Huskers in the NFL Week 11

This past weekend was one of the busiest for our former Huskers as only one active roster player was inactive for their game along with one rookie getting their second career start. And while we have the good we also have the very bad as fan favorite Rex Burkhead suffered a season ending injury. Let’s take a look at how each for Husker did in their Week 11 games.

Top Husker Performer

Will Compton, Tennessee

After being on the practice squad the last couple of weeks Compton was elevated back to the main roster for the Titans game against the Ravens. When starter Jayon Brown went down with an injury it was Compton who stepped in and was the highest graded Titans defender by Pro Football Focus. Compton was strong both in helping slow the Ravens explosive rushing attack but also did well in coverage against Baltimore’s talented tight ends.

Had a Good Day

Ndamukong Suh, Tampa Bay

Monday night was pretty quiet for Suh as he only had one tackle but it was a big one as he was able to get some penetration and get a tackle for loss on third down. That play forced the Rams to kick a field goal which they ended up missing. It would be easy to say that Suh didn’t have much of an impact but let’s not forget that the Bucs lead the NFL in rushing yards allowed. That caused the Rams to run the ball only 20 times with a majority of those to the outside. That wanted nothing to do with Suh.

Randy Gregory, Dallas

Suffering from an illness during the week, Gregory was limited to only 16 total snaps. But even with just playing 25% of the defensive plays, Gregory was able to finish with four quarterback pressures. Gregory won with speed and agility along with a nice bull rush that dominated former Iowa left tackle Riley Reiff.

Alex Lewis, New York Jets

The Jets may have had less than 300 total yards of offense, but you cannot blame Alex Lewis who had another really strong performance. In the run game Lewis was borderline dominant moving a few defenders off their spot while also getting to the second level to occupy linebackers. As a pass protector he did give up some ground at times but never gave up a single pressure the entire game.

Sam Koch, Baltimore

Sunday was another solid outing for Koch as his three punts averaged 42 yards while he was able to pin the Titans inside the 20 yardline once and another punt flipping the field from the Ravens 27 yard line all the way to the Titans own 27 yard line.

Up and Down Game

Lavonte David, Tampa Bay

Lacking much flash you can go a whole game not really noticing David and then realize that he had nine tackles with three of them being for loss along with a pass defended. Sure he did lose track of Robert Woods in the end zone which resulted in a touchdown, but overall David was solid once again in both run support and in coverage.

Maliek Collins, Las Vegas

If you look at the stat sheet it would tell you that Collins had a rough game, I mean he didn’t even show up. But if you went and watched his performance it does tell you a slightly different story. Sure Collins had his downs as he struggled to get off blocks and wasn’t able to make any tackles. However Collins did get a few quarterback pressures throughout the game, including getting into Mahomes’ face to help force an interception by Trayvon Mullen.

Joshua Kalu, Tennessee

With starting safety Kenny Vaccaro out with a concussion it allowed Kalu to see action on defense in addition to his usual special teams role. Kalu only played 18 total snaps but was able to make an impact with four tackles. Overall Kalu held his own with a limited amount of snaps.

Devine Ozigbo, Jacksonville

After starting the season on injured reserve and then being inactive since he’s been back, Sunday against the Steelers was his first action. Unfortunately Ozigbo didn’t get any carries but made three catches, for a measly five yards. It wasn’t great, but it was baby steps in what may lead to a bigger role as the season progresses.

Had a Bad Day

Rex Burkhead, New England

After a strong couple of weeks things were looking up for Burkhead but that all came to a crashing end when he caught a wide toss and had the helmet of a Texans defender hit him square in the knee. Burkhead will miss the remainder of the season with a torn ACL. Let’ all hope for a speedy recovery and to see him back on the field next season.

Chris Jones, Minnesota

It’s been a crazy month for Jones who went from being a street free agent to starting his second straight game for the Vikings. While Jones did get turned around on a slant against Amari Cooper, he played well in coverage throughout the game. However Jones had a horrible tackle attempt when he went to fill on the edge but didn’t even try to tackle Tony Pollard as he ran right past him for a go ahead touchdown in the fourth quarter. After getting dominated by the receiver blocking on the two point conversion, Jones didn’t see the field again.

Lamar Jackson, New York Jets

With two Jets cornerbacks going on injured reserve and another released, we’re going to see plenty of Jackson to finish the season. Jackson tended to play well sticking with his assigned receiver or flowing well in zone. Heck even had a few nice tackles coming up in run support. But in the second half Jackson really struggled to play the ball in the air giving up a touchdown in the red zone to Keenan Allen. Jackson tends to be in the right place but has really struggled this season with his ball skills.

No Impact

Luke Gifford, Dallas

Even with Sean Lee back we are seeing Gifford being active as he is getting playing time on the special teams coverage units. Against Minnesota Gifford did get a tackle on a kickoff at the end of the first half.

Cethan Carter, Cincinnati

It was a quiet day for Carter who did 17 snaps on offense for the Bengals but continues to be used for his blocker ability while he wasn’t targeted on any of his routes.

Carlos Davis, Pittsburgh

Davis was active again for the third straight week but only logged eight total snaps. Unfortunately Davis wasn’t able to extend his streak of making a tackle in his third straight game, but he is getting to see the field on one of the best teams in the NFL.

Ameer Abdullah, Minnesota

Against the Cowboys we didn’t get to see any of Ameer on offense as his only snaps came on special teams which also didn’t include any kickoff returns.

Brent Qvale, Houston

Qvale only tends to play in emergency situations and that was the case when he say three offensive snaps in the Texans win over the Patriots. But after those three snaps it was back to being on the field goal unit.

Inactive

Khalil Davis, Tampa Bay

BYE Week

Nick Gates, New York Giants

Practice Squad or Injured Reserve

Andy Janovich, Cleveland – Covid IR

Janovich was played on the Covid list after testing positive missing this week’s games. Intestersting note is that former Husker quarterback Johnny Stanton was elevated from the practice squad to fill in for Janovich.

Nathan Gerry, Philadelphia – IR

Richie Incognito, Las Vegas – IR

Darrion Daniels, San Francisco

Stanley Morgan, Cincinnati

Freedom Akinmoladun, Cincinnati

Prince Amukamara, Arizona