General
Facing fourth-and-3 at the Dallas Cowboys 36-yard line on Sunday, the Atlanta Falcons got a lot more than the necessary yardage.
Quarterback Kirk Cousins found wide receiver Darnell Mooney alone along the right sideline, and the former Gadsden City High School standout took the reception all the way to the end zone.
The touchdown with 8:28 left in the first half gave the Falcons an 11-point lead on their way to a 27-21 victory over Dallas.
Mooney finished the game with five receptions for 88 yards and one touchdown. Two of the receptions came on fourth down.
In his first season with Atlanta, Mooney has 41 receptions for 588 yards and five touchdowns. Those are his best stats since he was a 1,000-yard receiver for the Chicago Bears in 2021.
Mooney’s other TD receptions this season had covered 41, 24, 12 and 30 yards, and each of those four either tied the score or gave the Falcons the lead.
Mooney was among the 34 players from Alabama high schools and colleges (excluding Alabama and Auburn) who got on the field on the ninth Sunday of the NFL’s 105th season.
Two other former state players were involved in the Dallas-Atlanta game:
· Jalen Tolbert (McGill-Toolen, South Alabama) started at wide receiver for the Cowboys. Tolbert had three receptions for 19 yards and one touchdown. Tolbert caught a 4-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Cooper Rush with 1:28 remaining.
· Cowboys defensive end Sam Williams (Lee-Montgomery) is on injured reserve and not eligible to play.
In the other Sunday games:
Baltimore Ravens 41, Denver Broncos 10
· Broncos cornerback Kris Abrams-Draine (Spanish Fort) was designated as a game-day inactive.
· Kwon Alexander (Oxford) started at inside linebacker for the Broncos. Alexander made five tackles and forced a fumble, which was recovered by Baltimore. Denver elevated Alexander from its practice squad to make him eligible to play.
· Ravens wide receiver Malik Cunningham (Park Crossing) is on the practice squad and not eligible to play.
· Broncos linebacker Zach Cunningham (Pinson Valley) is on the practice squad and not eligible to play.
· Ravens nose tackle Michael Pierce (Daphne, Samford) is on injured reserve and not eligible to play.
· Broncos cornerback Tremon Smith (Saks) returned three kickoffs for 78 yards.
Buffalo Bills 30, Miami Dolphins 27
· Dolphins defensive tackle Shakel Brown (Troy) is on the practice squad and not eligible to play.
· Dolphins wide receiver Grant DuBose (Park Crossing, Miles) is on injured reserve and not eligible to play.
· Dolphins defensive tackle Neil Farrell Jr. (Murphy) made one tackle. Miami elevated Farrell from the practice squad to make him eligible to play.
· Bills defensive tackle Tylan Grable (Jacksonville State) is on injured reserve and not eligible to play.
· Tyreek Hill (West Alabama) started at wide receiver for the Dolphins. Hill had four receptions for 80 yards.
· Bills linebacker Nicholas Morrow (Huntsville) was designated as a game-day inactive.
· Dolphins cornerback Siran Neal (Eufaula, Jacksonville State) made three tackles against his former team.
· Bills defensive end Javon Solomon (Troy) did not record any stats.
Carolina Panthers 23, New Orleans Saints 22
· Michael Jackson (Spain Park) started at cornerback for the Panthers. Jackson made three tackles, recorded one tackle for loss and broke up one pass.
· Panthers tight end Jordan Matthews (Madison Academy) made one tackle on special teams.
Cincinnati Bengals 41, Las Vegas Raiders 24
· Raiders running back Ameer Abdullah (Homewood) ran for 12 yards on four carries and caught three passes for 14 yards.
· Jakorian Bennett (McGill-Toolen) started at cornerback for the Raiders. Bennett made six tackles and broke up one pass.
· Raiders quarterback Carter Bradley (South Alabama) is on the practice squad and not eligible to play.
· Bengals defensive end Cedric Johnson (Davidson) did not record any stats.
· Bengals kicker Evan McPherson (Fort Payne) made all his kicks – five extra points and field goals of 44 and 27 yards.
· Cam Taylor-Britt (Park Crossing) started at cornerback for the Bengals. Taylor-Britt made one tackle and broke up one pass.
Los Angeles Chargers 27, Cleveland Browns 10
· Mohamoud Diabate (Auburn High) started at linebacker for the Browns. Diabate made four tackles and broke up one pass.
· Browns safety Chris Edmonds (Samford) is on the practice squad and not eligible to play.
