Several former Hawkeyes had career-high performances across Week 11 of NFL football — including several rookies.
Jack Campbell, the Detroit Lions’ rookie starting Sam linebacker, recorded a career-high nine tackles in his team’s comeback victory against division rival Chicago Bears, 31-26, on Sunday.
But it wasn’t all perfect for the Cedar Falls native as he missed a handful of open-field tackles on Bears’ receivers that kept Chicago in the game.
On the other side of the ball, tight end Sam LaPorta had his quietest game as a rookie, catching three balls for 18 yards. Coming into Sunday’s game, he had recorded five games with five-plus receptions.
Meanwhile, in Santa Clara, California, Kaevon Merriweather put up a season-best five tackles for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in their 27-14 loss to the San Francisco 49ers. Merriweather went undrafted in the 2023 NFL Draft after being named a first-team All-American for the Hawkeyes in 2022.
Buccaneers defensive lineman Anthony Nelson finished the day with three tackles and a hit on ex-Iowa State Cyclone and current 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy — a throwback to when the two faced off against each other in the Cy-Hawk rivalry game in 2019.
Purdy found tight end George Kittle eight times for 89 yards and a touchdown in the contest — the second-straight game with a touchdown for Kittle and his fifth of the year.
Nail-biter in Denver
Denver Broncos rookie defensive back Riley Moss recorded his first tackle of the season in the team’s 21-20 victory over the Minnesota Vikings.
And Broncos linebacker Josey Jewell had one of his better performances of the season, recording six tackles, one quarterback hit, and a fumble recovery. The former Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year is second in tackles for the Broncos with 60 on the season.
Vikings tight end T.J. Hockenson led his team in receiving yards again this week, finishing the game with four receptions for 56 yards.
Dang, Belton!
New York Giants backup defensive back Dane Belton notched five tackles in his team’s 31-19 win against division-rival Washington Commanders.
Coming into this game ranked the 27th-best defense in the NFL, the Giants had a dominant defensive performance, picking off Commanders quarterback Sam Howell three times, and one going for a pick-six.
Belton was drafted in the fourth round of the 2022 NFL Draft and has recorded 33 total tackles and two interceptions since entering the league.
Other notable performances
Green Bay Packers rookie defensive lineman Lukas Van Ness had two tackles in a 34-20 home victory against the Los Angeles Chargers.
Chargers backup linebacker Nick Niemann finished with one tackle. Niemann played for Iowa from 2017 to 2020. His brother, Ben, is also a former Iowa linebacker and is a member of the Denver Broncos practice squad. Ben won a Super Bowl with the Chiefs in 2020.
After a rough performance last week, Jacksonville Jaguars right guard Brandon Scherff had an impressive performance as a part of a Jags offense that accounted for 389 yards in a 34-14 win against the Tennessee Titans.
Scherff and the O-line protected quarterback Trevor Lawerence plenty to allow him to amass four total touchdowns and just one sack for the day.