We’re through the trade deadline and a Hawk is on the move. Kaleb Johnson is alive and kick starting the Green Bay running game. Riley Moss is the latest injury casualty. Let’s look back at Week 9 in the National Football League.
Kaleb Johnson and Nick Niemann
We must start with Johnson and Niemann. A, shall we say…difficult, first season in the league for Johnson led to almost no touches his rookie year in Pittsburgh (I blame Aaron Rodgers for that.) It felt like his career may never get off the ground.
Fortunately, Green Bay came forward in August and traded for Johnson, a trade that revived his career. It paid off in New England on Sunday. With Josh Jacobs out of the lineup due to injury, Johnson stepped up and it’s perhaps the best the Green Bay run game has looked all season. Johnson finished the game with 68 yards on 14 carries, including his first career touchdown!
Johnson hasn’t had a huge year, granted – the Green Bay running back room is deep – but there’s life here. He’s now at 42 carries on the season for 172 yards and the touchdown. He also had a long of 34 yards on Sunday, which is their longest run from scrimmage this season.
On the other side of the ball, Niemann was forced into action due to injury and finished Green Bay’s impressive win in New England with 7 tackles. He picked up the game ball from Matt LaFleur post-game, playing every snap on defense and special teams. Helluva day from these guys.
Amani Hooker and Geno Stone
It was a bye week for Hooker, but we have to mention him here. The Titans were active in the weeks leading up to the trade deadline. First they traded Jeffery Simmons – remember him? – to the Bears, then they traded Hooker to the Bills on Tuesday. The trade nets the Titans as second rounder for Hooker (they send a 5th back to Buffalo with Hooker.) Hooker joins Geno Stone in Buffalo. Stone played in Buffalo’s Monday Night win over Minnesota but had no stats. Stone had this to tweet after the trade.
Hell yeah.
The Bills need more secondary help and this is an excellent addition. Hooker is tied for the league lead in interceptions with 5 through 8 games.
Riley Moss
Ugh. Back to injury news for former Hawks. Moss and the Denver defense were in control in Charlotte, leading the Panthers 10-0. Then Moss went in for a tackle on Panthers running back Trevor Etienne and took a knee to the head. Moss didn’t go into the fencing pose, but he was clearly concussed on the play. He did not return to action, finishing with 2 tackles and 1 pass defended in a 26-21 win.
Tight Ends
A quiet day in the tight end community. Sam LaPorta finished with 4 catches for 32 yards as the Lions held Miami off with a 19-9 win. Noah Fant had 1 catch for 12 yards in a 23-22 overtime win over Cleveland in the Superdome. George Kittle had 4 receptions for 58 yards in San Francisco’s 38-17 win over Las Vegas. TJ Hockenson snared 4 passes for 33 yards in Minnesota’s aforementioned loss to Buffalo on Monday. Like I said – kinda quiet.
Tyler Goodson
Another strong day for Goodson as the Dallas No. 2 back. He finished Dallas’s 27-23 win over Indianapolis with 12 carries for 77 yards.
