Tyson Campbell forced fumble among top plays by former Georgia players in NFL
Jacksonville showed Tyson Campbell how much they valued him with a significant contract extension last year, and the former Georgia star is doing his part to make that decision pay off.
Campbell, in his fifth NFL season, came up with a pivotal forced fumble in the fourth quarter of the Jaguars’ 17-10 win over Houston on Sunday.
“Just as a defense, you emphasize creating turnovers and trying to make plays on the ball to score yourself or give your offense an opportunity to put points on the ball,” said Campbell who had seven tackles in the game in addition to stripping Nick Collins on an open-field hit at the Jacksonville 22 with 3:47 left in a 10-10 game.
“We’re just having fun playing for one another, not pointing any fingers, having each other’s back and trusting that each player on the field’s going to do their job,” Campbell said at the podium in his postgame interview.
“After that it becomes easy, just playing ball after that. So, I think that’s really what it comes down to, everybody playing one play at a time and fighting until the end of the whistle.”
Trevor Lawrence led the Jaguars on a seven-play, 83-yard drive for the game-winning touchdown after Campbell’s big play, helping Jacksonville improve to 2-1 this season.
Jacksonville made Campbell the highest-paid cornerback in NFL history to have not yet made a Pro Bowl when it awarded him a four-year contract extension worth $76.5 million that included $53.4 million guaranteed with $16 million of that in a signing bonus on July 24, 2024.
“Tyson is a young, talented player who is an integral part of our defense and core member of our locker room,” general manager Trent Baalke said in a statement at the time of the record deal.
“He is a consummate professional on and off the field and we are confident that his best lies ahead. We have consistently messaged the importance of extending our core players and this is another step forward in honoring that commitment.”
Other Week 3 performances by former Georgia players in the NFL included:
Travon Walker, a former No. 1 overall pick of the Jaguars in 2022, had three tackles and a sack.
Nick Chubb led Houston rushers with nine carries for 38 yards in addition to his three catches for 2 yards, while Kamari Lassiter had five tackles from his cornerback position for the 0-3 Texans.
James Cook is another former Georgia star who continues to pay off, proving the value of his new $48 million deal in Buffalo with a 19-carry, 108-yard rushing performance that included a touchdown in the Bills’ 31-21 win over Miami.
Cook, who also had three catches for 10 yards, is second in the NFL with 284 yards rushing on 53 carries for 3-0 Buffalo.
Chaz Chambliss is another UGA success story in the NFL, albeit one faced to go the free agent route after not getting selected in the NFL draft.
Chambliss, a rookie in Minnesota, had four tackles and a sack for the Vikings in their 48-10 win over Cincinnati.
Ty Ingram-Dawkins, like Chambliss a rookie in Minnesota, also had a tackle in the win.
Jordan Davis made all the NFL highlight reels with his blocked field goal and 61-yard, walk-off touchdown return in Philadelphia’s 33-26 win over the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday.
“I don’t know what mph I hit,” said Davis, who also had five tackles and a sack in the game, “but I’m pretty sure it was something crazy.”
Davis hit 18.59 mph, the fastest by a player weighing at least 330 pounds since 2017, per Next Gen Stats.
Nolan Smith and Jalen Carter each recorded three tackles for Philadelphia in the win, and Kelee Ringo also had two tackles for the Eagles.
Matthew Stafford had driven the Rams into a position to win the road game in Philadelphia before Davis’ heroics, turning in a 19-of-33 passing performance that netted 196 yards with two touchdowns and an interception
Roquan Smith had seven tackles including six solo stops and rookie Malaki Starks had eight tackles in Baltimore’s 38-30 Monday Night Football loss to Detroit. Smith’s 22 solo tackles and 32 total tackles this season are both tied for third in the NFL.
Tate Ratledge played 68 snaps for the Lions at right guard and graded out second-highest on the Detroit offense, per PFF metrics.
Ladd McConkey had four catches for 41 yards and with the starting punt returner out, took on those special teams duties and returned one 10 yards as the Los Angeles Chargers improved to 3-0 with a 23-20 win over Denver.
Tykee Smith had seven tackles for Tampa Bay in its 29-27 win over the New York Jets, giving him 24 on the season which ranks 28th in the NFL.
Jets’ rookie Arian Smith had two catches for two yards and a special teams tackle for New York.
D’Andre Swift continued to show his versatility for the Chicago Bears by carrying the ball 13 times for 33 yards and making three catches for 45 yards in a 31-14 win over Dallas.
George Pickens had five catches for 68 yards and a touchdown for the Cowboys.
Quay Walker had an eye-popping 14 tackles at linebacker in Green Bay’s 13-10 loss at Cleveland, giving him 31 stops on the year, which ranks sixth in the NFL.
Javon Bullard also had four tackles from his safety position for the 2-1 Packers.
John FitzPatrick, a former Marist standout, had two catches for 12 yards and Green Bay’s only touchdown in a 13-10 loss to the Browns. It was the first career touchdown for FitzPatrick, who is in his third season in the NFL.
Derion Kendrick had four tackles and an interception for Seattle in its 44-13 win over New Orleans.
Kendrick, who was cut by the Los Angeles Rams in the preseason, is tied for the NFL lead with two interceptions this season.
Brock Bowers played through a mild knee injury and made four catches for 38 yards for Las Vegas in its 41-24 loss to Washington.
Zamir White had five carries for 19 yards and a catch for four yards for the Raiders.
Jalon Walker had three tackles for Atlanta in their 30-0 loss to the Panthers. Tight end Charlie Woerner had one catch for the Falcons that went for a 5-yard loss.
NFL first-round rookie Mykel Williams had two tackles in San Francisco’s 16-15 win over Arizona, including a tackle-for-loss.
About the Author
Mike is in his eighth season covering SEC and Georgia athletics for AJC-DawgNation and has 30 years of collegiate sports multimedia experience, 25 of them in the SEC including beat writer stops at Auburn, Alabama, Tennessee and now Georgia. Mike was named the National FWAA Beat Writer of the Year in January, 2018.
