It was a quiet week in the National Football League for former Hawkeyes. Sam LaPorta is still out. Jack Campbell keeps putting together an all-Pro season. Let’s dive in!
Tight Ends
Sam LaPorta is still out.
We knew that.
TJ Hockenson might as well be out too, given JJ McCarthy is stinking up the joint in Minneapolis. I know Sam Darnold isn’t great and has a tendency to self-destruct in all of the biggest spots – Week 18 plus the playoffs as a Viking last year, then he had a disaster-class performance against the Los Angeles Rams a couple of weeks ago in a big NFC West game – but he wasn’t this.
Cool, only the second-worst quarterback in 25 years!
Hockenson ended Sunday’s uncompetitive 23-6 loss at Green Bay with 4 catches for 19 yards. He has also had 1 carry for 0 yards, as the Vikings attempted a tush push with Hockenson but he was stopped for no gain.
Equally tough is the situation in Cincinnati, where Noah Fant doesn’t get all that many touches either. Fant finished Sunday’s 26-20 loss to the Patriots with 1 catch for 9 yards.
Things were better on Monday Night Football for George Kittle and the 49ers as they beat the Panthers, 20-9. Kittle pulled down 6 receptions for 78 yards as the banged up Niners moved to 8-4 and kept their playoff hopes alive. Looking at their roster, I counted 8 players on IR, plus another 9 marked as “out” this week. This happens to them every year.
Jack Campbell and Dane Belton
One guy that is NOT out and is very much putting himself in the conversation for all-Pro is Jack Campbell. Campbell had another great day for the Lions defense, racking up 11 tackles and a tackle for loss as the Lions won over the New York Giants in overtime, 34-27. Campbell’s only done this so far this season.
I don’t know if that means a lot given it’s been mostly time wandering the desert for the Lions since 1994, but hey – great stat and the guy is having a marvelous season. He’s now third in the NFL in tackles with 108.
On the other sideline, Belton led the Giants in tackles with 9, including 1 tackle for loss. The Giants just can’t get out of their own way. They led this game by 3 in the final moments of the 4th quarter, but instead of pushing the lead to 6 and forcing Detroit to score a touchdown, interim coach Mike Kafka – remember him from Northwestern?? – decided to go for a touchdown. Of course they didn’t convert, Detroit tied the game, then won in overtime. Classic G-men! (Tyrone Tracy, real quick – 20 carries for 62 yards and 3 receptions for 68 yards.)
Potpourri
Cooper DeJean finished with 7 tackles and a pass defended in Philly’s 24-21 loss in Dallas. DeJean forced a fumble in this game but it bounced out of bounds before the Eagles could recover. Hmmm where have I seen bad bounces involving Iowa players this year…
AJ Epenesa had 3 tackles last Thursday as the Bills couldn’t complete the comeback against Houston, losing 23-19. Weird season for Buffalo now. They look lost at the moment.
Anthony Nelson had 3 tackles, but things look like they’re coming off the rails for the Bucs as they lost 34-7 to the Rams. Baker Mayfield is injured and the Bucs had to go to Teddy Bridgewater. Yikes.
We’ll end with Chicago-Pittsburgh, where the Bears won, 31-28, to move to 8-3. Yes, the Chicago Bears are now 8-3. Tory Taylor punted 4 times for 202 yards, a 50.5 yard average. Kaleb Johnson had no touches again for the Steelers.
