Baltimore Ravens

Jihad Ward, defensive end: Ward and the Ravens had a noon kickoff game against the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday. Ravens fans and Illini fans saw the best of Ward: 2 tackles including a sack on Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz... and... the worst: a roughing the passer penalty. The Ravens continue to roll and on Sunday won the Battle of the Birds.

Buffalo Bills

Del’Shawn Phillips, linebacker: The Bills are having a solid season. Unfortunately, Phillips was placed on IR last week.

Dallas Cowboys:

Malik Turner, wide receiver/special teams: Malik Turner was inactive for the Cowboys Monday Night Football game against quarterback Kyler Murray and the Arizona Cardinals.

Houston Texans:

Whitney Mercilus, outside linebacker: The Texans, led by a veteran defensive group including Whitney Mercilus, are starting to play a lot better. Houston had a road game at division rivals Tennessee Titans and lost in overtime. Derrick Henry ran riot on Houston. Mercilus surprisingly did not record any stats on Sunday despite being in the starting lineup.

Indianapolis Colts:

Tavon Wilson, safety: The veteran DB had 1 tackle in the Colts’ win versus the Cincinnati Bengals. The Colts are 1-1 against Ohio teams this season.

Jacksonville Jaguars:

Dawuane Smoot, defensive end: In a battle between two awful teams, the Jaguars fell to the Detroit Lions. Smoot had 2 tackles and a QB hit in the game.

Kansas City Chiefs:

Nick Allegretti, guard: Allegretti and the Chiefs were eager to get back on the field in this re-scheduled matchup following KC’s only loss of the season to the Las Vegas Raiders. The Chiefs beat the Buffalo Bills 26-17 on Monday night. Allegretti played a lot and dominated. He replaced the injured Mitchell Schwartz who got banged up in the first half. Allegretti played well and even had a questionable holding penalty called against him. The refs called it a holding. It was more like a demolition.

Miami Dolphins:

Ted Karras, center: Karras started at center in Miami’s Week 6 AFC East Division game against the lowly New York Jets. Karras has started every single game for the Miami Dolphins. Even backup rookie quarterback Tua Tagovailoa made an appearance. The Dolphins dominated the game. Karras is a big part of Miami’s success in the trenches.

Clayton Fejedelem, safety/special teams: Fej was his usual solid self on special teams and he recorded 1 tackle on defense.

Minnesota Vikings:

Hardy Nickerson, linebacker/special teams: The former Illini grad transfer was on the Vikings’ active roster yet again, this time against the then-winless Atlanta Falcons. Nickerson made an impact with 2 tackles in Minnesota’s 40-23 loss to Atlanta.

New Orleans Saints:

Justin Hardee, cornerback/special teams: Hardee and the Saints had a bye week this week. Hardee’s next game is a divisional matchup against the Carolina Panthers.

Practice Squad guys:

Chase McLaughlin is a practice squad member on the Minnesota Vikings. Veteran defensive lineman and former first-rounder Corey Liuget was added to the Houston Texans’ practice squad last week.

*Just a reminder, Detroit Lions wide receiver Geronimo Allison and New England Patriots tight end Matt LaCosse opted out of the 2020 season because of COVID-19.