Aggies in the NFL: Week 15 — The IR edition
Injuries.
Why must they always happen?
Say all you want about how they can pave the way for the emergence of new players in the league (You’re welcome, Tom Brady. Sincerely, Drew Bledsoe), but those ACL tears, twisted ankles, broken hands, etc., are consistently the most frustrating aspect of professional sports.
Utah State’s NFL representatives are not excluded company. Nick Vigil is out, Robert Turbin is out, Bobby Wagner is playing through it (a move not everyone is on board with), Patrick Scales was never in, and Kerwynn Williams and Nevin Lawson are both questionable after suffering injuries last week.
Even Donald Penn, one of the few Ironmen of the league left, suffered an ankle injury that has put him out for the season, the first time the dude will miss a game since most of the USU freshmen class was losing their baby teeth.
At this rate, the Super Bowl is going to be a hot matchup between “What’s Left of (insert here) vs. What’s Left of (insert here).”
Marwin Evans (Green Bay Packers)
Evans, a safety for the Packers, finally got some stats after being a non-factor over the last few weeks, recording a single tackle, really just a push out of bounds, in the Packers’ loss to the Carolina Panthers, 31-24.
Kyler Fackrell (Green Bay Packers)
Fackrell played, but did not grace the stat sheet in the Packers’ loss to the Panthers.
Nevin Lawson (Detroit Lions)
Lawson had an uptick in production this week in a win against the Chicago Bears, 20-10, notching 5 tackles and deflecting a short pass on first down. All of Lawson’s stats came in the second half.
Unfortunately, Lawson was also somewhat responsible for the Bears’ only touchdown of the game. As Chicago went for it on fourth down, a fumble aborted the play and would have given the Lions possession, but Lawson got called for defensive holding, gifting the Bears a first down, and Chicago scored on the next play.
Donald Penn (Oakland Raiders)
Donald Penn went down in the first half with a foot injury in the Raiders’ loss to the Dallas Cowboys, 20-17, but despite the disappointment, he and the rest of the Raiders offensive line performed well, keeping quarterback Derek Carr on his feet and facilitating a rush offense that netted 123 yards on the night.
Zach Vigil (Washington Redskins)
Vigil played at linebacker for the Skins in their win over the Arizona Cardinals, 20-15, tying for the team lead with eight tackles, and deflected a crucial deep pass attempt by the Cardinals with a minute remaining as Arizona was attempting a go-ahead scoring drive.
Two of Vigil’s tackles on the day came against fellow USU alum Kerwynn Williams, satisfying my need for Aggie-on-Aggie action.
For your information, the first thing that comes up when I Google “Aggie on Aggie action” is directions to Aggie Ice Cream. What’s going on over there?
Bobby Wagner (Seattle Seahawks)
Wagner played through a hamstring injury and logged seven tackles, including a third down stop, in the Seahawks’ public execution at the hands of the L.A. Rams, 42-7.
Wagner also had beef with teammate Earl Thomas after the game when Thomas publicly said he didn’t think Wagner should have played, referencing the hamstring injury. Wagner responded on social media, telling Thomas to “keep my name out yo mouth.”
C’mon, Bobby boy.
Kerwynn Williams (Arizona Cardinals)
Williams had an underwhelming performance at running back in the Cards’ loss to the Redskins. Against a porous run defense, Williams netted a mere 61 yards on 17 carries and dropped his only pass target.
Williams has no touchdowns in the last three games despite being the feature back for the Cardinals. Not all his fault, though, as the entire Arizona team has no touchdowns in two games.
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