Alabama NFL roundup: Last-minute plays save Steelers

Alabama NFL roundup: Last-minute plays save Steelers

Running back Najee Harris caught a touchdown pass with 56 seconds to play and safety Minkah Fitzpatrick intercepted a pass 43 seconds later as the Pittsburgh Steelers defeated the Baltimore Ravens 16-13 on Sunday night.

On the 17th Sunday of the NFL’s 2022 season, Harris became the first player to rush for 100 yards against the Ravens this season. Harris ran for 111 yards on 22 carries in Baltimore.

“When we control the line of scrimmage, we win the game,” Harris said. “That’s plain and simple. That’s what (Steelers coach) Mike T(omlin) challenged us as an offense, that’s what he challenged me – to get downhill and run on them. And that’s what we did. We executed the plan.”

But Harris got into the end zone on a 10-yard throw from rookie quarterback Kenny Pickett to cap an 11-play, 80-yard drive as Pittsburgh completed a comeback from a 13-3 deficit. Harris had three carries for 14 yards and two receptions for 12 yards on the game-winning possession.

“Najee wants it,” Tomlin said. “He wants to be the focal point in tough circumstances, and it’s just good to have young people that are running to it as opposed to from it. And we got some young people that run to the action, and that’s a good thing.”

Baltimore got one first down on its final possession, but Fitzpatrick sealed the victory by picking off Ravens quarterback Tyler Huntley’s second-and-10 throw from the Baltimore 38 at the Pittsburgh 40-yard line with 13 seconds to play.

Fitzpatrick is tied for the NFL lead with six interceptions this season. Fitzpatrick has 19 interceptions in his career as he moved into sole possession of ninth place on Alabama’s NFL list. He had been tied with Don McNeal.

Fitzpatrick also tied for the team lead with nine tackles even though he made a visit to the sideline medical tent during the AFC North game.

Pittsburgh’s third straight victory kept the Steelers in the race for the unclaimed wild-card spot in the AFC playoffs with one week remaining in the 2022 regular season. For Pittsburgh to reach the postseason, the Steelers must defeat the Cleveland Browns while the New England Patriots lose to the Buffalo Bills and the Miami Dolphins lose to the New York Jets in the final week of the regular season.

Fitzpatrick and Harris were among the 46 former Alabama players who got on the field on the 17th Sunday of the NFL’s 103rd season.

Five other former Alabama players were involved in the Pittsburgh-Baltimore game:

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

· Ravens running back Kenyan Drake was designated as a game-day inactive.

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

· Marlon Humphrey (Hoover) started at cornerback for the Ravens. Humphrey did not record any stats.

· Steelers cornerback Levi Wallace made three tackles.

In the other Sunday games:

Atlanta Falcons 20, Arizona Cardinals 19

· Rashaan Evans (Auburn High) started at inside linebacker for the Falcons. Evans made four tackles and registered one quarterback hit.

Detroit Lions 41, Chicago Bears 10

· Isaiah Buggs started at defensive tackle for the Chargers. Buggs made one tackle and registered two quarterback hits.

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

· Bears offensive lineman Alex Leatherwood was designated as a game-day inactive.

· Bears outside linebacker Terrell Lewis is on the practice squad and not eligible to play.

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

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

· Lions wide receiver Jameson Williams had a 40-yard gain on his first NFL rushing attempt.

RELATED: JAMESON WILLIAMS’ FIRST NFL RUSHING ATTEMPT GOES FOR 40 YARDS

Jacksonville Jaguars 31, Houston Texans 3

· Christian Harris started at linebacker for the Texans. Harris made four tackles.

· O.J. Howard (Autauga Academy) started at tight end for the Texans. Howard caught a 26-yard pass after not playing in Houston’s previous two games.

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

· Jaguars wide receiver Calvin Ridley is suspended by the commissioner and not eligible to play.

· Jaguars offensive tackle Cam Robinson is on injured reserve and not eligible to play.

· Jaguars safety Deionte Thompson is on the practice squad and not eligible to play.

Kansas City Chiefs 27, Denver Broncos 24

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

· Kareem Jackson started at strong safety for the Broncos. Jackson tied for the team lead with seven tackles.

· Jerry Jeudy started at wide receiver for the Broncos. Jeudy caught seven passes for 38 yards.

· Patrick Surtain II started at left cornerback for the Broncos. Surtain made two tackles.

New England Patriots 23, Miami Dolphins 21

· Patriots defensive tackle Christian Barmore made three tackles, recorded one sack, had a tackle for loss and registered four quarterback hits. The sack was the fourth of Barmore’s career. Barmore had three quarterback hits in eight games this season before Sunday.

· 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 three tackles.

· Patriots running back Damien Harris ran for 32 yards on nine carries and caught three passes for 18 yards as he returned from a four-game injury absence.

· Patriots linebacker Anfernee Jennings (Dadeville) made one tackle.

· Mac Jones started at quarterback for the Patriots. Jones completed 20-of-33 passes for 203 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions and ran for 1 yard on three carries. Jones threw a 7-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Taquan Thornton for the first points of the game with 7:15 left in the first quarter and a 1-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Jakobi Meyers as New England took a 23-14 lead with 4:37 left to play.

RELATED: MAC JONES: ‘HAD TO GET THE WIN, AND WE FOUND A WAY TO DO IT’

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

· Dolphins Tua Tagovailoa was designated as a game-day inactive. Tagovailoa entered the NFL concussion protocol on Monday.

RELATED: NFL, NFLPA CONCLUDE SECOND TUA TAGOVAILOA INJURY INVESTIGATION

· Jaylen Waddle started at wide receiver for the Dolphins. Waddle caught three passes for 52 yards.

