Here’s the NC State NFL Report for Week 4 of the NFL season. Below we breakdown the performance of each of the former Wolfpack players in the NFL.
Quarterback
Russell Wilson had his best game of the season in the Seahawks 13-10 victory over the Lions. He was 20-26 for 287 yards and 1 touchdown. He also rushed 10 times for 40 yards. His QB Rating was 125.0
Season Stats: 979 passing yards, 71.7%, 5 touchdowns, 2 interceptions, 100.5 QB Rating, 177 rushing yards, 5.2 yards per carry
Philip Rivers also had his best game of the season in the Chargers 30-27 victory over the Browns. He was 23 of 38 for 358 yards and 3 touchdowns, with a QB Rating of 118.1.
Mike Glennon didn’t see any action in the Bucs 37-23 loss to the Panthers.
Linebacker
Stephen Tulloch had 8 tackles, which was tied for the team lead, in the Lions 13-10 loss to the Seahawks.
Season Stats: 31 tackles, 1 tackle for loss, 1 fumble recovery
Willie Young played as a reserve once again in the Bears 22-20 victory over the Raiders. Young, who had 10 sacks last season, has had enough of the 3-4 defensive scheme that he finds himself trapped in. He has demanded a trade.
Season Stats: 2 tackles
Manny Lawson had one tackle in the Bills 24-10 loss to the Giants.
Season Stats: 4 tackles
Audie Cole played as a reserve in the Vikings 23-20 loss to the Broncos, but failed to record any stats. Cole was questionable coming into the game, but was able to go on Sunday.
Season Stats: 1 tackle
Nate Irving played as a reserve in the Colts 16-13 loss to the Jaguars, but failed to record any stats.
Defensive Back
It didn’t take long for David Amerson to get settled in out in Oakland. Amerson started in the Raiders 22-20 loss to the Bears on Sunday, his second game in the silver-and-black. He made quite a splash, recording 7 tackles, 1 pass breakup and 1 forced fumble.
Season Stats: 10 tackles, 1 pass deflection, 1 forced fumble
Dontae Johnson played on special teams in the 49ers 17-3 loss to the Packers on Sunday, but he failed to take any snaps from the the line of scrimmage. It is unknown why the 49ers benched Johnson, coming off of a his best performance of the season in Week 3.
Season Stats: 5 tackles and 2 pass deflections
Offensive Line
Ted Larsen started at Guard for the Arizona Cardinals in their 24-22 loss to the Rams.
Season Stat: 3 starts
JR Sweezy started at Guard for the Seahawks in their 13-10 victory over the Lions.
Season Stats: 4 starts
Kicker
Steven Hauschka connected on both of his field goal attempts on Sunday and his only PAT sailed through the uprights as well. Both of Hauschka’s field goals were from over 50-yards (51 & 53).
Season Stats: 10 for 10 FG/ 7 for 7 PAT/ 37 points
Defensive Line
Mario Williams had his best game of 2015. He had 4 tackles and 1 tackle for loss in the Bills 24-10 loss to the Giants.
Here was one of Super Mario’s tackles. No big deal.
Season Stats: 7 tackles, 2 tackles for loss, 1 sack
Markus Kuhn didn’t travel to Buffalo with the Giants and was inactive for the third straight week. He sprained his knee in Week 1. The Giants beat the Bills 24-10 on Sunday.
Season Stats: 1 tackle, 1 tackle for loss
Wide Receiver
Jerricho Cotchery missed his second straight game due to an ankle sprain. The Panthers beat the Bucs 37-23. The Panthers reported yesterday that Cotchery could return after their bye week.
Season Stats: 5 receptions for 56 yards and a touchdown.
Steelers Head Coach Mike Tomlin was ecstatic that NC State Linebacker Payton Wilson was available for Pittsburgh to pick up with the 98th overall pick of the 2024 NFL Draft.
“We had to get comfortable with his medical and we brought him in on a pre draft visit. We allowed our medical experts to really get a good evaluation of him. We talked to him about his injury history. We were at a place of comfort. And so from that perspective, man, we’re really excited about having him.” (Link)
“Man, we’re really excited about Peyton. When we turn his tape on, we see him making all the type of plays you need linebackers to make. He’s a volume tackle player. He makes plays in the passing game from a coverage perspective via interception and pass breakup. He gets after the quarterback in the blitz game. He’s got a very well-rounded skillset. He’s a fluid mover. He can run. Had an opportunity to lay some real up close eyes on him down there in Mobile at the Senior Bowl, we’re thankful we had an opportunity to get him. He’s got all the hardware that comes with some of those things that I described being a Butkus Award winner and so forth. We had to get comfortable with his medical and we brought him in on a pre draft visit. We allowed Our medical experts to really get a good evaluation of him. We talked to him about his injury history. We were at a place of comfort. And so from that perspective, man, we’re really excited about having him.” (Link)
“I think you could characterize it as surprised. I mean, he is an award-winning linebacker, Butkus Award winner. Had an opportunity to get really familiar with him down in Mobile as well. But the linebackers themselves weren’t coming off the board at that juncture. So sometimes they make runs on positions at different times and it hadn’t been a lot of linebackers to that point. I think what he was number five or so.” (Link)
“We’re really excited about Payton. When we turn his tape on, we see him making all the types of plays you need linebackers to make. He’s a volume tackle player. He makes plays in the passing game from a coverage perspective via interception and pass breakup. He gets after the quarterback in the blitz game. He’s got a very well-rounded skill set. He’s a fluid mover. We had to get comfortable with his medical, and we were. We brought him in on a pre-draft visit to allow our medical experts to really get a good evaluation of him. We talked to him about his injury history. We were at a place of comfort, and so from that perspective, we’re really excited about having him.” (Link)
NC State Cornerback Shyheim Battle has received an invitation from the New York Jets to participate in their Rookie Mini Camp.
NC State’s Shyheim Battle has been invited to rookie mini camp with the Jets with the opportunity to earn a priority free agent contract. #ncstate#NFLDraft#wpn
Battle had 1 year of eligibility remaining, but declared for the NFL Draft on January 3rd.
He finished this past year as the most experienced player on the Wolfpack’s defense, starting in 41 of the 51 games he has played in dating back to 2019. In a rarity in this day-and-age, Battle was a 4-year starter at the Cornerback position for NC State. He graduated with a degree in Communications.
In his final season in Red and White, Battle had 46 tackles, 2 tackles for loss, 2 interceptions, 4 pass breakups and 1 fumble recovery. His PFF Grade of 70.6 was the 7th best on the Wolfpack defense.
In his one season in Raleigh, Narveson made 18 of his 23 Field Goal attempts for the Wolfpack, and made all 38 Extra Point attempts. Narveson made some history in his one season at NC State, kicking a 57-yard Field Goal against Duke, breaking the school record for the longest Field Goal.
Narveson ranked 4th in the ACC in Field Goals attempted (23), and 5th in Field Goals made (18) this season. He ranked 9th in conference in scoring (7.1 points per game).
