In the Carolina Panthers’ final game before their bye week, defensive tackle Derrick Brown had recorded one tackle after making 29 in the team’s first five games and played a season-low 70 percent of the defensive snaps.

Brown’s status had been listed as questionable because of knee and ankle injuries entering that contest – a 42-21 loss to the Miami Dolphins on Oct. 15 that dropped Carolina to 0-6.

During the break, Brown told ESPN’s Paul Finebaum when asked about his health: “Just battling through. As soon as you start camp, man, you go from 100 percent down, so I’m just trying to stay in the range where I’ll be able to play every Sunday.”

When Carolina returned to the field on Sunday, Brown was in the range and helped the Panthers post their first victory of the season with a 15-13 win over the Houston Texans.

Brown made five tackles and broke up one pass against the Texans.

Brown has swatted eight passes during the 2023 season.

Brown was among the 18 former Auburn players who got on the field on the eighth Sunday of the NFL’s 104th season.

Three other former Auburn players were involved in the Houston-Carolina game:

· Panthers outside linebacker Eku Leota is on the practice squad and not eligible to play.

· Panthers linebacker Chandler Wooten did not record any stats.

· Texans offensive tackle Kilian Zierer is on injured reserve and not eligible to play.

In the other Sunday games:

Dallas Cowboys 43, Los Angeles Rams 20

· Cowboys cornerback Noah Igbinoghene (Hewitt-Trussville) was designated as a game-day inactive.

Minnesota Vikings 24, Green Bay Packers 10

· Packers kicker Anders Carlson made both his attempts – a 30-yard field goal on the final snap of the first half and an extra point.

· Rudy Ford (New Hope) started at safety for the Packers. Ford made six tackles.

· Packers defensive lineman Colby Wooden made one tackle.

New Orleans Saints 38, Indianapolis Colts 27

· Colts offensive tackle Braden Smith was designated as a game-day inactive. Hip and wrist injuries kept Smith sidelined for the third game in a row.

Miami Dolphins 31, New England Patriots 17

· Dolphins defensive tackle Byron Cowart is on the practice squad and not eligible to play.

· Jonathan Jones started at left cornerback for the Patriots. Jones made three tackles and broke up a pass.

New York Jets 13, New York Giants 10 (OT)

· Jets defensive end Carl Lawson was designated as a game-day inactive.

· Jets linebacker Jamien Sherwood made two tackles on special teams.

· Darius Slayton started at wide receiver for the Giants. Slayton caught one pass for minus-1 yards. New York started with its backup quarterback, finished with its third-stringer and completed 6-of-14 passes for 7 yards in the game. With 16 yards lost in sacks figured in, the Giants had minus-9 passing yards in the game.

· C.J. Uzomah started at tight end for the Bengals. Uzomah had a 19-yard reception.

Jacksonville Jaguars 20, Pittsburgh Steelers 10

· Montravius Adams started at nose tackle for the Steelers. Adams made four tackles and recorded one tackle for loss.

· Jaguars running back Tank Bigsby gained 9 yards on three rushing attempts. Bigsby lost a fumble in the third quarter at the Pittsburgh 36-yard line.

· Jaguars defensive tackle Angelo Blackson did not record any stats.

· Jaguars safety Daniel Thomas (Lee-Montgomery) did not record any stats.

· Jaguars wide receiver Seth Williams (Paul Bryant) is on the practice squad and not eligible to play.

Tennessee Titans 28, Atlanta Falcons 23

· Titans defensive tackle Marlon Davidson (Greenville) is on the practice squad and not eligible to play.

· Titans cornerback Roger McCreary (Williamson) was designated as a game-day inactive. A hamstring injury kept McCreary from playing.

· Titans quarterback Malik Willis had two carries for 4 yards. Willis came in on the fourth play of the game, but he couldn’t control an off-target snap and got charged with losing a fumble at the Tennessee 28-yard line. With No. 1 QB Ryan Tannehill sidelined by an injury, Titans coach Mike Vrabel had said Willis, who had served as Tannehill’s backup, and second-round draft pick Will Levis would play against Atlanta. Levis hadn’t played this season, but on Sunday, he completed 19-of-29 passes for 238 yards with four touchdowns and no interceptions while Willis did not throw a pass.

Philadelphia Eagles 38, Washington Commanders 31

· Eagles offensive lineman Jack Driscoll did not record any stats.

Seattle Seahawks 24, Cleveland Browns 20

· Seahawks linebacker Derick Hall made three tackles on defense and one tackle on special teams.

Baltimore Ravens 31, Arizona Cardinals 24

· Ravens guard Tashawn Manning is on the practice squad and not eligible to play.

· Cardinals inside linebacker Owen Pappoe made one tackle on special teams.

Denver Broncos 24, Kansas City Chiefs 9

· Broncos quarterback Jarrett Stidham dressed but did not play.

· Chiefs offensive tackle Prince Tega Wanogho is on injured reserve and not eligible to play.

Cincinnati Bengals 31, San Francisco 49ers 17

· Bengals wide receiver Shedrick Jackson (Hoover) is on the practice squad and not eligible to play.

Los Angeles Chargers 30, Chicago Bears 13

· Chargers long snapper Josh Harris handled the snaps for three field goals, three extra points and two punts.

Week 8 started on Thursday night, when the Buffalo Bills defeated the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 24-18.

Week 8 concludes on Monday, when the Las Vegas Raiders and the Detroit Lions square off at 7:15 p.m. CDT at Ford Field in Detroit. ABC and ESPN will televise the game.

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Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AmarkG1.