Heading into Week 8, another Blue Devil has found himself on an NFL roster, yet for the most part, former Duke football stars had forgettable performances last week. The Blue Zone gives you a rundown of how your favorite former Blue Devils played as we near the midway point of the NFL season:
Daniel Jones, QB, New York Giants
Jones' September debut against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers feels like a distant memory as the last two weeks have been a struggle for the No. 6 pick. Jones turned the ball over three times Sunday, including two fumbles, in a narrow loss to Arizona. The former Blue Devil did complete some nice passes to guys in blue though, with a healthy 10.1 yards per completion and a touchdown pass zipped up the seam to Rhett Ellison. That wasn’t enough to overcome his negative plays though, and Jones couldn't complete a game-winning drive to beat Kyler Murray, the only quarterback drafted ahead of him last April.
Joe Giles-Harris, LB, Jacksonville Jaguars
After forgoing his senior season to test the NFL waters last spring, Giles-Harris will finally get a chance to prove himself after the Jaguars promoted him to the 53-man roster Monday. The former undrafted free agent was on the practice squad for the first seven weeks of the season, but is now needed with Jacksonville linebacker Najee Goode dealing with a foot injury. Giles-Harris will wear No. 43 in his debut against the Jets this week.
Jamison Crowder, WR, New York Jets
It turns out that it’s pretty hard to put up meaningful stats when your quarterback has one of the worst performances by any any signal caller this year as Crowder finished with just four catches for 26 yards in a blowout loss to New England. Jets quarterback Sam Darnold achieved a remarkable -2.94 adjusted yards per attempt while finishing with less than 100 passing yards and four interceptions. On the bright side, Crowder appears to have firmly entrenched himself as a starter, with his lack of snaps against the Eagles two weeks ago looking like nothing more than a blip on the radar.
Laken Tomlinson, G, San Francisco 49ers
Despite the 49ers scoring at least 20 points in every game this season and Washington’s defense giving up 30 points four times so far in 2019, Tomlinson and San Francisco were held to just nine points in their sloppy win against Redskins. Nonetheless, the former first round pick and the rest of the offensive line helped the 49ers grind out a much needed 137 yards rushing with Jimmy Garappolo struggling.
Matt Skura, C, Baltimore Ravens
One of the major surprises in the NFL this season has been the Ravens ranking second in the league in total offense thanks to their dominant run game and Lamar Jackson. Baltimore poured in 199 yards on the ground in their win at Seattle, putting themselves squarely on top of the AFC North by 2.5 games. Skura has not missed an offensive snap this season, comfortably setting himself in the Ravens' starting lineup protecting Jackson, who is turning into an MVP candidate.
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