Another week, another set of former NC State football players competing in the NFL. Stellar quarterback play by Philip Rivers highlights this week’s iteration of Pack Pros.
Philip Rivers, Quarterback, Los Angeles Chargers
A veteran quarterback now in his 14th season since graduating from NC State, Philip Rivers is doing his absolute best to bring the Chargers back from an 0-4 start and into the playoffs for the first time since 2013, in what would be the sixth trip to the postseason of his career.
Rivers and the Chargers traveled to AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas to play the Dallas Cowboys on Thanksgiving Day. In front of a national audience, Rivers was at his best, completing 27 of 33 passes for 434 yards and three touchdowns. He also didn’t have an interception, giving him a near-perfect 149.1 passer rating, his highest of the season.
The Chargers utterly embarrassed the Cowboys at their home stadium, largely in part to Rivers’ performance, blowing them out 28-6. Rivers and company now find themselves at 5-6 overall and only one game behind the sinking Kansas City Chiefs for the division lead.
Russell Wilson, Quarterback, Seattle Seahawks
Russell Wilson led his Seahawks to 24-13 road win over the San Francisco 49ers this weekend. Wilson threw for 228 yards and had two touchdowns and one interception. So far this season, Wilson has tossed for 23 touchdowns to go along with 3,029 yards, both of which are third in the league for quarterbacks.
The sixth-year starter and Super Bowl-winning quarterback has the Seahawks at 7-4 overall and second in the NFC West, one game behind the Los Angeles Rams. The coming weeks will make or break Wilson and Seattle, however, as the team hosts the Eagles, who own the NFL’s best record next week and then travel to the 7-4 Jacksonville Jaguars before returning home to face the 8-3 LA Rams.
Jacoby Brissett, Quarterback, Indianapolis Colts
With starter Andrew Luck likely sidelined for the rest of the year due to injury, second-year quarterback Jacoby Brissett continues to run the Colts offense. This week at home against the Tennessee Titans, Brissett struggled to get going, completing 17 of 29 passes for 196 yards and no touchdowns or picks. The Colts lost to the Titans 20-16 and fell to 3-8 overall.
Indianapolis has lost five of its last six and can only finish .500 on the year if the team runs the table over the next five weeks. Brissett had a painful outing against the Titans, getting sacked eight times. Indy will look to bounce back when it visits Jacksonville next week.
Stephen Hauschka, Kicker, Buffalo Bills
The 10-year veteran kicker had a record-setting day against the Kansas City Chiefs in week 12, connecting on 3 of 4 field goals in a 16-10 road win. Hauschka hit from 34 yards, 49 yards and 56 yards to help the Bills beat the Chiefs and reach a 6-5 record.
Hauschka’s one miss of the game came from 52 yards out, breaking his NFL-record streak of 13-straight made field goals from 50-plus yards. He bounced back, however, to later hit the 56-yarder, his seventh 50-yard field goal of the season, a franchise record. The Bills return home to face off against Tom Brady and the New England Patriots in week 13.
Josh Jones, Safety, Green Bay Packers
Jones has enjoyed a solid rookie season, recording multiple tackles in all but one game so far. In week 12, Jones had six total tackles in a heartbreaking 31-28 road loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Packers, which are still holding out on star quarterback Aaron Rodgers to return from injury, host the Tampa Bay Buccaneers next week.
