Through eight weeks, the Patriots and 49ers remain undefeated. The 49ers travel to Arizona on Thursday night and the Patriots travel to Baltimore on Sunday night as they look to remain perfect.
- Former Ohio State players Nick and Joey Bosa combined for five sacks on Sunday to set the daily record for most sacks by brothers, passing J.J. and T.J. Watt’s (2018) and Jimmy and Toby Williams (1985) former record of four.
- Speaking of J.J. Watt, he was injured on Sunday and is out for the season with a pectoral tear.
- The trade deadline is Tuesday and there may be a late rush as some of the teams (looking at you Miami and Washington) look to retool for the future.
But most of you are here to see how the former boys of black and gold are doing in the NFL. This week there were 35 players on rosters and practice squads, the same as last week.
Star of the Week
As there were no players with eye-popping stats this week, the winner of the coveted POTW award this week goes to a former Hawkeye that just had his first career start. While this might not seem like much, James Ferentz has been through a lot to get that first start. Unlike an unnamed brother who got a cushy gig in the family business, the youngest Ferentz son is out there working hard for an opportunity and was finally rewarded this week.
For those who appreciate players' perseverance/overcoming odds to achieve career milestone, James Ferentz making his first career NFL start is a good one.
— Mike Reiss (@MikeReiss) October 27, 2019
30 years old
Undersized (6-2, 300)
Undrafted in 2014 out of Iowa
Released 6 times
2 full seasons on practice squads
3 teams
C James Ferentz (New England Patriots, 4th season): Ferentz and the Patriots improved to 8-0 on the season as they easily defeated the Browns 27-13. Ferentz was moved into a starter’s role due to injuries and saw his most action on the season and his career. POTW = 1.
Bill Belichick said C/G James Ferentz has been great to work with, noting his scout-team role in recent years, all of which led up to his first career NFL start Sunday.
— Mike Reiss (@MikeReiss) October 28, 2019
"Great kid. Very smart. Works hard. You can tell his dad is Kirk Ferentz," Belichick said.
The Rest of the Hawkeyes
QB C.J. Beathard (San Francisco 49ers, 3rd season in the NFL): Beathard was inactive again this week, as he has been every week this season. The 49ers spanked the Panthers 51-13 to remain undefeated on the season. There was an article discussing trade interest in Beathard prior to this week’s trade deadline but that the compensation is only in the range of the 6th round which isn’t enough for San Francisco.
OL Austin Blythe (Los Angeles Rams, 4th season): Blythe and the Rams improved to 5-3 as they defeated Cincinnati 24-10 in London.
OL Ike Boettger (Buffalo Bills, 2nd season): Boettger and the Bills fell to 5-2 as they lost 31-13 to the Eagles. Boettger was inactive for the game.
OL Bryan Bulaga (Green Bay Packers, 10th season): Bulaga and the Packers defeated Kansas City (playing without QB Pat Mahomes) 31-24 in an exciting Sunday night game to improve to 7-1. Bulaga missed some plays in the fourth quarter dealing with some kind of hand injury.
RB James Butler (Oakland Raiders, 2nd season): Butler is on the Raiders practice squad.
DE Adrian Clayborn (Atlanta Falcons, 9th season): Clayborn and the Falcons fell to 1-7 as they lost to Seattle 27-20. Clayborn had two tackles in the game.
DT Mike Daniels (Detroit Lions, 8th season): Daniels was inactive again this week with a foot injury. The Lions defeated the Giants 31-26 to improve to 3-3-1 on the season.
C James Daniels (Chicago Bears, 2nd season): Daniels and the Bears fell to 3-4 as they, and stop me if you’ve heard this before, missed a field goal at the end of the game. The Bears lost to the Chargers 17-16. On a positive note, they made an effort to get former Cyclone David Montgomery the ball and he managed to run for 135 yards behind Daniels and the rest of the O-line.
DL Carl Davis (Indianapolis Colts, 5th season): Davis was inactive in the Colts 15-13 victory over the Broncos.
OL Andrew Donnal (Miami Dolphins, 5th season): Donnal and the Dolphins dropped to 0-7 when they lost to the Steelers 27-14 on Monday night. Donnal was inactive for the game.
