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Knights in the NFL: Week 14 Recap

By KellyMontagna
Jim Brown-USA TODAY Sports

It was an exciting weekend of NFL games for our former Scarlet Knights, with a few head to head matchups, a standout defensive performance, and a solid NFL debut!

Head to Head Matchups

Detroit Lions vs. St. Louis Rams

Tim Wright: Inactive

Michael Burton: Burton had one catch for twelve yards from QB Matthew Stafford, allowing the Detroit Lions to convert on a third down play. Though his targets have been limited, Burton has continued to prove himself as a reliable option for Stafford and new OC Jim Bob Cooter whenever his number is called.

Kenny Britt: Going against his fellow alumni was Britt, who was targeted 5 times this game. He hauled in 2 catches for 35 yards, including one huge 25 yard reception.

New Orleans Saints vs. Tampa Bay Bucs

George Johnson: inactive due to calf injury.

Brandon Coleman: Coleman helped lead his Saints to a big road win against a division rival in Tampa Bay. Highlighted by a 20 yard grab, Coleman had 3 catches for 32 yards. After a strong performance last week, Coleman was more involved in the Saints offense, but also had a holding penalty that upset head coach Jeff Fisher and Saints fans alike.

Individual Standout Performances

Mohamed Sanu: The Bengals unquestionably suffered the most devastating injury of Week 14, as Andy Dalton injured his right thumb while making a tackle after an interception. With unproven backup QB AJ McCarron getting the nod to replace Dalton, Sanu's role as a 3rd string QB in case of emergencies has been brought in to focus. Amazingly, before coming in to the game on Sunday in relief of Dalton, Sanu has actually thrown more passes in the NFL than McCarron has. This will definitely be an interesting situation to keep an eye on moving forward, as we could very well likely see Sanu throwing the ball in some new offensive schemes drawn up by Hue Jackson. In the meantime, Sanu had another solid game at his more natural position of WR, as he made 2 catches for 24 yards.

Logan Ryan: In perhaps the toughest matchup that any former Knight faced in Week 14, Ryan was given the assignment of covering the Texans star WR DeAndre Hopkins. After extensive preparation, Ryan held Hopkins to just 2 catches for 45 yards. After torching defenses all season, Ryan is the only CB to shut down Hopkins through 14 weeks.

Ryan, who is also tied for 9th in the NFL in interceptions, had two tremendous pass breakups against the Texans offense on Sunday.

Andrew Turzilli: In his first NFL game, Turzilli impressed! Contributing to both special teams and offense, head coach Mike Mularkey said he was proud of the rookie's performance. Turzilli hauled in 2 catches for 24 yards from QB Marcus Mariotta. With an impressive performance in his first NFL action, Turzilli earns Scarlet MVP of Week 14 honors, and hopefully there is more production to come!