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Knights in the NFL: Week 9 Recap

A look at how our Sunday Knights performed this week.

By Scott Logan
Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports

Hey guys! Kelly is currently out of the country, so I'll be handling this week's Knights in the NFL recap. With the Lions, Ravens and Chiefs all on bye, it's a little shorter than usual - Michael Burton, Tim Wright, Jeremy Zuttah and Marcus Cooper all got the day off. So here's a look at who did take the field.

Head to Head Matchup

In what was surprisingly one of the more entertaining games this week, CB Jason McCourty's Titans visited WR Brandon Coleman's Saints in the Superdome, a game that the Titans would win in overtime.

While the game featured an exciting ending, unfortunately it did not give us the Rutgers-on-Rutgers matchup of Coleman vs. McCourty, as the latter missed Sunday's game with a hamstring injury.

Coleman only had two catches on the day, but made the most of them as he gained 58 yards. His first catch of the game was a 30-yarder that set the Saints up in the red zone. Coleman still has a way to go to become a featured player in the high-powered New Orleans offense, but even in his limited role he can still use his size to beat defenders for a big gain here and there.

Offensive Performances

Kenny Britt: Sunday's game against the Vikings was Britt's first multi-catch performance since Week 3. In fact, he was the Rams' leading receiver, totaling 87 yards on his three catches. Rams QB Nick Foles threw for just 168 yards on the day, meaning Britt accounted for over half of St. Louis' yards in the air. His 55-yard gain in the first quarter set up a Todd Gurley touchdown.

Mohamed Sanu: The Bengals moved to 8-0 on Thursday night, and Sanu continues to play a big part in the team's success. He is a gadget player, but one the Bengals utilize effectively. In the air, he was held pretty much in check, only gaining 25 yards on three catches. But his biggest play of the day came on the ground. Leading 17-10 in the fourth quarter, Sanu put the Bengals up by two scores on a reverse with QB Andy Dalton acting as his lead blocker.

Tyler Kroft: Kroft continues to be not much more than an afterthought in the Bengals' offense after playing just 14 snaps on Thursday night. He is still looking for his first NFL catch. It's hard to blame Kroft though - Bengals starting TE Tyler Eifert is having a Pro Bowl-worthy season. He leads the league with nine touchdown receptions, three of which came against the Browns on Thursday.

Defensive Performances

Logan Ryan: Our weekly look at Rutgers North begins with Ryan, who was without a doubt the defensive MVP of the NFL Knights this week. His six tackles led the Patriots, as they crushed Washington to improve to 8-0. He also added an interception off a tipped ball by Pierre Garcon. The interception gave the Patriots the ball in Washington territory, and they would go on to score a touchdown on the ensuing drive.

Devin McCourty: McCourty had four tackles on the day, but was otherwise pretty quiet. However, that's more likely a result of Washington QB Kirk Cousins not testing McCourty with many deep balls. The New England secondary held Cousins to just 217 yards in the air, and 5.4 YPA.

Jonathan Freeny: With Jamie Collins missing Sunday's game, Freeny saw the biggest uptick in playing time. In fact, he played 57 of the Patriots' 58 defensive snaps, and added four tackles on the day. He also recovered a surprise onside kick from Washington. He'll likely head back to the bench once Collins returns, but Freeny remains a rock-solid backup linebacker and core special teamer.

Duron Harmon: Harmon recorded just one tackle on the day, but the biggest story of the day surrounding Harmon was a scary looking knee injury in the fourth quarter. He was down on the field for a while after getting his knee rolled up, and would not return to the game. However, he was reportedly walking around the locker room after the game without a limp, and NESN has reported he'll be fine.

George Johnson: Against the Giants, Johnson recorded three tackles. He's still looking for his first sack of the season, and has been a disappointment for the Bucs this year after totaling six sacks last year with the Lions.

The Long Snappers

Bengals K Mike Nugent was 5-for-5 on his kicks snapped by Clark Harris, and Bucs K Connor Barth was 4-for-5 on kicks snapped by Andrew DePaola (on his miss, Barth shanked it, the snap looked good). Yay special teams!