NFL Pro Cougs went 5-3 this week. Cougars of the week were Abraham Lucas who dominated and Daiyan Henley who played with extra motivation. The dud of the week was Frankie Luvu who was fined $100,000, after the NFL reviewed a hip-drop tackle he laid on Jaxon Smith-Njigba on Monday night football… 

Daiyan Henley – Before he played in week nine, Henley learned about the passing of his brother Jabari Henley. He passed on Oct.31 after being shot multiple times in southern California. When talking to the media about the passing and about Sunday’s game Henley shared his experience. 

“Being transparent, I dropped to my knees,I just wanted to talk to my brother one more time.It was just an emotional moment for me just to be able to make a play on a day like this, just losing him so soon. As traumatizing as all this is, I got a job to do. For me, it was coming out here and handling a job first and then being emotional after,” Henley said.

Henley played lights out in the win versus the Titans, he finished with seven tackles, one sack, one pass-deflection, one tackle for loss and one QB hit. Henley’s best game of the season honoring his brother’s passing.

Chau Smith-Wade – It was a quiet Sunday morning for Smith-Wade, just registering one tackle. However he held Matthew Golden, the Packers’ slot receiver to just two catches on nine yards. Coming into the season, head coach Dave Canales had been adamant about Smith-Wade’s progression. 

“He made a nice play in the end zone on a go-ball at corner and also looked really savvy in the nickel spot, showing he can succeed both inside and outside in coverage,” Canales said.

Abraham Lucas – Against the Commanders Lucas was phenomenal, as he allowed next to no pressures or sacks. Lucas was the fourth highest graded offensive Seahawk with a 72.7 out of 100, and somehow did not score 90+ with his dominant showing . On TV he looked dominant in both the run and pass game, so much so that NBC put up a slideshow of Lucas’s dominant blocking during the game. Lucas blocked former Coug Frankie Luvu and held him in check, not allowing any pressure. 

Cam Ward – After the Titans defense provided some help in the first half ,for the first time all season, the offense could not capitalize. Ward threw 21 passes, which is a season low in attempts. He has thrown over 34 passes in every game previous. Ward finished with a 57% completion rate for 145 yards, another season low. The Titans offense has been the worst in the NFL this season, and their average yards per completion is six yards which is a league worst. Fans online have been complaining about Ward’s play due to fellow rookie QB Jaxson Dart playing well on the Giants. However, Dre’Mont Jones, who was traded on Nov. 3, had a message to fans in Tennessee saying “Cam Ward is the Truth.”

Jaylen Watson and Jaden Hicks – The Coug tandem are coming off a crushing loss to the Bills. Hicks has had his play-time shortened week by week, but Steve Spagnola only played Hicks on four out of 66 total defensive snaps for the Chiefs. Although his snap count was only four, Hicks finished with two tackles. Watson played 65 out of 66 snaps, collecting five tackles total. However, the Bills offense was able to go up and down the field as they wished. Watson gave up a few passes– notably on a deep pass to Bills tight-end Dawson Knox.  Chiefs head into their bye week this week, hopefully with Hicks receiving more play-time coming out. 

Jalen Thompson – Against a top five offense, Thompson and the Cardinal secondary had their hands full. Thompson finished with three solo tackles and two assists. The Cowboys offense was not able to handle the Cardinals’ pass coverage and the duo of Ceedee Lamb and George Pickens held them to 165 yards combined. The Cardinals are not poised for the playoffs, which has made their top 10 defense go unnoticed, but silently, they have been very good and Thompson is a large part of that. 

Frankie Luvu – The entire Commanders team had a tough night on Sunday Night Football, losing to the red-hot Seahawks 38-14. Luvu had a very tough night being tasked with covering the slot wide-outs for the Seahawks. When he was not doing that, he had to blitz, and Charles Cross and Abraham Lucas had him locked. While Luvu is not the sole reason they lost, the Commander defense did not get a stop until the Seahawks had 31 points. Luvu finished with seven tackles and one forced fumble. Luvu was fined $100,000 by the NFL for a hip drop tackle on Jaxon Smith-Njigba in the first quarter.

Kyle Williams – For the first time in nearly a month, Williams got actual play-time. He played 15 snaps, which is 22% of the total offensive plays for the Patriots. While injuries are not good, with Kayshon Boutte leaving the game with a hamstring injury, Williams got to show his skill. Boutte is slated to miss an extended amount of time, leaving the Patriots third round pick with a chance to show what he can truly do when given opportunities. He did not get a catch, but he was targeted one time by Drake Maye. Mike Vrabel talked about the new opportunity for Williams and what he expects. 

“Kyle’s been learning a lot of different positions, I’m excited that he’ll probably get an opportunity here. It’s just a lot of different personnel groups and alignments, and I think he settled down. Kyle should be ready to go here for us,” Vrabel said.