WVU in the NFL: Week 16
Christmas night saw a clash between multiple former Mountaineers as the Philadelphia Eagles hosted the Oakland Raiders.
After missing last week’s game against the New York Giants, Eagles rookie cornerback Rasul Douglas made one tackle during the team’s 19-10 win which earned the Eagles the No. 1 seed in the NFC playoff picture. Eagles linebacker Najee Goode did not record a statistic in the win.
Eagles wide receiver Shelton Gibson was inactive for Monday night’s game after playing the previous four games and joined running back Wendell Smallwood, who missed his sixth straight game.
For the Raiders, linebacker Bruce Irvin racked up three tackles and one pass deflection in the loss, bringing his total to 54 tackles on the season along with 7.5 sacks. Raiders safety Karl Joseph totaled four tackles and is the team’s third-leading tackler with 78 on the year.
Carolina Panthers cornerback Daryl Worley played every single defensive snap for the second straight week and racked up five total tackles along with his first sack of the season in a 22-19 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Worley’s sack came on a second-and-13 during a critical drive late in the fourth quarter which ended in Tampa Bay missing a 51-yard field goal which then paved the way for a 10-play, 59-yard game-winning drive for the Panthers.
On the opposite side of the field, Buccaneers running back Charles Sims carried the ball once for no gain, caught his only target of the day for a 19-yard gain and made his first tackle of the season after quarterback Jameis Winston was sacked by Wes Horton and fumbled the ball on the game’s first drive.
Buccaneers safety Keith Tandy and defensive lineman Will Clarke also combined for two tackles in the loss.
Chicago Bears linebacker Nick Kwiatkoski played 49 of the team’s 59 defensive snaps along with nine snaps on special teams and led the Bears with eight combined tackles in Sunday’s 20-3 win over the Cleveland Browns.
Detroit Lions offensive guard Don Barclay made his first start with the team on Sunday in place of the injured T.J. Lang against the Cincinnati Bengals, but struggled as he committed three penalties in the fourth quarter and the Lions gained 87 rushing yards on 22 carries in a 26-17 loss.
Tennessee Titans offensive guard Quinton Spain started his 13th game of the season and sixth straight since coming back from his turf toe injury, but the team averaged just 3.7 yards per carry in a 27-23 loss to the Los Angeles Rams.
For the Rams, wide receiver Tavon Austin was on the active roster, but didn’t record a statistic for the second game this season as the Rams won their first NFC West title since 2003.
One week after recording a career-high nine tackles, Seattle Seahawks linebacker Terence Garvin saw less playing time due to the return of linebacker K.J. Wright and didn’t record a statistic in a 21-12 win over the Dallas Cowboys.
Also for the Seahawks, former West Virginia defensive lineman Noble Nwachukwu was signed to the team’s practice squad last Tuesday. Nwachukwu has yet to appear in an NFL game in his rookie season this year and was previously with the San Francisco 49ers until he was cut from their practice squad on Nov. 29.
After being claimed off waivers by the Indianapolis Colts last Monday, offensive lineman Mark Glowinski was inactive for Saturday’s 23-16 loss to the Baltimore Ravens.
