Just past the midpoint of the NFL season was a tough week for former Blue Devils, many of whom saw their teams suffer big losses.
Jamison Crowder, WR, Washington Redskins
A week after posting his best performance thus far in 2017, Crowder sat out Washington’s thrilling victory against the Seahawks this week due to a lingering hamstring injury that kept him out of practice for most of last week. The injury was a major blow to Crowder, who seemed to finally be moving in the right direction after enduring a disappointing start to the season.
When he returns, the Redskins hope he will continue his upward trend and show more than just flashes of himself from a year ago, when he was one of the best slot receivers in the NFL. He is listed as day-to-day ahead of Washington’s Week 10 matchup against the Vikings, who rank fifth in the league in passing yards allowed this season.
Ross Cockrell, CB, New York Giants
After Janoris Jenkins was suspended “indefinitely” for violating team rules, Cockrell and fellow corner Eli Apple were on the field for all of the Giants’ defensive snaps in New York’s blowout loss to the Rams. However, neither could do much to slow down Jared Goff and the rest of the Los Angeles offense, which had five 35-plus yard plays. Cockrell had five tackles for the Giants, who surrendered 51 points in their worst defensive showing of the season.
Although there were many low points for the New York defense, one of the worst came on a third-and-33 situation for the Rams. Goff dumped the ball off to wide receiver Robert Woods, who threaded his way virtually untouched through the Giants and into the end zone for a 52-yard score, a representative play in an embarrassing game for New York.
Vincent Rey, LB, Cincinnati Bengals
Coming off back to back performances with at least seven tackles, Rey struggled to get going on Sunday against the Jaguars, finishing with just three tackles. Rey saw his tackles decline in October from the first month of the season, and will look to get back on track for Cincinnati, which at 3-5 has significant ground to cover to catch up with the division-leading Steelers.
Laken Tomlinson, G, San Francisco 49ers
The 49ers and Tomlinson continued to struggle Sunday against the Cardinals, scoring only 10 points in their eighth loss this season in another difficult game for the offense. Led by quarterback C.J. Beathard, San Francisco gained only 329 total yards and rushed for just 63. Tomlinson was credited with giving up three sacks.
The most exciting moment for Tomlinson came with just more than three minutes remaining in the game. Cardinals and former 49ers safety Antoine Bethea hit a sliding Beathard late, drawing an immediate reaction from Tomlinson and leading to a brief altercation between the former teammates.
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