Hawkeyes in the NFL: Week 14 Top Performers
Welcome back to another week of ‘Hawkeyes in the NFL’ and this past weekend was a big one. From tight end to linebacker to punter, almost every position got involved. A tight end continued on with the best season of his career, while a veteran linebacker nicknamed ‘The Outlaw’ made it three straight weeks in on list, plus a pinball interception by a former Hawkeye on Monday Night Football. There’s plenty to recap from week 14, so let’s get into it.
Honorable Mention Performances
LB Jack Campbell – 8 tkls, 3rd-highest grade LB (85.4) vs Green Bay
DB Kaevon Merriweather – 7 tkls, 1 sk vs Las Vegas
DB Cooper DeJean – 5 tkls, 1 tfl vs Carolina
DB Geno Stone – 5 tkls, 1 INT vs Dallas
TE Noah Fant – 3 rec, 19 yds vs Arizona
1. San Francisco TE George Kittle
George Kittle has set up shop and not left this list for the majority of the season and for good reason. Coming into week 14, Kittle had totaled seven games with at least five receptions and five games with 75+ receiving yards. On Sunday, in a win over the Bears, George caught six passes for a season-high 151 yards. He was a big play machine, as all six of his passes went for first downs, including four receptions of 20+ yards.
On the season, Kittle has caught 56 passes for 800 yards (14.29 ypr) and eight touchdowns. He ranks seventh amongst all tight ends in receptions, but third in yards and is tied for fourth in the league in touchdown receptions. If George stays on his current track, he will threaten to put up career-high numbers for catches, yards and touchdowns.
2. Los Angeles OT Alaric Jackson
What a wild win it was for the Rams on Sunday, defeating the Bills 44-42. The Los Angeles offense totaled 457 yards, including 320 through the air and 137 on the ground. Offensive tackle Alaric Jackson was the leader up from for the Rams, posting an 89.5 game grade from Pro Football Focus, which ranks third-best amongst all offensive lineman for week 14. His 90.6 run blocking grade ranked first amongst all offensive tackles and third-best amongst all lineman for the week.
On the season, Jackson has posted solid numbers, including a 79.1 overall grade, as well as 77.9 run blocking and 79.2 pass blocking. He ranks as the 25th-best offensive lineman in the league and the 13th-best offensive tackle.
3. Carolina LB Josey Jewell
‘The Outlaw’ has been a one-man wrecking crew the past few weeks for the Panthers and kept things rolling on Sunday in Carolina’s near upset of Philadelphia. Josey Jewell recorded his fourth double digit tackle game of the season, totaling ten tackles, 1.5 sacks and two tackles for loss. Coming into the year, Jewell had totaled just nine sacks in six seasons, but has 3.5 sacks over the last three games.
Top 10
- 1Breaking
Bill Belichick
UNC hiring legendary coach
- 2New
Brian Hartline
OSU coach interviews at WVU
- 3
Campbell extension
ISU coach inks deal
- 4
NCAA Tournament
March Madness looking to expand
- 5Trending
Flag planting felony
Ohio politicians get involved
On the season, Jewell is second on the Panthers with 81 tackles, 7.0 tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks and one interception. He is just 19 tackles from reaching 100 tackles for the third consecutive season and for the fourth time of his career.
4. Chicago P Tory Taylor
That “you’re not going to be punting much this season’ quote from Caleb Williams has not aged the way Bears fans may have hoped, but that means we’ve gotten to see a lot of Tory Taylor during his rookie season. On Sunday, in the Bears loss to San Francisco, Taylor punted six times for 317 yards (52.7 AVG), including two punts inside the 20-yard line and one 60-yard punt. On the season, Tory has punted 63 times for 3,067 yards (48.7 AVG), including 23 punts inside the 20-yard line, and seven 60+ yard punts.
5. Detroit TE Sam LaPorta and Minnesota TE TJ Hockenson
Of course, we have more tight ends to talk about, what else would you expect?
Sam LaPorta caught five passes for 54 yards in the Lions win over Green Bay on Thursday, upping his season totals to 36 receptions for 445 yards. As for TJ Hockenson, he caught four passes for 45 yards in the Vikings win over Atlanta. Since his return from injury in week nine, Hockenson has 27 receptions for 299 yards, but is still looking to get into the end zone for the first time. Expect to see a lot of LaPorta and Hockenson come NFL Playoff times, as Detroit and Minnesota have combined for a 23-3 record this season.
Play of the Week: Cincinnati DB Geno Stone
It probably hasn’t been the season that Geno Stone envisioned when he joined the Bengals, but on Monday Night, Stone stepped up made a big play, as Cincinnati kept their slim playoff hopes alive. With the game tied 7-7 and Dallas driving, a pinballed pass from Cooper Rush found the arms of Stone for a red zone interception. He finished the game with five tackles and the Bengals won 23-20 on a late field goal from Cade York.
