Week 2 of the NFL season saw several former Auburn Tigers take the field at the professional level, with some of them contributing in large roles for their teams.
Cam Newton lit up the stat sheet again this week, completing 30-of-44 passes for 397 yards, one touchdown and an interception. Newton’s 397 yards were his most passing yards in a game since his rookie year in Carolina. He also led the Patriots in rushing for the second straight week with 11 attempts for 47 yards and added two touchdowns.
Newton is tied with Carolina Panthers running back Christian McCaffrey as the NFL’s leader in rushing touchdowns this season at four. All of Newton’s rushing touchdowns have come from the red zone, and three of them scored within the five-yard line, resembling some of the plays that Auburn ran with Newton during their 2010 National Championship season.
Newton and the Patriots were down by 12 points with under three minutes to go in the game but still had a chance to win on the game’s last play. On the final play, Newton took the snap and tried to run in for a touchdown from the Seattle three-yard line but ultimately came up short.
Newton’s teammate and former Tiger cornerback Jonathan Jones logged seven tackles for the Patriots defense in the team’s 30-35 loss on Sunday.
Week 2 kicked off on Thursday with former Tigers C.J. Uzomah and Carl Lawson’s Cincinnati Bengals taking on the Cleveland Browns. Uzomah caught four of his six targets for 42 yards and a touchdown in the first half of the game before he was sidelined for the rest of the game with an Achilles injury. Uzomah will miss the rest of the year after tearing his Achilles.
Sunday’s Panthers game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers featured three former Tigers between the teams with Derrick Brown in Carolina and Carlton Davis and Jamal Dean with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Davis stood out the most amongst the three ex-Tiger defenders with an interception for Tampa Bay. Davis and Dean combined for 11 tackles while Brown had one tackle.
On Monday, Las Vegas Raiders kicker Daniel Carlson duplicated his Week 1 stat line. Carlson made all four of his attempted extra points and converted on both of his field goals, one from 54 yards out, tying his NFL career-long and sealing the victory for the Raiders.
Detroit Lions running back Kerryon Johnson rushed for 32 yards on eight carries and scored a touchdown in the Lions’ 42-21 loss to the Green Bay Packers on Sunday. Johnson saw his carries diminish in Week 1, but lead the Lions in carries in Week 2.
Highlight's from around the league:
Cam Newton:
C.J. Uzomah:
Carlton Davis:
Daniel Carlson:
Kerryon Johnson:
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