Former Homewood High School standout Ameer Abdullah had played in 140 NFL regular-season game and two playoff contests before Sunday. He had been the Detroit Lions’ leading rusher in two of his first three NFL seasons.

But in the Las Vegas Raiders’ 25-10 victory over the New Orleans Saints on Sunday, Abdullah reached a rushing milestone for the first time with a 100-yard game.

Abdullah ran for 115 yards on 20 carries, caught three passes for 32 yards and returned a punt 4 yards against the Saints.

“He found the fountain of youth,” Raiders coach Antonio Pierce said. “… The dude is 31 years old, and we threw him in the fire late in the season. Hats off to him. He is really resilient and a true pro. Great special-teams player and returner who gets a chance to start today, and he made the most of it.”

A second-round draft choice from Nebraska in 2015, Abdullah has played mainly as a special-teamer and a third-down back since the 2018 season.

Abdullah entered Sunday’s game with 196 yards and two touchdowns on 46 rushing attempts in the 2024 season. But injuries have kept the Raiders’ No. 1 running back, Zamir White, off the field since Nov. 17, and his backup, Alexander Mattison, also has been hurt. Las Vegas used practice-squad running back Sincere McCormick as their primary ball-carrier for two games before he got hurt, too.

Abdullah surpassed his single-game high of 94 rushing yards — achieved in the Lions’ 14-7 victory over the Minnesota Vikings on Oct. 1, 2017 — on Sunday even though he left the game after sustaining a foot injury on the first play of the fourth quarter.

Abdullah was among the 21 players from Alabama high schools and colleges (excluding Alabama and Auburn) who got on the field on the 17th Sunday of the NFL’s 105th season.

Three other former state players were involved in the Las Vegas-New Orleans game:

• Raiders cornerback Jakorian Bennett (McGill-Toolen) is on injured reserve and not eligible to play.
• Raiders quarterback Carter Bradley (South Alabama) was designated as a game-day inactive, although he was on standby as Las Vegas’ emergency third quarterback. 
• Raiders cornerback Keenan Isaac (Midfield, Alabama State) is on the practice squad and not eligible to play.

In the other Sunday games:

Buffalo Bills 40, New York Jets 14

• Bills offensive tackle Tylan Grable (Jacksonville State) was designated as a game-day inactive.
• Bills linebacker Nicholas Morrow (Huntsville) was designated as a game-day inactive.
• Bills defensive end Javon Solomon (Troy) recorded one quarterback hit.
• Quincy Williams (Wenonah) started at linebacker for the Jets. Williams tied for the team lead with 10 tackles, recorded one tackle for loss and broke up one pass. Williams’ Sunday tackle total allowed him to surpass 100 tackles for the fourth season in a row.

Jacksonville Jaguars 20, Tennessee Titans 13

• Titans offensive tackle Chandler Brewer (Florence) did not record any stats in his 2024 season debut. Tennessee elevated Brewer from its practice squad to make him eligible to play.
• Josh Hines-Allen (Abbeville) started at defensive end for the Jaguars. Hines-Allen made six tackles, recorded one sack, had two tackles for loss and registered two quarterback hits. Hines-Allen has eight sacks in 2024 and 53 in his career, moving him two away from Tony Brackens’ franchise sack record. Brackens recorded 55 sacks for Jacksonville from 1996 through 2003.  

New York Giants 45, Indianapolis Colts 33

• Giants cornerback Cor’Dale Flott (Saraland) made three tackles.
• Giants offensive tackle Chris Hubbard (UAB) did not record any stats.
• Rakeem Nunez-Roches (Central-Phenix City) started at defensive tackle for the Giants. Nunez-Roches made two tackles and recorded one sack. Nunez-Roches collected his first solo sack since Nov. 27, 2022, and boosted his career sack total to six when he took down Indianapolis quarterback Joe Flacco on a third-and-2 snap at the New York 10-yard line with 3:48 left in the first quarter. The Colts had to settle for a field goal and a 3-0 lead.

