State NFL roundup: Reed Blankenship seals Eagles’ victory

Safety Reed Blankenship sealed the Philadelphia Eagles’ 15-12 victory over the New Orleans Saints with an interception with 48 seconds to play on Sunday.

The former West Limestone High School standout picked off New Orleans quarterback Derek Carr at the Philadelphia 41-yard line with a diving interception in the middle of the field 13 seconds after the Eagles scored the go-ahead touchdown.

“We got pressure in his face,” Blankenship said. “We got pressure in his face all day. Once that happens, any quarterback is going to start looking down and shorten their throws. He was staring that route down. I just broke on it. I trusted my technique, trusted my players, my teammates and got the job done.”

Blankenship’s fifth career interception seemed a near-duplicate of his first interception of the season, when he picked off Green Bay quarterback Jordan Love at the Packers 24-yard line to set up a touchdown in the Eagles’ 34-29 victory over Sept. 6.

Blankenship also had two tackles on Sunday.

Blankenship was among the 28 players from Alabama high schools and colleges (excluding Alabama and Auburn) who got on the field on the third Sunday of the NFL’s 105th season.

Two other former state players were involved in the Philadelphia-New Orleans game:

· Eagles defensive back James Bradberry (Pleasant Grove, Samford) is on injured reserve and not eligible to play.

· Bryce Huff (St. Paul’s Episcopal) started at defensive end for the Eagles. Huff did not record any stats.

In the other Sunday games:

New York Giants 21, Cleveland Browns 15

· Browns linebacker Mohamoud Diabate (Auburn High) is on injured reserve and not eligible to play.

· Browns safety Chris Edmonds (Samford) is on the practice squad and not eligible to play.

· Cor’Dale Flott (Saraland) started at cornerback for the Giants. Flott made a team-leading nine tackles and recorded one tackle for loss. Flott’s previous game-high for tackles had been six.

· Rakeem Nunez-Roches (Central-Phenix City) started at defensive tackle for the Giants. Nunez-Roches made five tackles and shared a sack.

· Za’Darius Smith (Greenville) started at defensive end for the Browns. Smith made four tackles and recorded one sack.

· Browns wide receiver Kadarius Toney (Blount) is on the practice squad and not eligible to play.

· Browns linebacker Nathaniel Watson (Maplesville) is on the practice squad and not eligible to play.

· Browns quarterback Jameis Winston (Hueytown) had 1 yard on two rushing attempts. Winston entered the game twice for fourth-down quarterback sneaks.

· Browns defensive end Alex Wright (Elba, UAB) made two tackles.

Indianapolis Colts 21, Chicago Bears 16

· Bears fullback Khari Blasingame (Buckhorn) was designated as a game-day inactive.

· Gerald Everett (UAB/South Alabama) started at tight end for the Bears. Everett was targeted once but did not have a reception.

· Bears wide receiver Velus Jones Jr. (Saraland) was designated as a game-day inactive.

· Bears cornerback Reddy Steward (Austin, Troy) is on the practice squad and not eligible to play.

Minnesota Vikings 34, Houston Texans 7

· Nico Collins (Clay-Chalkville) started at wide receiver for the Texans. Collins had four receptions for 86 yards.

· Texans wide receiver Tank Dell (Alabama A&M) had five receptions for 62 yards.

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

· Kamari Lassiter (American Christian) started at cornerback for the Texans. Lassiter made four tackles.

· Vikings defensive back Bobby McCain (Oxford) is on injured reserve and not eligible to play.

· Vikings quarterback Nick Mullens (Spain Park) took two snaps in the game. He came in for one play when starter Sam Darnold went out after being shaken up, and he kneeled out the final seconds on the game’s last snap.

· Jimmie Ward (Davidson) started at safety for the Texans. Ward made five tackles.

Pittsburgh Steelers 20, Los Angeles Chargers 10

· Chargers safety A.J. Finley (St. Paul’s Episcopal) made one tackle on special teams.

· Steelers linebacker Jeremiah Moon (Hoover) is on injured reserve and not eligible to play.

· George Pickens (Hoover) started at wide receiver for the Steelers. Pickens had five receptions for 57 yards.

· Chargers running back Kimani Vidal (Troy) was designated as a game-day inactive.

· Steelers punter Corliss Waitman (South Alabama) averaged 52.0 yards on three punts, with a 50.3-yard net. Waitman had a 52-yard punt for a fair catch at the Los Angeles 24-yard line, a 48-yarder returned 5 yards to the Los Angeles 41 and a 56-yarder for a fair catch at the Los Angeles 8.

· Steelers wide receiver Quez Watkins (Athens) is on the practice squad and not eligible to play.

Denver Broncos 26, Tampa Bay Buccaneers 7

· Broncos cornerback Kris Abrams-Draine (Spanish Fort) was designated as a game-day inactive.

· Broncos cornerback Tremon Smith (Saks) did not record any stats.

Green Bay Packers 30, Tennessee Titans 14

· Packers offensive tackle Kadeem Telfort (UAB) did not record any stats.

Carolina Panthers 36, Las Vegas Raiders 22

· Raiders running back Ameer Abdullah (Homewood) caught two passes for 13 yards and returned one kickoff for 27 yards.

· Jakorian Bennett (McGill-Toolen) started at cornerback for the Raiders. Bennett did not record any stats.

· Raiders quarterback Carter Bradley (South Alabama) is on the practice squad and not eligible to play.

· Michael Jackson (Spain Park) started at cornerback for the Panthers. Jackson led Carolina with nine tackles, intercepted one pass and broke up two others. Jackson’s second NFL interception came off Las Vegas quarterback Gardner Minshew with 8:34 to play at the Raiders 36-yard line and set up a field goal. Jackson’s other interception came on Jan. 1, 2023. Jackson’s previous career high had been seven tackles, reached in three games, including two weeks ago in a 47-10 loss to the New Orleans Saints.

· Panthers tight end Jordan Matthews (Madison Academy) is on the practice squad and not eligible to play.

Seattle Seahawks 24, Miami Dolphins 3

· Dolphins wide receiver Grant DuBose (Park Crossing, Miles) is on injured reserve and not eligible to play.

· Tyreek Hill (West Alabama) started at wide receiver for the Dolphins. Hill had three receptions for 40 yards.

· Dolphins cornerback Siran Neal (Eufaula, Jacksonville State) made one tackle on special teams.

· Seahawks outside linebacker Jamie Sheriff (South Alabama) is on the practice squad and not eligible to play.

Detroit Lions 20, Arizona Cardinals 13

· Lions defensive tackle Brodric Martin (Northridge, North Alabama) is on injured reserve and not eligible play.

· Cardinals wide receiver Tejhaun Palmer (UAB) is on the practice squad and not eligible to play.

· Starling Thomas V (Ramsay, UAB) started at cornerback for the Cardinals. Thomas made three tackles.

Baltimore Ravens 28, Dallas Cowboys 25

· Ravens wide receiver Malik Cunningham (Park Crossing) is on the practice squad and not eligible to play.

· Ravens nose tackle Michael Pierce (Daphne, Samford) made two tackles, registered one quarterback hit and broke up one pass.

Week 3 started on Thursday night, when the New York Jets defeated the New England Patriots 24-3.

Week 3 concludes on Monday with two games. The Jacksonville Jaguars and Buffalo Bills square off at 6:30 p.m. CDT at Highmark Stadium in Orchard Park, New York, and the Washington Commanders and the Cincinnati Bengals meet at 7:15 p.m. at Paycor Stadium in Cincinnati. ESPN will televise the Jacksonville-Buffalo game, and ABC will televise the Washington-Cincinnati game.

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