BBNFL Week 15 Recap: Za'Darius Smith forces key fumble in record-breaking win

Poor Matt Ryan. The veteran QB was on the losing end of the largest comeback in Super Bowl history when the Atlanta Falcons coughed up a 28-3 lead to the New England Patriots in 2017. On Sunday, he added “QB who allowed the biggest comeback NFL history” to his resume. Former Kentucky pass rusher Za’Darius Smith was part of that comeback.

The Indianapolis Colts took a 33-0 advantage over the Minnesota Vikings into the halftime locker room but watched that lead slowly dissolve in the second half. It took overtime, but the Vikings prevailed 39-36, clinching the NFC North title.

Za’Darius Smith applied relentless pressure during the comeback and finished the game with five tackles (four solo), one QB hit, a forced fumble, and a half-sack. Smith led the NFL in sacks earlier in the season, but this week marks his first bump in that category in several weeks.

While he may not be racking up the sacks lately, Big Z leads the league in QB hurries and ranks sixth overall in tackles for a loss.

The Vikings have been one of the more surprising successes this year and their fans are thankful to the Green Bay Packers for making Smith available to help their cause.

Zach Moss 2-yd rush, Za'Darius Smith creates the fumble recovered and returned by Chandon Sullivan .. MIN challenges#Colts 36 #Vikings 28 4th pic.twitter.com/f9c966lzd9

— Sᴘᴏʀᴛs 24/7 (@Sports_24x7_) December 17, 2022

Other BBNFL Notes

• One week removed from a double-digit tackle game, Washington’s first-round pick out of Kentucky, Jamin Davis, had nine tackles in the team’s loss to the New York Giants. The Football Team got hosed by some questionable officiating and now has an uphill climb to make the playoffs.

• Doing his best Za’Darius Smith impersonation, Josh Allen had three tackles in total, two for a loss and a sack in the Jags’ huge win over the Dallas Cowboys. He added on two QB hits as well. This is the second week in a row Allen has recorded a sack as Jacksonville keeps hanging around in the playoff picture.

• Mike Edwards returned from injury on Sunday for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He played sparingly but racked up five tackles (three solo) and a QB hit. Edwards last saw the field in week 12.

• Corey Peters, Marquan “Bully” McCall, Kelvin “Bossman Fat” Joseph, and Quinton Bohanna each had a tackle on Sunday for their respective teams as well.

• Finally, Randall Cobb hauled in three of his four targets for 32 yards in the Green Bay Packers’ win over the Denver Broncos.