Philadelphia Eagles 41, Dallas Cowboys 7

• Reed Blankenship (West Limestone) started at safety for the Eagles. Blankenship made three tackles.
• Eagles fullback Khari Blasingame (Buckhorn) is on the practice squad and not eligible to play.
• Eagles defensive back James Bradberry (Pleasant Grove, Samford) is on injured reserve and not eligible to play.
• Eagles defensive back Bryce Huff (St. Paul’s Episcopal) did not record any stats as he returned from injured reserve and a five-game absence.
• Jalen Tolbert (McGill-Toolen, South Alabama) started at wide receiver for the Cowboys. Tolbert had three receptions for 30 yards and one touchdown. Tolbert scored his seventh touchdown of the season and Dallas’ only TD on Sunday on a 4-yard pass from quarterback Cooper Rush as the Cowboys tied the score at 7-7 with 5:38 left in the first quarter.

• Cowboys defensive end Sam Williams (Lee-Montgomery) is on injured reserve and not eligible to play.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers 48, Carolina Panthers 14

• Michael Jackson (Spain Park) started at cornerback for the Panthers. Jackson made seven tackles and recorded two tackles for loss. In his 54th NFL regular-season game, Jackson had his first contest with two tackles for loss.
• Panthers wide receiver Velus Jones Jr. (Saraland) returned one kickoff for 19 yards and had one rushing attempt for no gain.
• Panthers tight end Jordan Matthews is on the practice squad and not eligible to play.

Miami Dolphins 20, Cleveland Browns 3

• Dolphins defensive tackle Shakel Brown (Troy) is on the practice squad and not eligible to play.
• Mohamoud Diabate (Auburn High) started at linebacker for the Browns. Diabate made six tackles.
• Dolphins wide receiver Grant DuBose (Park Crossing, Miles) is on injured reserve and not eligible to play. 
• Browns safety Chris Edmonds (Samford) is on the practice squad and not eligible to play.
• Dolphins defensive tackle Neil Farrell Jr. (Murphy) is on the practice squad and not eligible to play.
• Tyreek Hill (West Alabama) started at wide receiver for the Dolphins. Hill had nine receptions for 105 yards and returned a punt 19 yards. Hill’s third 100-yard game of the season was the 36th of his career.
• Dolphins cornerback Siran Neal (Eufaula, Jacksonville State) did not record any stats.
• Browns linebacker Nathaniel Watson (Maplesville) did not record any stats.
• Browns quarterback Jameis Winston (Hueytown) was designated as a game-day inactive, although he was on standby as Cleveland’s emergency third quarterback.
• Browns defensive end Alex Wright (Elba, UAB) is on injured reserve and not eligible to play.

Minnesota Vikings 27, Green Bay Packers 25

• Vikings defensive tackle Travis Bell (Jeff Davis) is on the practice squad and not eligible to play.
• 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.
• Packers offensive tackle Kadeem Telfort (UAB) did not record any stats.

Washington Commanders 30, Atlanta Falcons 24 (OT)

• Darnell Mooney (Gadsden City) had two receptions for 37 yards.
• Commanders safety Jeremy Reaves (South Alabama) made two tackles on special teams. After the game, Reaves proposed to his girlfriend before heading to the locker room.

• Commanders offensive tackle Trent Scott (Lee-Huntsville) did not record any stats. An injury put Scott on the field at right tackle for most of Washington’s offensive snaps after halftime.

Week 17 started on Wednesday, when the Kansas City Chiefs defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers 29-10 and the Baltimore Ravens defeated the Houston Texans 31-2.

Week 17 continued on Thursday night, when the Seattle Seahawks defeated the Chicago Bears 6-3.

Three games were played on Saturday: The Los Angeles Chargers defeated the New England Patriots 40-7, the Cincinnati Bengals defeated the Denver Broncos 30-24 in overtime and the Los Angeles Rams defeated the Arizona Cardinals 13-9.

Week 17 concludes on Monday, when the Detroit Lions and San Francisco 49ers square off at 7:15 p.m. CDT at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California. 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.