State NFL roundup: Steelers show flash of future

Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver George Pickens holds on to the football for a reception despite New York Jets safety Lamarcus Joyner grabbing his facemask during an NFL game on Sunday, Oct. 2, 2022, at Acrisure Stadium in Pittsburgh.

In the first round of the 2022 NFL Draft, the Pittsburgh Steelers picked Pitt quarterback Kenny Pickett. In the second round, they took Georgia wide receiver George Pickens.

Through the first three games of the season, Pickett didn’t play a snap and Pickens had five receptions for 65 yards, although one of them might turn out to be the Catch of the Year.

After edging the Cincinnati Bengals 23-20 in overtime to start the season, the Steelers lost to the New England Patriots 17-14 and Cleveland Browns 29-17, and with Pittsburgh trailing the New York Jets 10-6 at halftime, coach Mike Tomlin pulled starter Mitch Trubisky to give Pickett an opportunity.

Pickett threw three interceptions – his only incompletions on 13 passes – but he also ran for two touchdowns, and the Jets needed a touchdown with 16 seconds remaining to pull out a 24-20 victory.

Pickett connected with Pickens four times for 71 yards in the second half as the former Hoover High School star posted a six-reception, 102-yard game.

Did Pittsburgh’s future arrive in the second half on Sunday?

Tomlin was noncommittal, saying he made the quarterback change at halftime to try to spark the Steelers’ offense and the switch didn’t have any bearing on next week’s game against the Buffalo Bills.

Pickens said he didn’t know the quarterback change was being made.

“I was just focusing on me,” Pickens said. “I didn’t know, really, much of nothing. I was just making sure I ran the right routes. Do my part. You try to get into that, you forget what you got to do.”

Pickens was among the 35 players from Alabama high schools and colleges (excluding Alabama and Auburn) who got on the field on the fourth Sunday of the NFL’s 103rd season.

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Five other former state players were involved in the Pittsburgh-New York game:

· Kwon Alexander (Oxford) started at linebacker for the Jets. Alexander made seven tackles.

· Jets defensive end Bryce Huff (St. Paul’s Episcopal) played but did not record any stats in his 2022 debut.

· Malik Reed (Dothan) started at left outside linebacker for the Steelers. Reed made one tackle and registered one quarterback hit.

· Steelers offensive tackle Trent Scott (Lee-Huntsville) dressed for the game but did not play.

· Jets linebacker Quincy Williams (Wenonah) was designated as a game-day inactive. Williams did not practice last week because of an ankle injury.

In the other Sunday games:

Minnesota Vikings 28, New Orleans Saints 25

· Saints wide receiver Kawaan Baker (South Alabama) is on reserve/suspended by the commissioner and is not eligible to play.

· Vikings quarterback Nick Mullens (Spain Park) dressed for the game but did not play.

· Za’Darius Smith (Greenville) started at outside linebacker for the Vikings. Smith recorded his third sack of the season.

· Saints quarterback Jameis Winston (Hueytown) was designated a game-day inactive. Winston missed the game because of back and ankle injuries.

Atlanta Falcons 23, Cleveland Browns 20

· Browns offensive tackle Chris Hubbard (UAB) was designated as a game-day inactive.

· Browns wide receiver Chester Rogers (Lee-Huntsville) is on the practice squad and not eligible to play.

· Anthony Rush (UAB) started at defensive tackle for the Falcons. Rush made three tackles.

· Alex Wright (Elba, UAB) started at defensive end for the Browns. Wright made four tackles.

Buffalo Bills 23, Baltimore Ravens 20

· Ravens outside linebacker Jeremiah Moon (Hoover) is on the practice squad and not eligible to play.

· Bills cornerback Siran Neal (Eufaula, Jacksonville State) played but did not record any stats.

· Ravens defensive tackle Michael Pierce (Daphne, Samford) is on injured reserve and not eligible to play.

Dallas Cowboys 25, Washington Commanders 10

· Bobby McCain (Oxford) started at free safety for the Commanders. McCain made six tackles.

· Commanders running back J.D. McKissic (Central-Phenix City) ran for 40 yards on eight carries and caught three passes for 16 yards.

· Commanders safety Jeremy Reaves (South Alabama) played but did not record any stats.

· Cowboys wide receiver Jalen Tolbert (McGill-Toolen, South Alabama) was designated as a game-day inactive.

· Cowboys defensive end Sam Williams (Lee-Montgomery) made two tackles and registered a quarterback hit.

Seattle Seahawks 48, Detroit Lions 45

· Mike Jackson (Spain Park) started at left cornerback for the Seahawks.

· Lions guard Logan Stenberg (James Clemens) played but did not record any stats.

Los Angeles Chargers 34, Houston Texans 24

· Texans defensive end Mario Addison (Tarrant, Troy) is on injured reserve and not eligible to play.

· Nico Collins (Clay-Chalkville) started at wide receiver for the Texans. Collins caught three passes for 82 yards. Collins reached a career high for receiving yards with the help of a 58-yard catch, the longest in his career.

· Gerald Everett (UAB/South Alabama) started at tight end for the Chargers. Everett caught five passes for 61 yards and one touchdown. Everett scored the game’s first points on an 18-yard reception with 12 minutes left in the first quarter.

· Tytus Howard (Monroe County, Alabama State) started at right offensive tackle for the Texans.

