Since Reed Blankenship most recently played for Philadelphia, the Eagles had beaten the Miami Dolphins 31-17 and acquired two-time first-team All-Pro safety Kevin Byard in a trade with the Tennessee Titans.

But a rib injury that sidelined him last game and the new acquisition at his position didn’t keep Blankenship from going right back into Philadelphia’s lineup at safety on Sunday, and the former West Limestone High School standout came up with a big play in the Eagles’ 38-31 victory over the Washington Commanders.

Less than one minute after Philadelphia tied the game at 24-24 with 8:47 to play, Blankenship picked off Washington quarterback Sam Howell on a second-and-15 pass from the Commanders 20-yard line. Blankenship’s 17-yard return put Philadelphia on the Washington 15-yard line and an unnecessary-roughness penalty against the Commanders on the play advanced the football to the 7.

“We were just waiting to capitalize on an opportunity,” Blankenship said. “And the opportunity came, and you got to make a play on the ball, especially at that crucial point in the game. …

“It was just one of those things where I was reading his eyes. I saw he was looking at the backside pretty hard. I just said, ‘We got to make a play,’ so I tried it, and luckily it worked out pretty good.”

Two snaps later, Philadelphia QB Jalen Hurts tossed an 8-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Julio Jones with 7:17 to play to put the Eagles ahead for good.

Blankenship has two interceptions this season and three in his career.

Blankenship also made eight tackles on defense and one on special teams against the Commanders.

Blankenship was among the 36 players from Alabama high schools and colleges (excluding Alabama and Auburn) who got on the field on the eighth Sunday of the NFL’s 104th season.

Six other former state players were involved in the Philadelphia-Washington game:

· James Bradberry (Pleasant Grove, Samford) started at cornerback for the Eagles. Bradberry made three tackles and broke up one pass.

· Eagles linebacker Zach Cunningham (Pinson Valley) made five tackles and broke up two passes.

· Eagles linebacker Nicholas Morrow (Huntsville) did not record any stats.

· Commanders safety Jeremy Reaves (South Alabama) is on injured reserve and not eligible to play.

· Commanders offensive tackle Trent Scott (Lee-Huntsville) was designated as a game-day inactive.

· Eagles wide receiver Quez Watkins (Athens) is on injured reserve and not eligible to play.

In the other Sunday games:

Carolina Panthers 15, Houston Texans 13

· Nico Collins (Clay-Chalkville) started at wide receiver for the Texans. Collins had four receptions for 30 yards.

· Tank Dell (Alabama A&M) started at wide receiver for the Texans. Dell had three receptions for 16 yards, ran three times for 15 yards and returned three punts for 25 yards.

· Tytus Howard (Monroe County, Alabama State) started at left guard for the Titans.

· Panthers tight end Jordan Matthews (Madison Academy) is on the practice squad and not eligible to play.

· Jimmie Ward (Davidson) started at safety for the Texans. Ward made eight tackles and broke up one pass.

Dallas Cowboys 43, Los Angeles Rams 20

· Cowboys wide receiver Jalen Tolbert (McGill-Toolen, South Alabama) did not record any stats.

· Cowboys defensive end Sam Williams (Lee-Montgomery) made one tackle on defense and one tackle on special teams and blocked a punt. With Los Angeles punting from its 23-yard line, Williams broke through the line and blocked the punt by Ethan Evans. The football bounded out of the back of the end zone for a safety as Dallas took a 19-3 lead with 13:39 left in the first half.

Minnesota Vikings 24, Green Bay Packers 10

· Packers wide receiver Grant DuBose (Park Crossing) is on the practice squad and not eligible to play.

· Packers cornerback Zyon Gilbert (Jeff Davis) is on the practice squad and not eligible to play.

· Vikings running back DeWayne McBride (UAB) is on the practice squad and not eligible to play.

· Vikings quarterback Nick Mullens (Spain Park) is on injured reserve and not eligible to play.

· Packers offensive tackle Kadeem Telfort (UAB) is on the practice squad and not eligible to play.

New Orleans Saints 38, Indianapolis Colts 27

· Saints quarterback Jameis Winston (Hueytown) dressed for the game but did not play.

Miami Dolphins 31, New England Patriots 17

· Patriots center Jake Andrews (Stanhope Elmore, Troy) did not record any stats.

· Patriots quarterback Malik Cunningham (Park Crossing) is on the practice squad and not eligible to play.

· Tyreek Hill (West Alabama) started at wide receiver for the Dolphins. Hill had eight receptions for 112 yards and one touchdown. Hill became the first player in the NFL’s Super Bowl era to reach 1,000 receiving yards in the first eight games of his team’s season. His receptions on Sunday included a 42-yard touchdown with 22 seconds left in the first quarter as Miami tied the score at 7-7.

ALABAMA ROOTS: 1,000-YARD NFL RECEIVING SEASONS UP TO 52

· Patriots cornerback Marcus Jones (Enterprise, Troy) is on injured reserve and not eligible to play.

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

· Giants cornerback Cor’Dale Flott (Saraland) made one tackle and broke up two passes.

· Jets cornerback Tae Hayes (Decatur) is on the practice squad and not eligible to play.

· Jets defensive end Bryce Huff (St. Paul’s Episcopal) made five tackles and recorded one sack. Huff has 3.5 sacks in the past three games.

· Giants safety Bobby McCain (Oxford) was designated as a game-day inactive.

· Giants defensive tackle Rakeem Nunez-Roches (Central-Phenix City) made one tackle.

