Penn State players that stood out in Week Six of the NFL season

Week six of the NFL season is almost fully in the books. With only Monday Night football left to play, we’ll highlight the former Penn State football players that had important performances on Sunday. Despite not having gaudy stats, several former Nittany Lions played pivotal roles for their teams in victory and defeat.

Big weekend for former Penn State runners (again)

Allen Robinson

Former Penn State receiver Allen Robinson finally had his breakout game with the Los Angeles Rams. Sure, it came against the hapless Carolina Panthers, but Robinson tallied 63 yards and a touchdown on five receptions. Robinson provides a steady presence as a run blocker for the Rams, but his chemistry with quarterback Matthew Stafford is essential for the Rams’ offense to reach its ceiling. 

Chris Godwin

Chris Godwin caught six passes on 12 targets, and while he didn’t reach the end zone, he did tally 95 yards on the afternoon. However, finding the end zone was the issue for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who lost to the Pittsburgh Steelers 20-18. It was a long and frustrating game for the Bucs, who went on drives of 17 and 18 plays that netted only 10 points. 

Saquon Barkley

Another week, another upset for the surging New York Giants, who, despite coming in as the home team with the better record, was the underdog. Saquon Barkley carried the ball 22 times, and while he didn’t have a stellar yards-per-carry number, he sealed the deal for the Giants with a leaping touchdown late in the fourth quarter to put the team ahead. Barkley is the second-leading rusher in the NFL through six games.

Miles Sanders

Miles Sanders ended the week as the NFL’s fourth-leading rusher after a 71-yard performance against the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday Night Football. Like Barkley, he put in hard work against the stout Cowboys’ defense but still churned out those 71 yards and a touchdown on 18 carries. The former Penn State five-star has been a big part of the Philadelphia Eagles’ undefeated start to the season. After several injury-riddled seasons, Sanders is finally showing the world what he can do. 

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Mike Gesicki

The Miami Dolphins trailed the Minnesota Vikings for most of the game Sunday, which means it was a Mike Gesicki game. The Dolphins threw the ball 47 times between starter Skylar Thompson and injured backup Teddy Bridgewater. The former Penn State tight end caught six of his seven targets for 70 yards and two touchdowns. While he may not fit the Dolphins’ playbook, he sure is helpful in games like Sunday. 

Still to play: KJ Hamer land the struggling Broncos offense face Austin Johnson and the Chargers defense on Monday Night Football.

Defenders don’t get stats, but make an impact

Arnold Ebiketie

The Atlanta Falcons, led by head coach Arthur Smith, formerly of the Tennessee Titans, are a nasty football team. They grind defenses into dust and play tough, smart football. Players like former Penn State edge rusher Arnold Ebiketie can finally shine when they get a lead. Ebiketie didn’t tally any official NFL sacks, but he got multiple pressures and hits on San Francisco 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo during the 9ers comeback attempt. As a result, San Francisco didn’t score any points after and had only one meaningful drive in the fourth quarter. 

Micah Parsons

Just because he didn’t have any sacks, QB hits, or flash plays doesn’t mean former Penn State superstar Micah Parsons had a bad game. The Philadelphia Eagles schemed around the hybrid defender, putting him in read-option situations and running away from his side of the formation for most of the night. Despite that, Parsons tallied one tackle for loss and had several impact tackles near the line of scrimmage. Still, it wasn’t enough for the Cowboys, who gave up 20 points in the second quarter in a 26-17 defeat. 

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Adrian Amos

Adrian Amos led the Green Bay Packers in tackles and was involved in the run game on Sunday to a positive extent. However, it didn’t quite matter as the former Penn Stater, and his teammates gave up nearly 200 yards rushing to New York Jets runners Breece Hall and Michael Carter. Amos and the secondary kept a lid on the Jets young passer Zach Wilson, who finished the game with 110 yards passing. 

Jaquan Brisker

According to PFF, former Penn State safety Jaquan Brisker put together one of his best performances of the season with a sack, three tackles, and no catches surrendered. The standout Nittany Lion got off to a sluggish start in his NFL career, missing multiple tackles in the first two games while returning from a hand injury. However, Brisker is much more sure-handed now, missing zero tackles in three of the last four games. The Pittsburgh native is a do-it-all player for the Bears that lines up at every level of the defense each week.