WR Nick Easley (Buffalo Bills, 1st season): Easley is on the Buffalo practice squad.
TE Noah Fant (Denver Broncos, 1st season): Fant and the Broncos lost 15-13 to the Colts on a game ending field goal by 46 year old Adam Vinatieri (he will turn 47 before this season is over, that’s freaking amazing). Fant had five catches for just 26 yards.
S Jake Gervase (Los Angeles Rams, 1st season): Gervase was inactive in the Rams victory in London against the Bengals. The Rams improved to 5-3 with their 24-10 victory.
TE Parker Hesse (Tennessee Titans, 1st season): Hesse is on the Titans practice squad.
LB Anthony Hitchens (Kansas City Chiefs, 6th season): Hitchens had seven tackles in the Chiefs 31-24 loss to the Packers.
TE T.J. Hockenson (Detroit Lions, 1st season): Hockenson had one catch for 21 yards in the Lions victory over the Giants. POTW honors = 1.
S Amani Hooker (Tennessee Titans, 1st season): Hooker had two tackles in the Titans 27-23 victory over Tampa Bay. The Titans improve to 4-4 on the season.
S Micah Hyde (Buffalo Bills, 7th season): Hyde and the Bills lost to Philadelphia 31-13. Hyde had seven tackles in the game. POTW Honors =1.
CB Josh Jackson (Green Bay Packers, 2nd season): Jackson didn’t record any stats in the Packers win over the Chiefs. He only played on special teams.
LB Josey Jewell (Denver Broncos, 2nd season): Jewell had 1⁄2 sack in the Broncos loss to Indianapolis. POTW honors = 1.
DT Jaleel Johnson (Minnesota Vikings, 3rd season): Johnson didn’t record any stats in the Vikings 19-9 victory over Washington. Johnson played in just 14 plays.
CB Desmond King (Los Angeles Chargers, 3rd season): King had six tackles in the Chargers 17-16 victory over the Bears. King returned one kick for 20 yards. POTW honors = 1.
LB Christian Kirksey (Cleveland Browns, 6th season): Kirksey was placed on the IR earlier this season and is most likely out for the rest of the season after undergoing surgery to repair a torn pectoral muscle. The Browns lost to the Patriots 27-13 to fall to 2-5.
TE George Kittle (San Francisco 49ers, 3rd season): Kittle had six catches for 86 yards in the victory over the Panthers. Apparently Sunday was something called “Tight Ends Day” (why?) and the announcers were really hoping Kittle would get a touchdown. POTW honors = 2.
LS Casey Kreiter (Denver Broncos, 4th season): Kreiter didn’t see the field much as his long-snapping services weren’t needed much in the 15-13 loss to Indy.
DB Greg Mabin (Cincinnati Bengals, 3rd season): Mabin is on the Cincinnati practice squad.
OL Matt Nelson (Detroit Lions, 1st season): Nelson is on the practice squad for Detroit.
LB Anthony Nelson (Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 1st season): Nelson and the Buccaneers lost at Tennessee 27-23. Nelson had one tackle in the loss.
LB Ben Niemann (Kansas City Chiefs, 2nd season): Niemann had four tackles in the Chiefs loss to the Packers on Sunday night. Unfortunately, Niemann took a lot of grief as he allowed the Packers to convert on a 3rd and five late in the game while appearing to give too much of a cushion on the play. POTW honors = 1.
OL Riley Reiff (Minnesota Vikings, 8th season): Reiff and the Vikings improved to 6-2 after defeating the Redskins. Reiff started and played in all the offensive plays for the Vikings.
OL Keegan Render (Philadelphia Eagles, 1st season): Render is on the practice squad for Philadelphia.
OL Ross Reynolds (San Francisco 49ers, 1st season): Reynolds is on the San Francisco practice squad.
OL Brandon Scherff (Washington Redskins, 5th season): Scherff and the Redskins lost to Minnesota 19-9 last Thursday. The Redskins are now 1-7.
OL Marshal Yanda (Baltimore Ravens, 13th season): Yanda and the 5-2 Ravens were on their bye week. They host the undefeated New England Patriots next Sunday night.