Standout Penn State football players in Week 13 of NFL the season
It’s week 13 in the NFL calendar, and the playoff picture is starting to crystalize around the NFL. While some former Penn State players, like Miles Sanders, are on top-seeded teams, others, like Pat Freiermuth, are putting up performances to scratch and claw into the picture. Let’s check out the top players from this past week’s games.
Penn State offensive standouts
Pat Freiermuth
It was a play reminiscent of his rumbling touchdown against the Memphis Tigers in the 2019 Cotton Bowl. Former Penn State tight end Pat Freiermuth stepped through two tackles and stiff-armed an Atlanta Falcons receive to go 57 yards and set up the Pittsburgh Steelers’ lone touchdown of the day.
Freiermuth finished with three catches for 76 yards in the Steelers’ 19-16 win over the Falcons. Freiermuth leads the team in receiving with 597 yards despite missing a few games this year.
Miles Sanders
Sanders was held in check on Sunday, but the Tennessee Titans were selling out to stop the running game of the Philadelphia Eagles. Despite the former Penn State runner’s meager ten carries for 24 yards, Sanders scored a touchdown. But more importantly, the Eagles had room to shred the Titans’ secondary. Quarterback Jalen Hurts finished with 380 yards and three touchdowns through the air. In the 35-10 route. Sanders also chipped in two catches on two targets for 14 yards.
Jahan Dotson
Jahan Dotson has taken some time to get back in the groove after a hamstring injury earlier this season, but he came back in a big way on Sunday. The former leading man for the Penn State receiver room grabbed five catches for 54 yards, but none was bigger than his final catch of regulation.
Dotson’s slick move and touchdown forced overtime against the New York Giants in a game that ended in a 20-20 tie.
Saquon Barkely 23 total touches 81 yards 1 TD
On the other side of the field, Penn State’s NFL superstar, Saquon Barkley another tough day of rugged production. Barkley tallied 23 total touches for 81 yards and a touchdown in the tie. Without many other viable threats on the offense, Barkley’s effectiveness has diminished recently. Barkley hasn’t carried the ball for over 100 yards since he went for 152 against the Texans three weeks ago. Still, the Giants are in the playoff race at 7-4, and he’s a big reason why.
Micah Parsons limited by gameplan but has big impact
Micah Parsons
It wasn’t the typical dominating performance on the stat sheet for Micah Parsons, thanks to an incredibly quick trigger by Indianapolis Colts quarterback Matt Ryan. Still, the Penn State pass rusher managed a quarterback hit and a pass defense in the Sunday night game that turned into a blowout in the fourth quarter. Part of the reason the Colts could only score 19 points on the Dallas Cowboys was that Parsons was routinely getting pressure that forced the ball out.
Nick Scott
It’s the adage that if your safety is leaving the defense in tackles, chances are it’s not a great game. Nick Scott is on a bad Los Angeles Rams defense, but he’s been playing well at safety this season. The former Penn State defender totaled eight tackles on Sunday and broke up a Geno Smith pass in the 27-23 loss to the Seattle Seahawks. Scott’s Rams are 3-9 and firmly out of the playoffs.
Still to play: Former Penn State players Donovan Smith, Chris Godwin and Carl Nassib of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers face Blake Gillikin and Juwan Johnson of the New Orleans Saints in a must-win NFC South divisional matchup.
