Terps in the NFL: Jermaine Carter Jr. ties career-high tackles

Former Maryland football linebacker Jermaine Carter Jr. had one of the best games of his career and his best game of the season for the Carolina Panthers on Sunday against Minnesota.

Carter recorded 10 total tackles, with seven solo tackles, both of which tied a career-high. He totaled 10 tackles and seven solo tackles that he recorded in Week 17 of the 2019 season against the New Orleans Saints.

The fourth-year linebacker also added a tackle for loss, which was his first of the season and the sixth of his career. He also made his sixth consecutive start of the season on Sunday.

Carter is on pace to have the best season of his career, in terms of production. Through six games in 2021, he has 26 total tackles, 14 solo tackles, 12 combined tackles, one tackle for loss, one quarterback hit and one pass deflection.

In his three seasons prior, Carter tallied just 14 total tackles through the first six weeks of each season. He has started the last 12 games for Carolina, dating back to last season, and his production has proved to be very efficient throughout that span.

Other Performers

• Buffalo Bills All-Pro wide receiver Stefon Diggs shined on Monday Night Football. Through five games coming into this week, Diggs had not been as productive as he was last season, but he had one of his best games of the year against Tennessee. He caught nine passes for 89 yards and a touchdown. His longest reception was for 17 yards and he was targeted 11 times. This was just Diggs’ second touchdown of the season and the second time he has had over 80 receiving yards in a game. He’ll look to make his success even more consistent after next week’s bye.

• Panthers wide receiver D.J. Moore put in a solid performance on Sunday. He caught five passes for 73 yards on 13 targets and added one rushing attempt for six yards. He led Carolina in both receptions and receiving yards in this game. Moore was targeted 13 times, which was a season-high. Moore has totaled 440 yards in five games this season, which is 16th in the NFL.
• Green Bay Packers safety Darnell Savage Jr. caught his first interception of the season on Sunday against division rival Chicago and Justin Fields. Savage added three total tackles and a pass deflection before he suffered an injury early in the second half and was ruled out for the remainder of the game with a concussion. He’ll now have to undergo a series of NFL concussion protocols before he is eligible to play again. This snapped a streak of four straight games in which Savage played every defensive snap for Green Bay.

• New England Patriots cornerback J.C. Jackson picked up four tackles against Dallas on Sunday and added four pass deflections against Dak Prescott. Jackson’s four pass deflections marked a career-high in a single game, beating his previous career-high of three in Week 14 of the 2019 season against the Bengals. Jackson was a game-changer all night for New England, but the Patriots fell short in overtime.
• Defensive lineman Quinton Jefferson had another solid and all-around game for Las Vegas on Sunday. He totaled four tackles, two quarterback hits and a sack against Denver. It was Jefferson’s second sack of the season. Jefferson was questionable heading into the game with a back injury, but he was active and productive for Las Vegas.
• Defensive lineman Yannick Ngakoue was kept in check against Denver on Sunday. He recorded just one tackle for the Raiders, but he added two quarterback hits. Jefferson and Ngakoue were solid in getting to the opposing quarterback, yet again.
• Linebacker Josh Woods recorded one total tackle on special teams for the Detroit Lions on Sunday against the Bengals. The Lions signed Woods off of the Bears practice squad in late September and Woods made his second appearance for Detroit on Sunday.
• Los Angeles Rams rookie running back Jake Funk returned one kick for 18 yards on Sunday in the win over the Giants. He has primarily served on special teams for the Rams through six weeks. Head coach Sean McVay announced Monday that Funk will be out for the remainder of the season after tearing his hamstring.
• Offensive lineman Michael Dunn appeared in just two special teams snaps for the Cleveland Browns on Sunday. He failed to record a stat in what was his third appearance of the season.
• Seattle Seahawks tight end Tyler Mabry did not appear in Sunday night’s game against Pittsburgh.
• Running back Ty Johnson and the New York Jets had a bye this week. Johnson and New York will head to New England to face the Patriots next week.
• Safety Sean Davis was on the New England Patriots’ practice squad this past week, making him the third current member of the Patriots that is a former Terp.
• Linebacker Keandre Jones was on the Cincinnati Bengals’ practice squad this week.
• Safety Antoine Brooks Jr. remained on the Los Angeles Rams’ practice squad this week.
• Running back Trey Edmunds was on the Pittsburgh Steelers’ practice squad this week.
• Running back Anthony McFarland Jr. remained on the injured reserve this week for the Steelers for undisclosed reasons.
• Offensive lineman Derwin Gray spent the week on the Tennessee Titans’ practice squad after he was re-signed to it on October 12.
• Defensive lineman Byron Cowart remains on the injured reserve/PUP for New England and will not be eligible to come off until at least next week.