIGHTS

QB Matthew Stafford – Los Angeles Rams – Stafford led his squad to a division title and the No. 4 seed in the NFC. He started 16 games, missing just the final week of the regular season with the Rams resting their starters, and threw for 3,762 yards and 20 touchdowns with just eight interceptions. It’s his lowest interception total in a full season and the first time he was able to play in every game (Stafford was a healthy scratch on Sunday) since leading the Rams to a Super Bowl title in 2021. The Rams advanced out of Wild Card Weekend with a 27-9 win over the 14-3 Minnesota Vikings as Stafford threw for 209 yards and two touchdowns on 19-of-27 passing.

RB James Cook – Buffalo Bills – Cook was one of 16 players to top 1,000 yards in the regular season, doing so for the second straight year. After combining for just five rushing scores in his first two years though, Cook made finding the end zone a much more regular occurrence as he tied with Derrick Henry and Jahmyr Gibbs for the league-lead in rushing touchdowns with 16. He also had 32 receptions for 258 yards and two touchdowns and added to his season totals with 120 yards and a touchdown in the Bills’ 31-7 win over the Denver Broncos last Sunday.

RB D’Andre Swift – Chicago Bears – Swift has moved around a good bit in his five-year NFL career, playing for three different teams. He was drafted by the Detroit Lions and spent three seasons there. The past two have been with the Philadelphia Eagles and now the Bears, where he finished with a team-high 253 carries and 959 yards totaling six touchdowns. Swift added 42 receptions for 386 receiving yards, a career-best 9.2 yards per catch after signing a 3-year, $24 million contract with the Bears this past offseason.

RB Nick Chubb – Cleveland Browns – Chubb was back on the field, and it was great to see. After a devastating knee injury ended his 2023 campaign just two games in, the UGA legend returned to action in October and found the end zone in his first game in over a year. A few weeks later he scored the go-ahead touchdown with under a minute to go in the Browns win over the Steelers. Chubb’s season would come to an early end again due to injury, breaking his foot in Week 15. Season totals of 102 carries, 332 yards and three touchdowns, plus five catches, 31 yards and a receiving score, don’t do justice though in telling the story of Chubb’s season. He’s set to become an unrestricted free agent this offseason, leaving the Browns with a tough decision to make.

TE Brock Bowers – Las Vegas Raiders – Bowers set NFL rookie records for receiving yards by a tight end and receptions regardless of position during an All-Pro campaign with the Raiders. Finishing with 112 grabs, 1,194 yards and five touchdown catches, Bowers proved to be one of the top tight ends in the league, as many out of Athens would’ve expected. He is one of six finalists for the Pepsi Rookie of the Year award and was the top tight end for fantasy football. He’ll be looking to build on the first-year success next season with a new head coach and likely a new quarterback as well.

WR Ladd McConkey – Los Angeles Chargers – Another Bulldog representing Georgia on the West Coast was McConkey, who finished tenth in the NFL with 1,149 receiving yards on 82 catches, hauling in seven touchdowns as well. While the Chargers were bounced in the first weekend of the Playoffs, McConkey left his mark. His 197 yards against the Texans on Saturday set a new record for most by a rookie in postseason history.

WR George Pickens – Pittsburgh Steelers – It was an up-and-down year for the Steelers, but Pickens was a bright spot when he was on. He tried to provide some consistency to a shaky passing game with inconsistency at quarterback, hauling in 59 passes for 900 yards and three touchdowns. Pickens found the end zone in the Playoffs as well with 87 yards and a score on five receptions.

DL Jalen Carter – Philadelphia Eagles – Carter was one of the most disruptive forces in all of football this season. Stats don’t do justice to the impact he had with 42 tackles and 4.5 sacks not telling the entire story. Carter forced a pair of fumbles and had 12 tackles for loss to help the Eagles to an NFC East division title.

DL Travon Walker – Jacksonville Jaguars – Walker, the former No. 1 overall pick, has his best season to date with a career-high 56 tackles in 16 games including 9.5 sacks, just 0.5 off of his 17-game total from last season. Walker also forced a fair of fumbles and returned one for a touchdown. There was much to be desired from the Jaguars this season, but Walker did his part in 2024.

LB Roquan Smith – Baltimore Ravens – Smith has been impressive since he stepped foot in the NFL, and now, just seven seasons in, he’s the youngest player ever to hit the 1,000 tackle more. Smith finished this season 11th in the NFL with 154 stops. He had an incredible 18-tackle performance on Monday Night Football in October, one of nine double-digit tackle games he had in 2024.

LB Nakobe Dean – Philadelphia Eagles – 2024 gave Dean the best year of his NFL career but yet another frustrating end due to injury. Playing in 15 games, Dean totaled 128 stops and was playing his best football as the season came to a close with double-digit tackles in five of the last six games. It came after his 2022 season was spent mainly on special teams and 2023 one was cut short thanks to a Lisfranc injury. So, for Dean to have the type of success he did was spectacular, however, it’s another season that ends in frustration thanks to a torn patellar tendon in his left knee suffered in the Wild Card win over the Packers.

LB Quay Walker – Green Bay Packers – Another impressive Georgia linebacker was Walker, who topped 100 tackles on the year for the third straight season. Injuries limited his impact, although he was consistent when available.

LB Nolan Smith – Philadelphia Eagles – In his second season in the league, Smith found success with 6.5 sacks and a forced fumble. Totaling 42 tackles, only to match his season-high in the Playoff game, Smith stepped into a bigger role with the Eagles after the offseason departure of Hasson Reddick.

CB Kamari Lassiter – Houston Texans – Lassiter how the lowest completion percentage allowed when targeted, combining the regular season and playoffs with just 42.9% of passes caught on him. He picked off three passes including two in a primetime Sunday Night Football game and totaled 47 tackles in 11 games during the regular season.

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