Getty Jeff Okudah celebrates a play against Philadelphia in 2022.
While the Detroit Lions lost a game on the road against the Dallas Cowboys, there were plenty of positives on the day, and quite possibly the biggest was Jeff Okudah.
This season, Okudah has shown signs of having one of the best bounce-backs in the league. While he might not win the Comeback Player of the Year award nationally, he should easily claim it in terms of his own team.
Once again, Okudah’s big day was inspiring to Detroit’s defense. Playing his usual brand of lockdown defense on the field, Okudah stepped up and managed to play solid against the run and the pass, looking elite along the way for the team.
By the time the day was done, Okudah had put up 12 solo tackles, and a total of 15 combined on the day. He was a force in multiple ways and seemed to star during the game in a bigger way than he ever had before with the team.
As the season keeps going, Okudah will keep growing. He continues to do so in fantastic ways while impressing a team that needs him to become a star on the back end. He seems to be taking steps to doing that in a big way.
Dan Campbell: Dallas Game Okudah’s Best In NFL
After the stats had been collected and the game had been digested, Okudah was getting some major praise from his head coach. As Dan Campbell wasn’t afraid to say, he believes Okudah stepped up and showed out on the biggest stage.
Speaking to the media after the game, Campbell said that Okudah had his best game in the league thus far by his estimation in Dallas.
“That was encouraging. I’ll tell you what, he had his best week of practice this week and that was his best game,” Campbell said honestly.
Coming into the 2022 season, Campbell and the Detroit staff was very open about being excited regarding Okudah’s play. Fans didn’t have a chance to see him on the field much, so it was tough for them to know what the staff was talking about. Clearly, this was it.
Okudah Gives Shout-Out to Fans After Game
In terms of what Okudah felt about the performance, being thankful was on top of the list. As he tweeted, he wanted to give a shoutout to everybody in Texas for supporting him through his career to this point.
Okudah hails from Texas, so the performance in his home state was a major plus for him and point of pride in Dallas. Clearly, he was very happy with his ability to show out on the big stage.
Big S/O to everyone in Texas for showing support throughout my career… Thank you for making today special. 🙏🏾
“Big S/O to everyone in Texas for showing support throughout my career… Thank you for making today special,” Okudah tweeted.
Humble and only improving more by the week, Okudah is beginning to look like a player that is capable of flipping the narrative about him as well as his defense. Once again, this performance should only serve as a confidence builder for the team and Okudah in the best possible way.