Alabama Players Front and Center During NFL Week 1

Across the NFL, Crimson Tide standouts were in the middle of the action when games were decided during Week 1, although in some cases that wasn't a good thing.

Author:
Christopher Walsh
Publish date:
Sep 13, 2021 9:00 AM EDT

You couldn't blink without seeing a former Alabama Crimson Tide player in the thick of an NFL game on Sunday.

However, it wasn't always for the best.

• In New England, what was hyped as the battle of Alabama quarterbacks came down to defenses making big plays, with the last one being by the Miami Dolphins.

Shortly after Tua Tagovailoa had his first interception of the season, on a ball he was trying to throw out of bounds to avoid a sack ended up being picked off by cornerback Jonathan Jones.

Mac Jones subsequently put his team into position to score the game-winning points, when cornerback Xavien Howard forced and recovered a fumble inside the Miami 10-yard line with 3:31 left in the fourth quarter and the Dolphins held on for 17-16 victory at Gillette Stadium.

The player who fumbled? Damien Harris, who otherwise had 100 rushing yard on 23 carries.

"It's just a tough play," Harris told reporters. "It's part of the game. I'm not going to let this mistake define me."

SEE: 2021 Alabama Crimson Tide in the NFL Tracker: Week 1

• In Atlanta, Jalen Hurts continued to prove his doubters wrong. He connected with DeVonta Smith for reigning Heisman Trophy winner's first career touchdown and had two more touchdown passes to lead a 32-6 victory over the Falcons. Hurts was 27-for-35 for 264 yards, and also had 62 rushing yards on seven carries as Nick Sirianni won his head coaching debut.

“Jalen was in complete control the whole game,” Sirianni said. “I’m very happy with the way he played.”

Calvin Ridley had five catches for 51 yards for the Falcons.

• At the Meadowlands, N.J., Jerry Jeudy was carted off the field during the second quarter against the Giants after sustaining a lower leg injury in which his ankle was pinned underneath a defender. The Broncos wide receiver was diagnosed with a high ankle sprain and avoided a season-ending injury, per NFL Network's Tom Pelissero.

• It was a rough day for the Crimson Tide players on the Browns. Tackle Jedrick Willis Jr. (left ankle) left in the second quarter and did not return, and safety Ronnie Harrison Jr. was ejected with 4:59 remaining in the first quarter for pushing back at Chiefs assistant Greg Lewis. The Chiefs were going to be penalized for unsportsmanlike conduct, but pushing a coach is an automatic call. The Browns lost to the Chiefs, too.

• In Nashville, Julio Jones only had three receptions for 29 yards in his Titans debut, a 38-13 home loss to the Cardinals. However, he still notched his 850th career reception in his 136th career game, surpassing Pro Football Hall of Famer Marvin Harrison (140 games) as the second-fastest player to reach 850 career receptions in NFL history. Only Antonio Brown did it faster (133).