The Cardinals’ defense suffered a major blow when they lost their leading tackler Tyvon Branch to a season-ending injury. Budda Baker, who was already excelling in special teams, was asked to fill some big shoes.
And as a baker fills his pastries, Budda filled those shoes quite well, turning heads in the process. A performance so good, Pro Football Focus gave him a game grade of 99.9.
He finished the game with 13 total tackles, including a sack, 2 forced fumbles, a fumble recovery and a pass break up. Taking all 70 defensive snaps, according to Pro-Football-Reference, the 21-year-old came to work with his hard hat and earned his lunch that day.