Syracuse Football in the NFL Week 2: Former safety, LBs, kicker and punter fare well

It was definitely a mixed week for former Syracuse players in the NFL. A couple of them were hit by the injury bug, which we will keep close tabs on in the weeks to come. But there were also some positives for former Orange in the NFL. With nearly a dozen of them in action, let’s take a look at how our old friends fared.

Garrett Williams, Cardinals

Unfortunately, Williams left Arizona’s game on Sunday after suffering a knee injury in the final two minutes. Before getting hurt, Williams accumulated seven tackles and had one pass defended. The Cardinals will hope for positive injury news, as Williams has become a key part of the team’s secondary.

Andre Szmyt, Browns

While the Browns were bad, Szmyt had a nice bounce-back game after a disastrous NFL debut last week. He made both PATs and nailed a 38-yard field goal, which should quiet the questions about his job security in Cleveland.

Zaire Franklin, Colts

It wasn’t the best performance by the Indianapolis defense, but the Colts did barely enough to get a win. Franklin played his part with five tackles and one pass defended as the team’s starting middle linebacker.

LeQuint Allen, Jaguars

The good news is the Jaguars traded Tank Bigsby before Week 2, moving Allen up on the depth chart. The bad news is he still had just two carries, gaining 13 yards, while fellow rookie Bhayshul Tuten got eight carries. Despite two carries and no targets in the passing game, Allen played on 10 of Jacksonville’s 13 third downs, as he’s cemented his role as the team’s third-down back, putting him on the field for 16% of offensive snaps.

Riley Dixon, Buccaneers

Overall, Dixon had a good night during Tampa’s Monday win over the Texans. He averaged over 50 yards on his five punts, including one that went for 60 yards. However, Dixon took a little too long on one punt that the Texans blocked. On his next punt, Dixon missed an open field tackle that most punters don’t make, but that Syracuse fans would have expected Dixon to make.

Sean Tucker, Buccaneers

It remains tough for Tucker to get a lot of playing time behind Bucky Irving and Rachaad White, who both had strong showings against Houston. Tucker’s only time touching the ball was on a 26-yard kickoff return.

Andre Cisco, Jets

Cisco had six tackles in Sunday’s 30-10 loss to the Bills. That was the second-most of anyone on the Jets defense, which was torched on the ground and not through the air. He also had a nice pass breakup on third down.

Ifeatu Melifonwu, Dolphins

Melifonwu left Miami’s loss to the Patriots with a calf injury. He had four tackles in the game before the injury, although he was also part of a secondary that allowed Drake Maye to go 19 for 23 for 230 yards.

Matthew Bergeron, Falcons

Bergeron didn’t have the best night from a pass-protection perspective in Atlanta’s 22-6 win over the Vikings. But he was part of an offensive line that helped the Falcons rush for 218 yards.

Marlowe Wax, Chargers

While Oronde Gadsden was inactive again, Wax made his presence felt on special teams, making a couple of tackles for the Chargers. With Denzel Perryman now on IR, the opportunity could be there for Wax to get more snaps on defense in the weeks to come.