Fifteen weeks of football have completed, and just three weeks remain. A new name and a former mention made their way onto the list in this weeks’ edition of “Vols in the NFL.”
Just a few short weeks ago, the Philadelphia Eagles discarded their former 2017 first-round pick. The not-so-surprise release granted Derek Barnett a chance at the waiver wire, where the Houston Texans took a chance and claimed him.
In the eight games he played with the Eagles, Barnett saw his role diminish and failed to record a sack. In just his third game with the Texans, he found his first sack as a member of his new squad.
A Week 15 match-up with the Tennessee Titans brought Barnett back to his home state where he also played his college football. In the overtime period, Barnett bull-rushed Titans’ rookie tackle Jaelyn Duncan, using his power to shove Duncan into the quarterback which credited him with the sack.
He would finish the day with four tackles and the sack while picking up the almighty overtime win, 19-16.
The Los Angeles Chargers have been one of the league disappointments this season. Much turmoil starts at the head of the team, with many question marks over their head coaching in Brandon Staley. Thursday Night Football was where they hoped to get back on track as wide receiver Joshua Palmer made his return from injured reserve after missing the previous five games with a knee injury.
The simplest term to describe the hope after Thursday: gone.
The Las Vegas Raiders pummeled the Chargers, 63-21.
The score, however, was not indicative of Palmer’s performance. In fact, he was the only bright spot in the embarrassing loss. In his return, Palmer recorded four catches for 113 yards and a touchdown. His highlight of the night came on a 79-yard touchdown catch where he took the top off the defense and had an open lane to the end zone. The dagger cut the lead to 42, but it still was not enough to spark a comeback.
The title for Alvin Kamara may be misleading when you check the New Orleans Saints’ record, but that does not disqualify his contributions.
The Saints hosted the New York Giants on Sunday, where they piled on a 24-6 win.
In the win, Kamara once again surpassed 100 all-purpose yards. This week featured 66 yards on the ground while adding 44 in the receiving game. The downfall, however, was that he failed to find the end zone for the first time since Week 12.
The upside is that his performance pushed him over 1,000 scrimmage yards on the season. The feat is the seventh time in his career he has recorded more than 1,000 scrimmage yards in a season, which sets another franchise record. He passed former receiver Marques Colston, who previously held the record with six seasons of 1,000 or more scrimmage yards.
“We played a team game today,” Kamara said after the win. “This is when the wins count. I’m proud of the guys on the field.”The Saints sit tied with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers atop the NFC South standings, both sitting at 7-7 overall.
