Former Alabama players provide solid performances on both sides of the ball
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The 11th week of the 2018-19 season in the National Football League wrapped up on Monday. Below is a look at some of the highlights from week 11 by former Crimson Tide players currently playing in the NFL entering the holiday weekend.
Julio Jones continued his All-Pro play in week 11 for the Atlanta Falcons, hauling in a team-high six passes for 118 yards and a score – his third touchdown in as many weeks. The 100-plus yard receiving performance marked his fifth consecutive week eclipsing the century mark and his seventh game going over the 100-yard mark this season. Jones leads Atlanta and sits atop the NFL in receiving yards with 1,158. Also putting together a strong receiving day was O.J. Howard, with the second-year tight end catching five passes for 76 yards – his seventh game this season going over the 50-yard mark for receiving and his fourth performance with five or more catches in 2018.
The New Orleans Saints came away with a dominant 48-7 win over the 2018 Super Bowl Champion Philadelphia Eagles, thanks in large part to Mark Ingram II’s big day. The former Heisman Trophy winner rushed 16 times for 103 yards and two scores – all team-high marks for the Saints. Ingram II has now surpassed the 100-yard mark in consecutive weeks.
Sunday’s matchup in Washington between the Redskins and Houston Texans saw numerous former Alabama standouts put together strong defensive performances. Ha Ha Clinton-Dix registered a team-leading 13 tackles and forced a fumble for the Redskins. Right behind Clinton-Dix was Da’Ron Payne, with the rookie contributing seven tackles, while teammates Ryan Anderson and Jonathan Allen each contributed four tackles apiece with Allen adding one for loss. Kareem Jackson paced the Texans in tackles, tallying nine with a sack (-13 yards), one quarterback hurry and a pass defensed.
Also standing out on defense for their respective teams were Landon Collins and Dalvin Tomlinson (New York Giants) along with Jarran Reed (Seattle Seahawks) and Eddie Jackson (Chicago Bears). Collins finished his afternoon with 11 tackles to move to 10th in the league for total tackles while Tomlinson made a season-high six tackles in New York’s 38-35 win over Tampa Bay. Reed spent his afternoon in the Green Bay Packers’ backfield, making two tackles with half a sack (-3 yards) and pressuring Aaron Rodgers twice in the Seahawks’ 27-24 victory. Jackson had a pick-six in the Bears’ 25-20 win over the Minnesota Vikings. The Chicago safety also added one pass breakup on the night.
On the special teams side of things, rookie punter JK Scott boomed six punts for 284 yards to average 47.3 yards per kick with a season-long 67-yarder. For the year, Scott is averaging 45.0 yards per kick and has limited the opposition to only nine returns for 68 yards, a net average of 39.7.
