Multiple former Notre Dame players achieved professional firsts, and two Fighting Irish pros received all-pro recognition.
Here are the news, notes, and highlights from Week 5 of the NFL season.
CAREER FIRSTS FOR IRISH ROOKIES
Tommy Tremble capped off the Carolina Panthers’ only touchdown scoring drive with a five-yard catch in a 21-18 home loss to the Philadelphia Eagles. This score was Tremble’s first career touchdown reception in the NFL. He also has a seven-yard touchdown run to his credit in Week 3 against the Texans. The Panthers fell to 3-2 on the season.
Adetokunbo Ogundeji recorded his first NFL sack for the Atlanta Falcons in a 27-20 win against the New York Jets in London. The rookie fifth-round draft pick has appeared in all five games this season, and has five total tackles. The Falcons improved to 2-3 this season.
New Los Angeles Rams linebacker Jamir Jones went from the waiver wire (by the Steelers, Sept. 28) to blocking a punt on Thursday Night Football, and being a key subject in one of the NFL weekend’s most talked about plays.
Michael Dickson, the Seattle Seahawks punter, picked the ball up after Jones’ block and kicked it again, a legal play, 69 yards down the field. A flag was initially thrown, and Dickson nearly crossed the line of scrimmage prior to his second kick. But the play was ultimately ruled legal.
Jones recorded his first blocked punt, but the play ultimately resulted in a big swing in field position in favor of the Seahawks. The Rams prevailed in Seattle 26-17. The Rams are 4-1 this season.
Robert Hainsey made his first career appearance in a regular-season game for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in a 45-17 home win over former teammate Liam Eichenberg and the Miami Dolphins.
Eichenberg, a second-round pick, has started four out of the Dolphins’ five games this season at right tackle. Tampa Bay is 4-1 on the season, the Dolphins are 1-4.
CHASE CLAYPOOL’S BIG DAY
Chase Claypool returned from injury with a bang. The former second-round pick (49th overall) caught five passes for 130 yards and a touchdown in the Steelers’ 27-19 home win over the Broncos.
He recorded a 59-yard catch in the first half, his longest reception of the season. In four games, Claypool has 20 catches for 341 yards.
JAYLON SMITH STARTS NEW CHAPTER WITH THE GREEN BAY PACKERS
The former five-star and highest ranked prospect to sign with Notre Dame since Jimmy Clausen, Jaylon Smith was released by the Cowboys last week and quickly picked up by the Green Bay Packers. Smith did not play in the Packers’ 25-22 overtime win at Cincinnati. Here is Smith’s introduction press conference in Green Bay:
Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones offered high praise for Jaylon Smith on the K&C Masterpiece Show (105.3 The Fan), but in answering why the Cowboys released Smith, Jones offered an explanation about the difficulty in releasing a very popular player in the locker room and community.
“He really was what you think about when you think of somebody overcoming adversity,” Jones said on the K&C Masterpiece show on 105.3 The Fan. “And for this game, he had a great hurdle to overcome — to overcome his injury. And that drop foot — it’s called drop foot, that he had, and it still plagues him to this day — was mind over matter in my mind. And there was a lot of physical rehab that he had to do, too.
“He had the right stuff. I thought it was really unfortunate, because I love what he is about as a person.”
(For the entire discussion on Jaylon Smith, skip to 3:05 in the video below)
PRO FOOTBALL FOCUS ALL PRO TEAM — FIRST QUARTER OF THE SEASON
Pro Football Focus named its first quarter of the season All-Pro team, and a pair of former Fighting Irish stars made the list — Dallas Cowboys offensive lineman Zack Martin, and Cleveland Browns rookie linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah.
On Martin: “Martin was the only member of the Dallas offensive line last season who remained playing at an elite level until even he was felled by injury. This year, he is again the best guard, and arguably the best lineman overall, in the NFL.”
On Owusu-Koramoah: “He possesses exceptional athleticism and explosiveness and has been playing with no restriction on his instincts so far in the NFL. When he sees something, he goes for it 100 percent, and it’s resulting in some impact plays for Cleveland’s defense.”
Owusu-Koramoah notched four total tackles (three solo) in a 47-42 loss at the Los Angeles Chargers.
The Dallas Cowboys rushed for 201 yards in a 44-20 home win over the New York Giants.
THE ENTIRE PRO FOOTBALL FOCUS ALL-PRO TEAM CAN BE FOUND HERE
OTHER WEEK FIVE NFL NOTES:
• Harrison Smith recorded nine total tackles (five solo) and one pass broken up in the Minnesota Vikings’ 19-17 win over the Detroit Lions.
• Julian Love had five total tackles (three solo), one pass broken up and one quarterback knockdown in the Giants’ 44-20 loss to the Cowboys.
• Three Notre Dame players recorded tackles for the Los Angeles Chargers in their victory over the Browns. Drue Tranquil made 11 tackles (seven solo and one for loss). Jerry Tillery had six total tackles (one solo). Alohi Gilman recorded a solo tackle as well.
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