Aggies in the NFL: Week 1

I’ve watched college football over the past two weeks, basking in the brilliance of football’s glorious return, and wondered why anyone was really missing NFL football. Surely, we had everything we needed?

Then, I watched my Raiders, beholding the nation’s greatest showcase of athleticism that I had forgotten the human body was capable of. I then remembered why the NFL is great.

For Aggie fans, the thrills of week one hopefully did enough to mask the lack of highlights from Logan’s loyal. Plenty of excitement to come in the future, of that, we can certainly hope.

Maurice Alexander:  Linebacker, Buffalo Bills

Alexander played on special teams in the Bills’ comeback win over the New York Jets, 17-16, and had a tackle on the returner to begin the Jets’ first and only touchdown drive.

Kyler Fackrell: Linebacker, Green Bay Packers

The Packers beat the Chicago Bears, 10-3, in an opening game that was about as entertaining as watching paint dry in black and white to the accompaniment of a Gregorian chant. Fackrell saw some field time and notched two tackles.

Tyler Larsen: Center, Carolina Panthers

Larsen played backup center in the Panthers’ 30-27 loss to the Los Angeles Rams and the Panthers’ line allowed three sacks. If you were expecting a punt return here, expect disappointment.

Donald Penn: Offensive Tackle, Washington Redskins

Penn, the veteran Aggie of our group, played backup on the offensive line in the Redskins’ 32-27 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles.

Patrick Scales: Long Snapper, Chicago Bears

Scales did his job as usual for the Bears in its loss to the Packers. With the Bears offense never getting off the ground, Scales had plenty of work, snapping eight punts. As long as you do not hear about any footballs flying over Chicago’s punter’s head, you can assume that Scales had a good day.

Darwin Thompson: Running Back, Kansas City Chiefs

Thompson, despite all the preseason hype the Chiefs’ media put on him during the preseason, barely saw the light in the Chiefs’ first game of the regular season. He did not get any rushing attempts from his third-string spot, but caught one pass on first down for three yards in Kansas City’s win over the Jacksonville Jaguars, 40-26.

Nick Vigil: Linebacker, Cincinnati Bengals

Vigil had a nice day on defense against the Seattle Seahawks, despite losing 21-20. Finishing with seven tackles, 1.5 tackles for a loss, Vigil primarily took care of containing Seattle’s Chris Carson. He had an impressive series coming out of the half and combined on a tackle for a six-yard loss and subsequently took Carson down for a one-yard loss on the next play.

Bobby Wagner: Linebacker, Seattle Seahawks

Wagner started at linebacker and collected nine total tackles, two for a loss, in the win over Cincinnati. One of Wagner’s tackles was a tackle for a loss that resulted in a third-down stop on the Bengals’ first drive.