THE GAME. THE STORIES. THE WHY.
Independent football coverage●Our standards
EXPLOREPower rankingsLeague leadersTeam statsInjuriesTransactionsShortsRivalriesRecordsTV scheduleBye weeksEVENTSSuper BowlPro BowlCombineDraftPlayoffsWeb StoriesALL FOOTBALL. ALL IN.
WEEK 6
Find your next read

Search whynfl

Go deeper on the game you love.

News

Greg Rousseau is among six players with three forced fumbles — and he ranks second in tackles for loss

3 min read Comments
Share ↗
WhatsApp Facebook X
Saved articles

Your reading list is saved on this browser.

Your reaction

Greg Rousseau, Jalen Carter, Nakobe Dean, Quincy Williams, Fred Warner and Caleb Downs each have three forced fumbles after five weeks. Rousseau also ranks second in the NFL with 8.0 tackles for loss.

w.
WhyNFL Sports DeskPublished
Dion Dawkins of the Buffalo Bills in a blue jersey during training camp
Dion Dawkins during Buffalo Bills training camp. Photo by Buffalo Fanatics, CC-BY-3.0, resized.

Six players are tied for the NFL lead in forced fumbles after five weeks of the 2026 regular season. Each has three: Buffalo’s Greg Rousseau, Philadelphia’s Jalen Carter, Las Vegas’s Nakobe Dean, Cleveland’s Quincy Williams, San Francisco’s Fred Warner and Dallas’s Caleb Downs.

Rousseau’s three forced fumbles come with the second-most tackles for loss in the league (8.0) and 6.0 sacks. No other player in the three-forced-fumble club has more than 5.0 tackles for loss. That mix — strip the ball and still live in the backfield — is what separates his line from the rest of the tie.

Forced fumble leaders after Week 5

RankPlayerTeamPosFFTFLSacksSoloTotalFRG
1Greg RousseauBUFLB38.06.0142005
2Jalen CarterPHIDT35.03.071305
3Nakobe DeanLVLB33.51.5304405
4Quincy WilliamsCLELB33.00.0193405
5Fred WarnerSFLB31.50.5215005
6Caleb DownsDALS31.01.0213305
7Dallas TurnerMINLB25.55.5101405
8Austin BookerCHIDE25.04.0101405
9Malcolm KoonceLVDE23.03.05905
10Tuli TuipulotuLACLB23.02.0122215
11Baron BrowningARILB23.01.06905
12Troy DyeLACLB22.51.5132005
13Nate LandmanLARLB22.00.0224205
14Jeremy ChinnLVS21.01.0222915
15Denzel WardCLECB20.00.0152405

Nine more players have two forced fumbles, including Minnesota’s Dallas Turner (5.5 tackles for loss, 5.5 sacks) and Chicago’s Austin Booker (5.0 tackles for loss, 4.0 sacks). Will Anderson Jr., the tackle-for-loss leader, has one forced fumble and one recovery.

The six players with three forced fumbles

PlayerTeamPosFFTFLSacksTotal tacklesG
Greg RousseauBUFLB38.06.0205
Jalen CarterPHIDT35.03.0135
Nakobe DeanLVLB33.51.5445
Quincy WilliamsCLELB33.00.0345
Fred WarnerSFLB31.50.5505
Caleb DownsDALS31.01.0335

The group spans the defense. Rousseau and Carter are front-line disruptors. Dean, Williams and Warner are linebackers who live near the ball. Downs is a safety with three forced fumbles and 33 total tackles for Dallas.

Carter’s tackle-for-loss and sack totals jumped in Week 5 against Jacksonville (3.0 tackles for loss, 2.0 sacks in the box score). His season line sits at 5.0 tackles for loss and 3.0 sacks to go with the three forced fumbles.

Jalen Carter defensive snaps by week (box score)

WeekOpponentTFLSacksSoloTotal
1Washington0013
2at Tennessee1111
3at Chicago1023
4LA Rams0001
5Jacksonville3235

Players with at least two forced fumbles, sorted by tackles for loss

RankPlayerTeamPosFFTFLSacksG
1Greg RousseauBUFLB38.06.05.0
2Dallas TurnerMINLB25.55.55.0
3Jalen CarterPHIDT35.03.05.0
4Austin BookerCHIDE25.04.05.0
5Nakobe DeanLVLB33.51.55.0
6Quincy WilliamsCLELB33.00.05.0
7Malcolm KoonceLVDE23.03.05.0
8Tuli TuipulotuLACLB23.02.05.0
9Baron BrowningARILB23.01.05.0
10Troy DyeLACLB22.51.55.0
11Nate LandmanLARLB22.00.05.0
12Fred WarnerSFLB31.50.55.0

Sorted this way, Rousseau is alone at the top. Carter and Turner fill out the next tier of players who both force fumbles and post 5.0-plus tackles for loss. Warner’s three forced fumbles pair with only 1.5 tackles for loss — his game is takeaways more than backfield stops.

Forced fumbles among players with 5.0 or more tackles for loss

RankPlayerTeamPosFFTFLSacks
1Greg RousseauBUFLB38.06.0
2Jalen CarterPHIDT35.03.0
3Dallas TurnerMINLB25.55.5
4Austin BookerCHIDE25.04.0
5Will Anderson Jr.HOUDE111.57.5
6T.J. WattPITLB16.54.5
7Elijah PonderNELB16.54.5
8David BaileyNYJLB16.05.0
9Andrew Van GinkelMINLB15.04.0
10Jonathan AllenCINDT15.03.0

Only a short list clears both bars. Rousseau leads that cross-section, then Turner, Booker and Carter. Anderson appears with one forced fumble despite leading the league in tackles for loss.

Rousseau and the Bills visit Las Vegas on Sunday at 4:25 p.m. ET (11:25 p.m. Cairo). Carter and Philadelphia host Carolina at 1 p.m. ET (8 p.m. Cairo). Warner’s 49ers host Washington on Monday night.

Forced fumbles are official season totals. The board was built from league defensive statistics aggregated across tackle, sack and tackle-for-loss leader groups through Monday night of Week 5 and does not include Thursday night’s Seahawks-Broncos game.

The why matters.

See something that needs a second look? Read our corrections policy.

Join the conversation

Use a name or stay anonymous. No account or email required. Comments are reviewed before appearing.

Up to 3,000 characters

No published comments yet. Start the conversation.