· Chargers safety A.J. Finley (St. Paul’s Episcopal) made one tackle on defense and one on special teams.
· Za’Darius Smith (Greenville) started at defensive end for the Browns. Smith made one tackle for loss and registered one quarterback hit.
· Browns wide receiver Kadarius Toney (Blount) is on the practice squad and not eligible to play.
· Browns linebacker Nathaniel Watson (Maplesville) did not record any stats.
· Jameis Winston (Hueytown) started at quarterback for the Browns. Winston completed 26-of-46 passes for 235 yards with one touchdown and three interceptions and ran for 27 yards on five carries. Winston threw a 17-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Cedric Tillman with 44 seconds remaining. Winston was intercepted three times in the second half – in the end zone, at the Chargers 14-yard line and the Los Angeles 35 – in his second start of the season.
· Browns defensive end Alex Wright (Elba, UAB) is on injured reserve and not eligible to play.
Washington Commanders 27, New York Giants 22
· Giants cornerback Cor’Dale Flott (Saraland) made five tackles and recorded one tackle for loss.
· Chris Hubbard (UAB) started at left offensive tackle for the Giants.
· Rakeem Nunez-Roches (Central-Phenix City) started at defensive tackle for the Giants. Nunez-Roches made five tackles.
· Commanders safety Jeremy Reaves (South Alabama) made three tackles on special teams.
· Commanders offensive tackle Trent Scott (Lee-Huntsville) did not record any stats.
Tennessee Titans 20, New England Patriots 17 (OT)
· Patriots center Jake Andrews (Stanhope Elmore, Troy) is on injured reserve and not eligible to play.
· Marcus Jones (Enterprise, Troy) started at cornerback for the Patriots. Jones made two tackles, recorded one tackle for loss and had punt returns of 44 and 25 yards.
· Patriots safety Dell Pettus (Sparkman, Troy) made six tackles.
Arizona Cardinals 29, Chicago Bears 9
· Bears tight end Gerald Everett (UAB/South Alabama) had a 5-yard reception.
· Cardinals wide receiver Tejhaun Palmer (UAB) is on the practice squad and not eligible to play.
· Bears cornerback Reddy Steward (Austin, Troy) made one tackle and forced a fumble in his NFL debut. Steward caused Arizona wide receiver Marvin Harrison to fumble, and Chicago recovered the loose football at the Cardinals 46-yard line, leading to a field goal. The Bears elevated Steward from their practice squad to make him eligible to play.
· Starling Thomas V (Ramsay, UAB) started at cornerback for the Cardinals. Thomas made six tackles and broke up one pass.
Philadelphia Eagles 28, Jacksonville Jaguars 23
· Reed Blankenship (West Limestone) started at safety for the Eagles. Blankenship made five tackles.
· Eagles defensive back James Bradberry (Pleasant Grove, Samford) is on injured reserve and not eligible to play.
· Jaguars defensive end DJ Coleman (Jacksonville State) is on the practice squad and not eligible to play.
· Josh Hines-Allen (Abbeville) started at defensive end for the Jaguars. Hines-Allen made four tackles and recorded two sacks. Hines-Allen has five sacks this season and 50 in his career.
· Eagles defensive end Bryce Huff (St. Paul’s Episcopal) did not record any stats.
· Jaguars wide receiver Velus Jones Jr. (Saraland) is on the practice squad and not eligible to play.
Detroit Lions 24, Green Bay Packers 14
· Lions defensive tackle Brodric Martin (Northridge, North Alabama) is on injured reserve and not eligible play.
· Packers offensive tackle Kadeem Telfort (UAB) did not record any stats.
Los Angeles Rams 26, Seattle Seahawks 20 (OT)
· Darious Williams (UAB) started at cornerback for the Rams. Williams made five tackles and broke up two passes.
Minnesota Vikings 21, Indianapolis Colts 13
· Vikings defensive back Bobby McCain (Oxford) is on the practice squad and not eligible to play.
· Vikings quarterback Nick Mullens (Spain Park) dressed for the game but did not play.
Week 9 started on Thursday night, when the New York Jets defeated the Houston Texans 21-13.
Week 9 concludes on Monday, when the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Kansas City Chiefs square off at 7:15 p.m. CDT at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri. ABC and ESPN will televise the game.
FOR MORE OF AL.COM’S COVERAGE OF THE NFL, GO TO OUR NFL PAGE
Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.
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