BBNFL Week 3 Recap: Mike Edwards and Randall Cobb shine once again

We are three weeks into the NFL season and the same group of former Kentucky players keeps making plays. Last week, Mike Edwards sealed the win for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers with a pick-6. He followed up that performance this week with a team-high 13 tackles (nine solo) including one tackle for a loss against the Green Bay Packers in a battle of Hall-of-Fame quarterbacks.

Edwards was extremely good at Kentucky, but he has turned into an absolute stud in the NFL for one of the league’s best teams and somehow getting better.

The other major impact player on defense this week was Jamin Davis. Last week, Washington Commanders’ head coach, Ron Rivera, inexplicably threw Davis under the bus in the postgame presser for playing poorly. Davis responded to his coach how anyone would, by posting a clip from Django Unchained on Instagram where, uh, let’s just say a character complains about the criticism he receives from what he considers to be ungrateful compatriots gathered for a joint cause.

Davis deleted the post and responded, instead, with solid play on the field. He recorded six tackles (five solo) and two sacks on Sunday. He now ranks 7th in the league in sacks, though the Philadelphia Eagles dominated the artists formerly known as the Football Team 24-8.

Rounding out the former Kentucky defensemen in week 3, Za’Darius Smith recorded three tackles (two solo) including two for a loss. Josh Allen was credited with one tackle (though he tallied a team-high four quarterback hits). Marquan “Bully” McCall, Brandin Echols, Kelvin “Bossman Fat” Joseph, Quinton Bohanna, and Lonnie Johnson each contributed with one tackle each for their respective teams.

Also of note, Bud Dupree sat out with a hip injury, but thankfully, the Titans do not believe it to be anything major.

Kentucky legend Cobb recovers from sickness to make big plays

Randall Cobb came down with an illness last week and didn’t practice for the Green Bay Packers, but the veteran stepped in on Sunday like he never missed a snap. He finished the game second on his team in receiving yards (57), hauling in both of his targets, including a 40-yarder that looked reminiscent of the kind of run-after-the-catch we used to see at Kentucky.

Some things never change — Aaron Rodgers to Randall Cobb in the SEAM pic.twitter.com/XL8YeEKvlU

— IKE Packers Podcast (@IKE_Packers) September 25, 2022

As for the other former Kentucky skill position players, Wan’Dale Robinson is still recovering from the knee injury he suffered in Week 1, though he is reportedly close to coming back for the New York Giants.

In Pittsburgh, Benny Snell has been relegated to special teams duties, as rookie Jaylen Warren has usurped his second-string running back role. The Steelers don’t abide by the running back-by-committee approach like many other teams do, so it would likely take an injury to Najee Harris or Warren for him to see much action out of the backfield.

On the line, the Detroit Lions listed Logan Stenberg as a starter but made a game-time decision to start Evan Brown instead. While Stenberg is still trying to solidify his role on the team, fellow Big Blue Wall brick, Luke Fortner, continues to start for the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Fortner, seen in the clip below pancaking his opponent to open up a huge hole for James Robinson, almost walked away from football at Kentucky. According to Larry Vaught via Max Duffy, Fortner chose to play the extra COVID year because he might not get a chance to wear pads again. He did, he improved, he helped Kentucky win 10 games, and now he is a starter in the NFL.

Life’s weird. Follow your passion.

Robinson is playing at such a high level right now. Don't usually see a cutback on a trap play but he might have seen there was no LB backside pre-snap and hit the hole with authority. Amazing recovery from an Achilles tear just a year ago. pic.twitter.com/PYwvTwDQO9

— Ted Nguyen (@FB_FilmAnalysis) September 26, 2022