BBNFL Week 5 Recap: Jolly good stat line for Randall Cobb in London

Last week, Za’Darius Smith represented former Kentucky players in London and gave the British ladies and gents an ace showing. This week, Randall Cobb took that same responsibility across the pond when the Green Bay Packers faced off against the New York Giants on the football pitch and put on a brilliant performance of his own.

Cobb finished the day with a team-high seven catches for a team-high 99 yards. This is the most catches he has grabbed in a single game since 2020 when he was a member of the Houston Texans and the most receiving yards he gained in a single game since 2019 when he was donning Cowboy blue.

The Giants stopped Cobb one yard short of the endzone on a play that would have been his first touchdown of the year, but no doubt he will find paydirt soon.

Rodgers told the game’s announcers that Cobb could be a great translator for the Packers’ young wide receivers. The phrase “could be” was a little strange given the context. Is Rodgers trying to keep Cobb on staff as a coach after he retires? It is hard to say, but as long as the former Kentucky legend keeps leading his team in receiving, hanging up the cleats is the last thing on his mind, even at the age of 32.

Sunday should have been the battle of Kentucky’s rookie and veteran NFL wide receivers, however, Wan’Dale Robinson remains sidelined with a knee injury suffered in Week 1. It is difficult to say whether there has been a recovery setback or not, but this day-to-day injury has now kept Robinson out a month. Hopefully, it does not develop into anything serious.

Two UK Football WR legends pic.twitter.com/iAylbS0lRU

— Matt Jones (@KySportsRadio) October 10, 2022

.@AaronRodgers12's vision.

📺: #NYGvsGB on @NFLNetwork
📱: Stream on NFL+ https://t.co/miBTGIf2La pic.twitter.com/cBTNEyBXAL

— NFL (@NFL) October 9, 2022

Mike Edwards exists with injury; defensemen keeping at it

The Minnesota Vikings were back stateside this week, and Za’Darius Smith was back to being a menace for opposing teams. He had just two tackles (one solo, one for a loss) but picked up a half-sack as well to keep himself on pace with the league leaders in that category.

Some bad news out of Tampa Bay: former Kentucky safety, Mike Edwards, who has been excellent for the Buccs all season, left the game in the second half with an arm injury. Updates were minimal, and initial reports don’t make it sound like a long-term issue, but this will be something to watch. Edwards had two tackles (one solo) in the team’s win over the Atlanta Falcons.

The Washington Commanders’ Jamin Davis continues to get mixed reactions from the DC fans, with some wanting more out of their first-round pick and others defending him against what they deem to be unreasonable slander. Davis keeps doing his thing though, posting a stat line of five tackles (three solo) in yet another losing effort for the Commanders.

Continued improvement from Jamin Davis in coverage. Like we saw last week when walked out over the slot, much tighter to the receiver, taking away path inside, in position to contest throw outside. pic.twitter.com/0CBQ6Hn78N

— Mark Bullock (@MarkBullockNFL) October 9, 2022

Elsewhere around the league, Bossman Fat Kelvin Joseph recorded two tackles (two solo) for the Dallas Cowboys, and both Bully McCall and Brandin Echols made a tackle for the Carolina Packers and New York Jetsm respectively.

Former Kentucky star, Josh Allen for the Jacksonville Jaguars, also recorded a solo tackle for loss, but his teammate, veteran Corey Peters played really well, totaling four tackles (two solo) in the team’s frustrating loss to the Houston Texans.

Kentucky linemen keep improving

Twitter joked that the Jags’ starting center, Luke Fortner, tackled Trevor Lawrence when the quarterback ran into his center on a crucial third down, but that is one that doesn’t go down in the stat sheet. Fortner is improving each week, and Jaguar fans are impressed with what he has done for the team.

Logan Stenberg also saw a jump in performance this week. After posting a pass-blocking grade of zero and four in his first two weeks, that number jumped up to 84 on Sunday. The Lions have a lot going badly for them this season and Stenberg seems to be caught in the middle of a tough situation. All he can do is keep getting better, which is exactly what he has been doing.

In New Orleans, backup lineman, Landon Young, played the most snaps of the season for the Saints. Granted, it was just three, but it is good to see him on the field.

Also, a big shoutout to former Western Kentucky quarterback, Bailey Zappe, who made his first NFL start and got the win for the New England Patriots. At least there was one quarterback from Kentucky making his first start this week who got a win.