Pack Pros: LB Payton Wilson records first-career NFL touchdown

NC State Pack Pro linebacker Payton Wilson was ready for the moment as Nick Herbig knocked the ball out of Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow’s hands in the fourth quarter on Sunday afternoon. 

Wilson had an opportunity to scoop and score earlier in the game, but he wasn’t able to cleanly recover the ball in the second quarter. So when he saw another fumble occur later in the game, Wilson’s sights were set on taking it to the end zone. 

And that’s what he did. 

Wilson recovered the fumble at the 21-yard line and had nothing but green grass between him and the end zone. He scored to put the Steelers up three scores, enough for the team to hold on to win 44-35 on Sunday afternoon. 

“The culture here isn’t go dive on that ball and secure it,” Wilson told reporters postgame. “It’s instilled in us from the time we get here that to win these games, you have to make massive splash plays.”

While Wilson was able to log his second impact turnover play of his rookie season — he had an interception two weeks earlier in a win over the Baltimore Ravens — he wasn’t the only Pack Pro in action. Here’s a look at how each former NC State player did in their respective NFL games this past week.

Pack Pros in the NFL: Week 13

C Garrett Bradbury (played at NC State from 2015-18), #56 Minnesota Vikings: Bradbury played 53 total snaps in the Vikings’ 23-22 win over the Arizona Cardinals. 

QB Jacoby Brissett (2014-15), #14 New England Patriots: Brissett did not play in the Patriots’ 25-24 loss to the Indianapolis Colts. 

OLB Bradley Chubb (2014-17), #2 Miami Dolphins: Chubb is on the Dolphins’ injured reserve.

P A.J. Cole III (2015-18), #6 Las Vegas Raiders: Cole logged three punts for 140 total yards in the Raiders’ 19-17 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs on Friday afternoon. He averaged 46.7 yards per attempt with one kick inside the 20-yard line. Cole had a long of 55 yards in the defeat. 

DT Cory Durden (2021-22), #98 Los Angeles Rams:.Durden is on the Rams’ practice squad. 

OT Ikem Ekwonu (2019-21), #79 Carolina Panthers: Ekwonu played 77 total snaps in the Panthers’ 26-23 overtime loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. 

P Trenton Gill (2018-21) #47 Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Gill logged five punts for 228 total yards in the Buccaneers’ 26-23 win overtime win over the Carolina Panthers. He had two attempts land inside the 20-yard line with a long of 54 yards in the victory.

WR Kelvin Harmon (2016-18), #84 Dallas Cowboys: Harmon is on the Cowboys’ practice squad. 

DL B.J. Hill Jr. (2014-17), #92 Cincinnati Bengals: Hill recorded six total tackles, including four solo stops, in the Bengals 44-38 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers. He had one sack with a pair of tackles for a loss to go with two quarterback hits in the defeat. 

RB Nyheim Hines (2015-17), #22 Cleveland Browns: Hines will not play this season as he recovers from a jet ski accident suffered in July 2023. 

S Tanner Ingle (2018-22), #34 Los Angeles Rams: Ingle is on the Rams’ practice squad.

DT Justin Jones (2014-17), #93 Arizona Cardinals: Jones was placed on the Cardinals’ injured reserve with a triceps injury. He will miss the rest of the season to recover.

LB Vi Jones (2019-21), #53 Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Jones logged one tackle in the Buccaneers’ 26-23 overtime win over the Carolina Panthers. 

CB Robert Kennedy III (2023), #40 Los Angeles Chargers: Kennedy is on the Chargers’ practice squad for the 2024 season. 

DT T.Y. McGill Jr. (2011-14), #96 San Francisco 49ers: McGill is on the 49ers’ practice squad for the 2024 season. 

C Dylan McMahon (2019-23), #63 Los Angeles Rams: McMahon did not play in the Rams’ 21-14 win over the New Orleans Saints. 

DT Alim McNeill (2018-20), #54 Detroit Lions: McNeill logged two total tackles, including one for a loss, in the Lions’ 23-20 win over the Chicago Bears on Thanksgiving Day. 

WR Jakobi Meyers (2016-18), #16 Las Vegas Raiders: Meyers had six receptions for 97 yards in the Raiders’ 19-17 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs on Friday afternoon. He was targeted 11 times and recorded a long of 43 yards in the defeat. 

DT Larrell Murchison (2018-19), #52 Los Angeles Rams: Murchison is currently on the injured reserve.

LB Germaine Pratt (2014-18), #57 Cincinnati Bengals: Pratt led the Bengals with 13 total tackles, including five solo stops, in the team’s 44-38 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers. He had one tackle for a loss and one quarterback hit in the defeat. 

DE James Smith-Williams (2016-19), #50 Atlanta Falcons: Smith-Williams did not play in the Falcons’ 17-13 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers. 

DL Kentavius Street (2014-17), #75 Atlanta Falcons: Street logged two total tackles, including a sack, with a quarterback hit in the Falcons’ 17-13 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers.

WR Thayer Thomas (2017-22), #89 Minnesota Vikings: Thomas is on the Vikings practice squad. 

LB Drake Thomas (2019-22), #42 Seattle Seahawks: Thomas logged 17 total tackles in the Seahawks’ 26-21 win over the New York Jets. 

OL Joe Thuney (2012-15), #62 Kansas City Chiefs: Thuney played 71 total snaps in the Chiefs’ 19-17 win over the Las Vegas Raiders on Friday afternoon. 

LB Payton Wilson (2018-23), #41 Pittsburgh Steelers: Wilson logged three total tackles, including a solo stop, in the Steelers’ 44-38 win over the Cincinnati Bengals and fellow Pack Pros BJ Hill and Germaine Pratt. He recovered two fumbles, including running one back for his first-career touchdown.

QB Russell Wilson (2007-09, finished at Wisconsin), #3 Pittsburgh Steelers: Wilson was 29-of-38 passing for 414 yards with three touchdowns and an interception in the Steelers’ 44-38 win over the Cincinnati Bengals. The signal-caller set a season-high in passing yards in the victory, while he was sacked twice en route to his best QBR of the year at 80.5.

OL Chandler Zavala (2021-22), #62 Carolina Panthers: Zavala played eight total snaps in the Panthers’ 26-23 overtime loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.