This feature isn’t intended to just highlight Jermaine Kearse but if he continues performing like he has been this might just become KearseWatch.
.@JoshMcCown12 finds @JKearse_15 for the 2nd time today. #NYJvsOAK pic.twitter.com/jHPQp1W7GG
— New York Jets (@nyjets) September 17, 2017
.@JKearse_15 gets the #Jets on the board with this TD catch! #NYJvsOAK pic.twitter.com/SP0ziI3eGH
— Chat Sports (@ChatSports) September 17, 2017
Kearse has scored more touchdowns than his former team, the Seattle Seahawks, has through two games.
Thursday Night Football had a prominent storyline involving John Ross. The top-ten pick made his debut for the Bengals and his first touch was an end around that went for a dozen yards but the ball was punched out and went straight into the hands of Jadaveon Clowney. Ross didn’t touch the ball after that and I didn’t see him sniff the field. He was likely on a snap count already but the fumble cut his night short.
The fastest player in combine history didn’t even see the field during a last second lateralfest for a desperation score.
Senio Kelemete continued to show his versatility for the New Orleans Saints. Last week he played at right tackle and Sunday he started at left guard. Kelemete is officially listed as a center. It’s hard to highlight offensive line play, but Kelemete had at least one nice pull block to open a lane for Adrian Peterson for a first down.
Still biding his time behind the ageless Thomas Davis and perennial All-Pro Luke Kuechly, Shaq Thompson only had a single tackle. Snap counts aren’t available yet to see how often he saw the field.
With a pair of tackles, Budda Baker made an impact on the field for the Arizona Cardinals. He was more involved than last week when he had only two snaps total. It bodes well for his future with the team that they want him to be more involved.
Though the Atlanta Falcons were able to light up the Green Bay Packers in the first half of Sunday Night Football, Kevin King had at least one good play. He was lined up outside one-on-one against one of the best receivers in the NFL, Julio Jones. Atlanta offensive coordinator and King’s former head coach Steve Sarkisian had dialed a play up to get the ball to Jones. King kept the throwing window too small for Matt Ryan to fit a pass in and the pass fell incomplete.
King will see the field more going forward: The Packers released cornerback LaDarius Gunter this week.
On the other side of the ball for SNF, I wasn’t able to watch enough to see how Desmond Trufant performed in coverage, but he definitely made an impact.
Corners involved in highlights usually are on the bad end of the deal but Marcus Peters was able to make a highlight by his attempt to steal opposing head coach Doug Pederson’s play sheet:
Pederson was on the Chiefs coaching staff when Peters was drafted, and it seems they got along well.
Danny Shelton didn’t register a single stat despite the Baltimore Ravens running the ball over 30 times. He might still be dealing with the knee injury that limited him in the preseason.
Mason Foster was involved defensively with six tackles. He dislocated his shoulder and was forced to leave for a short time until he RELOCATED HIS OWN SHOULDER. Then he made the decisive play of the game:
Mason Foster read Goff eyes off the snap, broke on route from slot then got eyes back on QB to find ball. INT. pic.twitter.com/oFcipFTBVw
— Mark Bullock (@MarkBullockNFL) September 17, 2017
Cory Littleton was on the other sideline and made a tackle, though I don’t know if it was on special teams or on defense.
Hau’oli Kikaha was able to sack Tom Brady for the Saints. He is used very situationally, likely limited because of his various knee injuries.
Elijah Qualls was active for the Eagles and saw the field but didn’t make it to the stat sheet.
The Detroit Lions play tonight in Monday Night Football, Dwayne Washington will be returning kicks and serve as a reserve running back.
Inactive Huskies: Kasen Williams, Browns - starting receiver Cory Coleman broke his hand so Willams will probably have a few balls thrown his way next week.
Marvin Hall is on the Falcons practice squad and was wearing a “teammate of the week” jersey. No idea what is the significance but can’t be a bad thing.
OL Ben Garland (63), DE Brooks Reed, DB Marcelis Branch, WR Marvin Hall all wearing Falcons' Teammate of Week black jerseys pic.twitter.com/nKkqLndVeo
— vaughn mcclure (@vxmcclure23) September 15, 2017
Josh Perkins is a fellow practice squad member for the Falcons. Unfortunately Taniela Tupou was released from that same practice squad this week. Jake Eldrenkamp was also released off of the Rams practice squad.
I received a question on Twitter about Joe Mathis. It was reported a while back that he signed with the Houston Texans as an undrafted free agent. The agreement was never listed on the team’s official transaction list and he was never listed as a cut when Houston announced its final roster. With a bit of research I found that he was only a mini-camp invite and not an official signing. He didn’t impress enough (likely to do with his injury) to earn a spot with the squad in training camp.
If you have any questions, leave a comment or tweet me @KnibbeBen.
I appreciate everyone who catches what I miss, don’t be afraid to let me know I missed something, big or small. The NFL is a big league!