Alabama NFL roundup: Jerry Jeudy has double career game

In the final game of a lost season, the Denver Broncos might have found something for 2023.

In the offseason, the Broncos made a big trade to acquire nine-time Pro Bowl quarterback Russell Wilson from the Seattle Seahawks and installed in an offensive-minded head coach by hiring Green Bay Packers offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett.

But entering Sunday’s season finale against the Los Angeles Chargers, Denver had scored the fewest points in the NFL, Hackett was fired two weeks ago and the Broncos’ record sat at 4-12.

But against the Chargers, Wilson found a long-distance connection with wide receiver Jerry Jeudy, who not only reached a career high for receiving yards, but also had a career high for rushing yards in Denver’s 31-28 victory over playoff-bound Los Angeles.

Jeudy caught five passes for 157 yards and ran for 39 yards on three carries.

Jeudy’s receptions were good for 57, 50, 25, 19 and 6 yards. Jeudy’s big game almost propelled him to a 1,000-yard season. He finished 2022 with 67 receptions for 975 yards and six touchdowns – all career highs. Injuries kept Jeudy off the field for two games and caused him to miss nearly all of two others this season.

Jeudy’s Sunday output surpassed the 140 yards on five receptions that he had in a 32-31 loss to the Las Vegas Raiders on Jan. 3, 2021, when he caught a 92-yard touchdown pass.

Jeudy had three rushing attempts for 4 yards in his NFL career before Sunday. His Sunday runs included a 12-yard carry for a first down to help the Broncos run out the final 3:14 of the game.

Jeudy was among the 46 former Alabama players who got on the field on the 18th Sunday of the NFL’s 103rd season.

Four other former Alabama players were involved in the Los Angeles-Denver game:

· Broncos linebacker Christopher Allen is on injured reserve and not eligible to play.

· Kareem Jackson started at strong safety for the Broncos. Jackson made four tackles and recovered a fumble. Jackson recovered a Los Angeles fumble at the Denver 9-yard line and returned it 2 yards to preserve the Broncos’ 24-20 lead with 21 seconds left in the third quarter.

· Chargers punter JK Scott averaged 55.8 yards on five punts, with a net of 47.8 yards. Scott had a 56-yard punt that was fumbled and recovered by Denver at its 13-yard line, a 60-yarder for a touchback, a 58-yarder for a touchback (although an illegal-block penalty put the football on the Denver 5), a 45-yarder that was muffed and recovered by Los Angeles at the Denver 29 and a 60-yarder downed at the Denver 4.

· Patrick Surtain II started at left cornerback for the Broncos. Surtain made one tackle.

In the other Sunday games:

Atlanta Falcons 30, Tampa Bay Buccaneers 17

· Rashaan Evans (Auburn High) started at inside linebacker for the Falcons. Evans made five tackles. Evans finished the 2022 campaign with 159 tackles — 48 more than he made in any of his first four NFL seasons.

· Buccaneers wide receiver Julio Jones (Foley) was designated as a game-day inactive as Tampa Bay prepares for the playoffs next week.

Buffalo Bills 35, New England Patriots 23

· Patriots defensive tackle Christian Barmore broke up a pass.

· Damien Harris started at running back for the Patriots. Harris ran for 48 yards on 13 carries and caught a 4-yard pass.

· Patriots linebacker Anfernee Jennings (Dadeville) made two tackles and recorded one tackle for loss.

· Mac Jones started at quarterback for the Patriots. Jones completed 26-of-40 passes for 243 yards with three touchdowns and three interceptions and ran four times for 5 yards. Jones threw a 2-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Jakobi Meyers as New England tied the score at 7-7 with 5:45 left in the first quarter, a 2-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver DeVante Parker as the Patriots tied the score at 14-14 with 3:45 left in the first half and a 26-yard touchdown pass to Parker as New England cut Buffalo’s lead to 28-23 with 11:37 to play.

· Bills safety Jared Mayden was designated as a game-day inactive. Mayden joined Buffalo on Wednesday from the New York Jets’ practice squad.

· Patriots defensive end LaBryan Ray (James Clemens) is on the practice squad injured reserve and not eligible to play.

· Patriots outside linebacker Mack Wilson (Carver-Montgomery) made one tackle on special teams.

Minnesota Vikings 29, Chicago Bears 13

· Bears safety Eddie Jackson is on injured reserve and not eligible to play.

· Bears offensive lineman Alex Leatherwood played but did not record any stats.

· Bears outside linebacker Terrell Lewis was designated as a game-day inactive.

· Irv Smith Jr. started at tight end for the Vikings. Smith had three receptions for 14 yards as he returned from a nine-game injury absence.

· Dalvin Tomlinson started at defensive end for the Vikings. Tomlinson registered a quarterback hit.

Cincinnati Bengals 27, Baltimore Ravens 16

· Ravens cornerback Jalyn Armour-Davis (St. Paul’s Episcopal) is on injured reserve and not eligible to play.

· Ravens running back Kenyan Drake ran for 60 yards and one touchdown on 16 carries and caught two passes for 19 yards in his first action since Dec. 11. Drake scored Baltimore’s first points on a 4-yard run with 1:57 left in the first half.

· Marlon Humphrey (Hoover) started at cornerback for the Ravens. Humphrey made two tackles.

· Jonah Williams started at left offensive tackle for the Bengals

Houston Texans 32, Indianapolis Colts 31

· Colts cornerback Tony Brown played but did not record any stats.

· Christian Harris started at linebacker for the Texans. Harris led Houston with 10 tackles, recorded the first sack of his NFL career, registered two tackles for loss and broke up a pass.