· Quincy Williams (Wenonah) started at linebacker for the Jets. Williams made 11 tackles, recorded two tackles for loss and broke up one pass.

Jacksonville Jaguars 20, Pittsburgh Steelers 10

· Steelers linebacker Kwon Alexander (Oxford) made two tackles and forced a fumble. Pittsburgh recovered the fumble at its 29-yard line on the final play of the first quarter.

· Josh Allen (Abbeville) started at weakside linebacker for the Jaguars. Allen made five tackles and recorded two sacks. Allen has nine sacks this season.

· Jaguars offensive lineman Chandler Brewer (Florence) is on the practice squad and not eligible to play.

· Jaguars defensive end DJ Coleman (Jacksonville State) is on the practice squad and not eligible to play.

· George Pickens (Hoover) started at wide receiver for the Steelers. Pickens caught a 22-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Mitch Trubisky with 53 seconds left in the third quarter as Pittsburgh cut the lead to 17-10.

· Darious Williams (UAB) started at cornerback for the Jaguars. Williams made two tackles and broke up three passes.

· Jaguars center Darryl Williams (Bessemer City) is on the practice squad and not eligible to play.

Tennessee Titans 28, Atlanta Falcons 23

· Titans defensive tackle Shakel Brown (Troy) is on injured reserve and not eligible to play.

· Falcons linebacker Tae Davis (Oxford) was designated as a game-day inactive. Davis is in the NFL concussion protocol.

· Eric Garror (McGill-Toolen) started at cornerback for the Titans. Garror made four tackles, registered one quarterback hit and returned five punts for 32 yards in his first NFL start and second game.

· Titans linebacker Monty Rice (James Clemens) did not record any stats.

Seattle Seahawks 24, Cleveland Browns 20

· Browns linebacker Mohamoud Diabate (Auburn High) did not record any stats.

· Seahawks cornerback Mike Jackson (Spain Park) made one tackle on special teams.

· Za’Darius Smith (Greenville) started at defensive end for the Browns. Smith made one tackle and registered one quarterback hit.

· Browns wide receiver Austin Watkins (UAB) is on the practice squad and not eligible to play.

· Browns defensive end Alex Wright (Elba, UAB) did not record any stats.

Baltimore Ravens 31, Arizona Cardinals 24

· Ravens guard Tyrell Doss (Aliceville) is on the practice squad and not eligible to play.

· Ravens outside linebacker Jeremiah Moon (Hoover) is on the practice squad and not eligible to play.

· Michael Pierce (Daphne, Samford) started at nose tackle for the Ravens. Pierce made five tackles, recorded one sack, broke up a pass and forced a fumble. The sack was the first for Pierce since the 2021 season.

· Cardinals cornerback Starling Thomas V (Ramsay, UAB) made one tackle and broke up one pass.

Denver Broncos 24, Kansas City Chiefs 9

· Chiefs defensive lineman Neil Farrell Jr. (Murphy) was designated as a game-day inactive.

· Chiefs quarterback Chris Oladokun (Samford) is on the practice squad and not eligible to play.

· Chiefs running back La’Mical Perine (Theodore) is on the practice squad and not eligible to play.

· Chiefs tight end Gerrit Prince (UAB) is on the practice squad and not eligible to play.

· Chiefs wide receiver Justyn Ross (Central-Phenix City) is on the Commissioner Exempt List and not eligible to play.

· Broncos cornerback Tremon Smith (Saks) made two tackles on special teams.

· Chiefs wide receiver Kadarius Toney (Blount) caught a 4-yard pass and lost 3 yards on a rushing attempt.

· Chiefs wide receiver Montrell Washington (Samford) is on the practice squad and not eligible to play.

Cincinnati Bengals 31, San Francisco 49ers 17

· Bengals cornerback Allan George (Andalusia) is on the practice squad and not eligible to play.

· Forty-Niners cornerback Darrell Luter Jr. (South Alabama) is on reserve/physically unable to perform and not eligible to play.

· Evan McPherson (Fort Payne) missed a 50-yard field-goal attempt to the right, then connected from 56 yards as Cincinnati took a 17-10 lead with 11:09 left in the third quarter. There have been six field goals of at least 56 yards in the Bengals’ history, and McPherson has made four of them. McPherson also made four extra points.

· Cam Taylor-Britt (Park Crossing) started at cornerback for the Bengals. Taylor-Britt made six tackles and recorded one tackle for loss.

Los Angeles Chargers 30, Chicago Bears 13

· Bears defensive tackle Travis Bell (Jeff Davis) is on the practice squad and not eligible to play.

· Bears fullback Khari Blasingame (Buckhorn) did not record any stats.

· Chargers tight end Gerald Everett (UAB/South Alabama) was designated as a game-day inactive. A hip injury sidelined Everett.

· Chargers safety A.J. Finley (St. Paul’s Episcopal) did not record any stats.

· Bears wide receiver Velus Jones Jr. (Saraland) had a 4-yard reception and 24-yard kickoff return.

· Bears cornerback Christian Matthew (Samford) is on the practice squad and not eligible to play.

· Darnell Mooney (Gadsden City) started at wide receiver for the Bears. Mooney had a 41-yard reception and a 3-yard run. Mooney made a diving reception on the game’s first snap and did not appear to be touched by a Los Angeles defensive player. Although Mooney hopped up and ran for the end zone, the play was blown dead.

· Nick Williams (Minor, Samford) started at defensive tackle for the Chargers. Williams made two tackles.

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.

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.