Skip to main content
penn-state logo

Penn State NFL Roundup: Micah Parsons plays hero again, Chris Godwin stands out and a rookie gets his first start

IMG_1698 5 (1)by:David Eckert•12/14/21•

davideckert98

Micah Parsons
Cowboys defender Micah Parsons sacks Washington QB Taylor Heinicke. (Rob Carr/Getty Images.)

Penn State had another excellent week at the NFL level.

Micah Parsons continued to prove himself to be borderline superhuman, Chris Godwin surpassed the century mark again, and Shaka Toney got his first career start.

Let’s get into our full recap by ranking the five most notable performances by former Nittany Lions playing in the NFL this week.

1.) Micah Parsons (Played at Penn State 2018-19), LB, Dallas Cowboys 

Micah Parsons did it again.

The former Penn State linebacker delivered a game-wrecking performance Sunday in a Dallas win over the Washington Football Team.

Parsons sacked Taylor Heinicke twice, including a strip-sack that the Cowboys returned for a touchdown.

Parsons has 9.5 sacks in his last six games. According to certain sportsbooks, he is officially a part of the NFL Defensive Player of the Year race.

FoxBet has Parsons as the second-favorite behind Browns defensive end Myles Garrett for the award. DraftKings tabs him as the third-favorite, behind Garrett and TJ Watt of the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Since Week 9, he has 9.5 sacks and 16 quarterback hits, which lead the NFL. He also has an NFL best 10 tackles for loss, and three forced fumbles, which is tied for the best in the league.

2.) Chris Godwin (Played at Penn State 2014-16), WR, Tampa Bay Buccaneers 

Make it two consecutive 100-yard games for former Penn State wideout Chris Godwin.

He helped lead the Bucs to a 33-27 overtime win over the Bills, catching 10 of his 15 targets for 105 yards.

Godwin is up to 1,054 receiving yards for the year to lead a star-studded Tampa Bay WR group.

He topped off his impressive outing with a great block on the edge as well.

3.) Saquon Barkley (2015-17), RB, New York Giants 

Former Penn State running back Saquon Barkley posted one of his best games of the season in a loss to the Chargers.

Barkley carried the ball a season-high 16 times for 64 yards, and caught three passes for 31 yards and a touchdown.

4.) Austin Johnson (2012-15), DT, New York Giants

Johnson once again turned in a nice game for the Giants, making six tackles in a loss to the Chargers.

The former Nittany Lion is already up to 59 total tackles on the season, more than double his previous career-high set in 2017.

5.) Shaka Toney (2016-20), DE, Washington Football Team 

Toney got his first career start against the Cowboys on Sunday. He played 52 snaps, came away with four tackles and picked up one QB hit.

Miles Sanders (2016-18), RB, Philadelphia Eagles

Sanders and the Eagles had their bye this week.

Amani Oruwariye (2014-18), CB, Detroit Lions

Oruwariye played every snap on defense and made one tackle for the Lions in their loss to Denver.

Will Fries (2016-20), OL, Indianapolis Colts 

Fries and the Colts had their bye this week.

RELATED: Penn State football: Wideout no longer on PSU roster

Odafe Oweh (2018-20), DE, Baltimore Ravens 

Oweh posted five tackles in a loss to the Browns in Week 14. The former Penn State defensive end played 54 percent of Baltimore’s snaps.

Pat Freiermuth (2018-20), TE, Pittsburgh Steelers 

Freiermuth found the end zone for the Steelers for the seventh time in his rookie season. He nearly had a second touchdown in Pittsburgh’s loss to the Vikings — one that would have set up a game-tying two-point conversion attempt with no time left on the clock. However, Vikings safety Harrison Smith did well to punch the ball out before Freiermuth could reel it in.

Trace McSorley (2014-18), QB, Arizona Cardinals

McSorley remains on the Cardinals’ active roster despite the return of Kyler Murray. He didn’t play in Arizona’s loss to the Rams on Monday Night Football.