· Texans tight end O.J. Howard (Autauga Academy) was designated as a game-day inactive. Howard had a hip injury.

· Ryan Kelly started at center for the Colts.

· Texans wide receiver John Metchie III is on reserve/non-football injury and not eligible to play.

Miami Dolphins 11, New York Jets 6

· Dolphins guard Lester Cotton (Central-Tuscaloosa) is on the practice squad and not eligible to play.

· Raekwon Davis started at nose tackle for the Dolphins. Davis made four tackles.

· C.J. Mosley (Theodore) started at linebacker for the Jets. Mosley made seven tackles, registered a quarterback hit and broke up a pass.

· Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa was designated as a game-day inactive. Tagovailoa has missed two games in a row because of a concussion.

· Jaylen Waddle started at wide receiver for the Dolphins. Waddle caught five passes for 44 yards and had a 9-yard run.

· Quinnen Williams (Wenonah) started at defensive tackle for the Jets. Williams made four tackles.

Carolina Panthers 10, New Orleans Saints 7

· Bradley Bozeman (Handley) started at center for the Panthers. Carolina had a 1-5 record when Bozeman entered the lineup and won six of the 11 games that he started.

· Panthers guard Deonte Brown (Austin) is on the practice squad and not eligible to play.

· Saints running back Derrick Gore is on the practice squad and not eligible to play.

· Saints running back Mark Ingram is on injured reserve and not eligible to play.

Pittsburgh Steelers 28, Cleveland Browns 14

· Amari Cooper started at wide receiver for the Browns. Cooper caught two passes for 51 yards.

· Minkah Fitzpatrick started at free safety for the Steelers. Fitzpatrick led Pittsburgh with 10 tackles.

· Browns running back Jerome Ford returned five kickoffs for 93 yards, with a long of 35.

· Browns tight end Miller Forristall is on the practice squad and not eligible to play.

· Najee Harris started at running back for the Steelers. Harris ran for 84 yards and one touchdown on 23 carries and caught a 10-yard pass. He also lost a fumble in the game. Harris scored on a 4-yard run with 3:12 left in the third quarter as Pittsburgh took a 20-7 lead. During the game, Harris passed 1,000 rushing yards for the second straight season.

· Browns safety Ronnie Harrison made one tackle.

· Steelers center J.C. Hassenauer played but did not record any stats.

· Reggie Ragland (Bob Jones) started at middle linebacker for the Browns. Ragland made two tackles.

· Levi Wallace started at left cornerback for the Steelers. Wallace made one tackle and intercepted a pass. Wallace picked off a deep pass by Cleveland quarterback Deshaun Watson and returned it 3 yards to the Pittsburgh 44-yard line with 1:11 left in the first half. The Steelers got a field goal out of the takeaway to take a 10-7 halftime lead. Wallace had four interceptions this season and has 10 in his career.

· Jedrick Wills Jr. started at left offensive tackle for the Browns.

Philadelphia Eagles 22, New York Giants 16

· Landon Collins started at weakside linebacker for the Giants. Collins made two tackles on defense and one on special teams in his first start of the season.

· Landon Dickerson started at left guard for the Eagles.

· Jalen Hurts started at quarterback for the Eagles. Hurts completed 20-of-35 passes for 229 yards with no touchdowns and one interception and ran nine times for 13 yards.

· Eagles cornerback Josh Jobe made a tackle on special teams.

· Xavier McKinney dressed for the game but did not play.

· Evan Neal started at right offensive tackle for the Giants.

· Giants cornerback Aaron Robinson is on injured reserve and not eligible to play.

· DeVonta Smith started at wide receiver for the Eagles. Smith caught seven passes for 67 yards. Smith’s 95 receptions in 2022 are the most by a Philadelphia wide receiver in a single season.

Seattle Seahawks 19, Los Angeles Rams 16 (OT)

· Rams defensive end A’Shawn Robinson is on injured reserve and not eligible to play.

· Seahawks long snapper Carson Tinker handled the snaps on five punts, five field-goal attempts and one extra-point kick.

Washington Commanders 26, Dallas Cowboys 6

· Commanders defensive tackle Jonathan Allen was designated as a game-day inactive. Allen did not practice last week because of a knee injury.

· Trevon Diggs started at cornerback for the Cowboys. Diggs made one tackle.

· Commanders defensive tackle Phidarian Mathis is on injured reserve and not eligible to play.

· Daron Payne (Shades Valley) started at defensive tackle for the Commanders. Payne made two tackles and registered two quarterback hits.

· Commanders running back Brian Robinson Jr. (Hillcrest-Tuscaloosa) was designated as a game-day inactive. Robinson did not practice last week because of a knee injury.

· Commanders wide receiver Cam Sims made a tackle on special teams.

Detroit Lions 20, Green Bay Packers 16

· Isaiah Buggs started at defensive tackle for the Lions. Buggs made a career-high seven tackles, surpassing his previous best of six in a 37-23 loss to the Carolina Panthers on Dec. 24.

· Lions offensive lineman Ross Pierschbacher was designated as a game-day inactive.

· Jarran Reed started at defensive end for the Packers. Reed made two tackles and registered a quarterback hit.

· Lions cornerback Saivion Smith is on the practice squad injured reserve and not eligible to play.

· Lions wide receiver Jameson Williams played but did not record any stats. He had a 66-yard touchdown reception in the second quarter nullified by an offensive holding penalty.

Week 18 started on Saturday, when the Kansas City Chiefs defeated the Las Vegas Raiders 31-13 and the Jacksonville Jaguars defeated the Tennessee Titans 20-16.

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Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.