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

New York Giants 38, Indianapolis Colts 10

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

· Giants inside linebacker Landon Collins made four tackles and intercepted a pass, which he returned 52 yards for a touchdown as New York took a 21-3 lead with 1:45 left in the first half on its way to clinching an NFC playoff spot. Collins’ second NFL interception came more than six years after his first. On Oct. 23, 2016, in Twickenham, England, Collins picked off Los Angeles Rams quarterback Case Keenum and scored on a 44-yard return in the Giants’ 17-10 victory. Sunday’s interception came off Indianapolis quarterback Nick Foles.

· Ryan Kelly started at center for the Colts.

· Xavier McKinney started at free safety for the Giants. McKinney made seven tackles and broke up a pass. McKinney had missed the previous seven games because of broken fingers suffered in an ATV accident during New York’s bye week.

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

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

New Orleans Saints 20, Philadelphia Eagles 10

· Landon Dickerson started at left guard for the Eagles.

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

· Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts was designated as a game-day inactive. A shoulder injury kept Hurts sidelined for the second game in a row. Philadelphia has a 13-1 record with Hurts as its starting quarterback this season. The Eagles lost both games that he’s missed.

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

· Eagles cornerback Josh Jobe played but did not record any stats.

· Eagles wide receiver DeVonta Smith had nine receptions for 115 yards. Smith recorded his third 100-yard receiving game in a row and his fourth in five games. Smith became the third former Alabama player with a 100-yard receiving streak of at least three games in the NFL’s Super Bowl era. Julio Jones had a six-game streak for the Atlanta Falcons in 2018 and Calvin Ridley had a four-game streak for the Falcons in 2020. Jones also has five more streaks of three games and Ridley has one more streak of three games.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers 30, Carolina Panthers 24

· Bradley Bozeman (Handley) started at center for the Panthers.

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

· Julio Jones (Foley) started at wide receiver for the Buccaneers. Jones caught a 10-yard pass and had a 13-yard run as Tampa Bay secured a spot in the NFC playoffs.

Cleveland Browns 24, Washington Commanders 10

· Jonathan Allen started at defensive tackle for the Commanders. Allen did not record any stats before leaving the game because of a knee injury.

· Amari Cooper started at wide receiver for the Browns. Cooper caught three passes for 105 yards and two touchdowns. Cleveland quarterback Deshaun Watson threw touchdown passes to Cooper of 46 yards as the Browns took a 10-7 lead with 10:03 left in the third quarter and 33 yards to set the final score with 5:21 to play. Cooper reached a single-season career high with nine touchdown receptions with the eighth game of his career with at least two TD catches. It’s his second such game against Washington. Cooper has five 100-yard receiving games this season and 30 in his career.

· Browns running back Jerome Ford ran for 9 yards on five carries and returned a kickoff 23 yards.

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

· Browns safety Ronnie Harrison played but did not record any stats.

· 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 five tackles, recorded two sacks and registered two tackles for loss. Payne has 11.5 sacks in 2022, tying the franchise single-season record for a defensive-interior lineman established by Dave Butz in 1983.

· Browns linebacker Reggie Ragland (Bob Jones) made two tackles.

· Commanders running back Brian Robinson Jr. (Hillcrest-Tuscaloosa) ran for 87 yards on 24 carries.

· Commanders wide receiver Cam Sims caught a 16-yard pass.

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

San Francisco 49ers 37, Las Vegas Raiders 34 (OT)

· Raiders cornerback Anthony Averett is on injured reserve and not eligible to play.

· Josh Jacobs started at running back for the Raiders. Jacobs ran for 69 yards and one touchdown on 17 carries and caught four passes for 26 yards. Jacobs scored on a 1-yard run with 1:11 left in the fourth quarter as Las Vegas sent the game into overtime. Jacobs also broke Marcus Allen’s franchise record for the most rushing yards through a player’s first four seasons. Allen had 4,638 rushing yards from 1982 through 1985. Jacobs has 4,695 rushing yards since joining the Raiders in the first round of the 2019 NFL Draft.

Seattle Seahawks 23, New York Jets 6

· Jets safety Jared Mayden is a member of the practice squad and not eligible to play.

· C.J. Mosley (Theodore) started at linebacker for the Jets. Mosley made nine tackles and recorded one tackle for loss.

· Seahawks long snapper Carson Tinker handled the snaps on four punts, four field-goal attempts and two extra points.

· Quinnen Williams (Wenonah) started at defensive tackle for the Jets. Williams made two tackles and registered four quarterback hits.

Green Bay Packers 41, Minnesota Vikings 17

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

· Vikings tight end Irv Smith Jr. is on injured reserve and is not eligible to play.

· Dalvin Tomlinson started at defensive end for the Vikings. Tomlinson made four tackles, recorded one sack and registered one tackle for loss. Tomlinson has 2.5 sacks this season.

Los Angeles Chargers 31, Los Angeles Rams 10

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

· Chargers punter JK Scott averaged 40.3 yards on four punts. Scott had a 48-yard punt for a fair catch at the Rams 14-yard line, a 36-yarder for a fair catch at the Rams 23, a 44-yarder for a fair catch at the Rams 12 and a 33-yarder downed at the Rams 6.

Week 17 started on Thursday night, when the Dallas Cowboys defeated the Tennessee Titans 27-13.

Week 17 concludes on Monday, when the Buffalo Bills and Cincinnati Bengals square off at 7:15 p.m. CST at Paycor Stadium in Cincinnati. ABC, ESPN and ESPN Deportes will televise the game.

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