Adrian Amos (2011-14), S, Green Bay Packers

Amos made four tackles and broke up a pass while playing all 62 of Green Bay’s defensive snaps in a win over the Bears on Sunday Night Football.

Mike Gesicki (2014-17), TE, Miami Dolphins

Gesicki and the Dolphins had their bye this week.

Blake Gillikin (2016-19), P, New Orleans Saints

Gillikin continues to be a major asset for the Saints. He punted five times for an average of 51.6 yards in a win over the Jets.

Jesse James (2012-14), TE, Chicago Bears 

James started and played 15 snaps on offense for the Bears in their loss to Green Bay.

Yetur Gross-Matos (2017-19), DE, Carolina Panthers 

Gross-Matos played 21 snaps and came away with one tackle in Carolina’s loss to Atlanta.

Nick Scott (2014-18), S, Los Angeles Rams

Former Penn State safety Nick Scott played 39 snaps on defense — his highest total for the year — in a win over Arizona on Monday Night Football. Scott came away with four tackles in the game, while also playing 21 special teams snaps.

Carl Nassib (2011-15), DE, Las Vegas Raiders

Nassib did not play for the second week in a row as the Raiders suffered a blowout loss to Kansas City.

Juwan Johnson (2015-18), TE, New Orleans Saints

Johnson caught his only target for 15 yards in a win over the Jets.

Robbie Gould (2001-04), K, San Francisco 49ers

Former Penn State kicker Robbie Gould made two of his three field-goal attempts and also booted through two extra points in a win over the Bengals.

Allen Robinson II (2011-13), WR, Chicago Bears

Robinson returned from injury to catch two of his six targets for 14 yards in a loss to the Packers.

Connor McGovern (2016-18), OL, Dallas Cowboys

McGovern started for the fourth week in a row, playing all 85 offensive snaps for Dallas as the Cowboys bested the Washington Football Team.

Jason Cabinda (2014-17), FB, Detroit Lions

Cabinda played nine snaps on offense and 16 snaps on special teams in Detroit’s loss to Denver.

DaQuan Jones (2010-13), DT, Carolina Panthers 

Former Penn State defensive lineman DaQuan Jones posted four tackles and a QB hit for the Panthers in their loss to the Falcons.

Cam Brown (2016-19), LB, New York Giants

Brown played on 97 percent of New York’s special teams snaps in the loss to the Chargers.

Ryan Bates (2015-18),OL, Buffalo Bills

Former Penn State lineman Ryan Bates played one snap on offense and five on special teams in Buffalo’s overtime loss to Tampa Bay.

Marcus Allen (2014-17), LB, Pittsburgh Steelers

Allen played his first nine snaps of the season on defense this week, having seen the field exclusively on special teams through 13 weeks of the season. He finished the game with one tackle in a loss to Minnesota.

Kevin Givens (2015-18), DT, San Francisco 49ers 

Givens played 19 snaps on defense and made one tackle for the 49ers in their win over the Bengals.

Donovan Smith (2011-14), OL, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Former Penn State OL Donovan Smith played all 83 snaps on offense for Tampa in its win over the Bills.

Dan Chisena (2015-19), WR, Minnesota Vikings 

Chisena played two snaps at WR and 22 snaps on special teams for the Vikings in their win over Pittsburgh on Thursday Night Football.

Troy Apke (2014-17), S, Washington Football Team 

Former Penn State safety Troy Apke still hasn’t played on defense this season, but continues to contribute on special teams, playing 29 snaps in a loss to Dallas.

Nick Bowers (2015-19), TE, Las Vegas Raiders

The former Penn State tight end has been on injured reserve since mid-October with a neck injury.

John Reid (2015-19), CB, Seattle Seahawks 

Reid played five snaps on defense — a season-high — and 15 special teams snaps for the Seahawks in their blowout win over Houston.

You may also like