· Texans cornerback Tremon Smith (Saks) had a 24-yard kickoff return and made a tackle on special teams.

Tennessee Titans 24, Indianapolis Colts 17

· Titans linebacker Zach Cunningham (Pinson Valley) was designated as a game-day inactive. An elbow injury prevented Cunningham from practicing last week.

· Ben Jones (Bibb County) started at center for the Titans.

· Titans linebacker Monty Rice (James Clemens) is on reserve/physically unable to perform and not eligible to play.

New York Giants 20, Chicago Bears 12

· Bears fullback Khari Blasingame (Buckhorn) played but did not record any stats.

· Giants cornerback Cordale Flott (Saraland) was designated as a game-day inactive. Flott did not practice last week because of a calf injury.

· Bears wide receiver Velus Jones Jr. (Saraland) returned two kickoffs for 44 yards and two punts for 19 yards in his NFL debut. A third-round selection in the NFL Draft on April 29, Jones missed the first three games of the season because of a hamstring injury.

· Darnell Mooney (Gadsden City) started at wide receiver for the Bears. Mooney caught four passes for 94 yards. A 1,000-yard receiver in 2021, Mooney had four receptions for 27 yards in Chicago’s first three games this season. He got more than twice that on one catch on Sunday, when he pulled in a 56-yarder in the first quarter.

· Nicholas Morrow (Huntsville) started at linebacker for the Bears. Morrow made four tackles.

· Giants wide receiver Kadarius Toney (Blount) was designated as a game-day inactive. Toney did not practice last week because of a hamstring injury.

· Nick Williams (Minor, Samford) started at defensive tackle for the Giants. Williams made five tackles and broke up a pass.

Philadelphia Eagles 29, Jacksonville Jaguars 21

· Josh Allen (Abbeville) started at outside linebacker for the Jaguars. Allen made seven tackles, recorded one sack, had one tackle for loss and registered two quarterback hits.

· Eagles safety Reed Blankenship (West Limestone) was designated as a game-day inactive.

· James Bradberry (Pleasant Grove, Samford) started at cornerback for the Eagles. Bradberry made two tackles and intercepted a pass. Bradberry’s second interception of the season and 17th of his career came off Jacksonville quarterback Trevor Lawrence at the Philadelphia 7-yard line and returned it 5 yards. Bradberry’s interception came with 4:17 left in the third quarter and the Eagles leading 20-14.

· Jaguars tight end Gerrit Prince (UAB) is on the practice squad and not eligible to play.

· Jaguars defensive end/outside linebacker Jordan Smith (UAB) is on injured reserve and not eligible to play.

· Eagles wide receiver Quez Watkins (Athens) was targeted once but did not have a reception.

· Jaguars cornerback Darious Williams (UAB) made one tackle and broke up one pass.

· Jaguars center Darryl Williams (Bessemer City) played but did not record any stats. Jacksonville elevated Williams from the practice squad, and he made his NFL debut in the game.

Arizona Cardinals 26, Carolina Panthers 16

· Panthers cornerback Tae Hayes (Decatur) is on the practice squad and not eligible to play.

· Rodney Hudson (B.C. Rain) started at center for the Cardinals.

· Cardinals cornerback Christian Matthew (Samford) played but did not record any stats.

· Cardinals offensive lineman Lachavious Simmons (Selma) is on the practice squad and not eligible to play.

Las Vegas Raiders 32, Denver Broncos 23

· Raiders running back Ameer Abdullah (Homewood) had a 17-yard kickoff return.

· Raiders defensive tackle Neil Farrell Jr. (Murphy) was designated as a game-day inactive.

· Broncos punter Corliss Waitman (South Alabama) averaged 48.2 yards on five punts, with a 42.8-yard net. Waitman had a 52-yard punt returned for no gain at the Las Vegas 13-yard line, a 44-yarder returned for no gain at the Las Vegas 19, a 55-yarder for a touchback, a 44-yarder for a fair catch at the Las Vegas 32 and a 46-yarder returned for 7 yards to the Denver 41 (although an illegal-block penalty moved the football back to the Las Vegas 49).

· Broncos wide receiver Montrell Washington (Samford) caught a 4-yard pass for his first NFL reception and returned three punts for 66 yards, including a 30-yarder.

Kansas City Chiefs 41, Tampa Bay Buccaneers 31

· Rakeem Nunez-Roches (Central-Phenix City) started at defensive tackle for the Buccaneers. Nunez-Roches recorded one tackle for loss.

· Chiefs wide receiver Justyn Ross (Central-Phenix City) is on injured reserve and not eligible to play.

· Chiefs defensive tackle Taylor Stallworth (Murphy) is on the practice squad for the Chiefs.

· Buccaneers safety Nolan Turner (Vestavia Hills) is on the practice squad and not eligible to play.

Week 4 started on Thursday night, when the Cincinnati Bengals defeated the Miami Dolphins 27-15. Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill (West Alabama) had 10 receptions for 160 yards.

Week 4 concludes when the Los Angeles Rams visit the San Francisco 49ers at 7:15 p.m. CDT Monday. ESPN and ESPN2 will televise the game.

FOR MORE OF AL.COM’S COVERAGE OF THE NFL, GO TO OUR NFL PAGE

Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.

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