Northwestern in the NFL: Justin Jackson, Dean Lowry highlight Week 2

The NFL is now humming along! 11 Northwestern alums made the 53-man rosters for their respective teams. Here’s a brief look at which Pro ‘Cats saw action throughout the second weekend of the season:

Dean Lowry, DE, Green Bay Packers: Lowry had himself a day, compiling a diverse stat line. He made three tackles (one of which was a TFL), defended one pass and also recovered a fumble early in the game that led to a touchdown which put the Packers up 21-0.

Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images

Tyler Lancaster, NT, Green Bay Packers: After seeing 14 snaps in the opener at Chicago, NU’s other member of the Green Bay d-line was on the field for nearly half (32) of the defensive snaps and continued to impress, despite logging just one tackle on the afternoon.

Dan Vitale, FB, Green Bay Packers: The fullback was on the field for eight snaps and recorded no offensive statistics, but he’s mostly out there for blocking duties. He made one tackle on special teams.

Anthony Walker, Jr., MLB, Indianapolis Colts: In the Colts’ comeback win, Walker once again locked down the middle of the defense, though his one tackle meant that The Franchise was not nearly as busy around the ball as he was in his seven-tackle outing last week.

Sherrick McManis, DB/Special Teams, Chicago Bears: The Bears pulled out a wild win — not without controversy — Sunday in Denver, helped for once by their kicking unit. McManis did not record any stats in his special teams snaps.

Joe Jones, ILB, Denver Broncos: The third-year pro was inactive once again as he deals with the triceps injury he suffered during the preseason. Jones could return potentially as early as this week at Green Bay, but may require a couple more weeks of rehab.

Justin Jackson, RB, Los Angeles Chargers: Northwestern’s all-time leading rusher leads the NFL (!) in yards per carry through two weeks of play. The second-year back has made the most of his touches, averaging 8.9 YPC, but his usage even without Melvin Gordon is capped by starter Austin Ekeler, whose ability as a receiver has gotten him off to a scorching start.

In a defensive slugfest in Detroit, the Chargers offense never got going, but JJTBC still ended with 59 yards on seven carries and one catch for five yards. Jackson would’ve drawn even more eyes this weekend if his incredible 60-yard touchdown run wasn’t wiped off the board by an unnecessary penalty (unfortunately, there seems to be no video of the run available).

Photo by Jorge Lemus/NurPhoto via Getty Images

Ifeadi Odenigbo, DE, Minnesota Vikings: After recording 12 snaps in the Vikings’ win last week, Odenigbo did not carve out a larger role in the loss to Green Bay. He played just seven snaps and failed to register any stats.

Austin Carr, WR, New Orleans Saints: Carr was a healthy scratch for the second straight week, and one has to wonder about the former All-Big Ten receiver’s role in New Orleans, though it is early in the season. It was said that QB Drew Brees liked him a lot, but now the veteran has succumbed to a thumb injury and is out for at least six weeks. Carr will look to impress in practice over the next few days to earn himself playing time Sunday at Seattle.

Garrett Dickerson, TE, New York Giants: The New Jersey native is still dealing with a quad ailment that kept him out of the Giants’ loss to Buffalo. The Giants are currently thin at wide receiver due to injury and general lack of position depth and could use both his pass-catching and blocking abilities when he returns.

Trevor Siemian, QB, New York Jets: With Sam Darnold out with mono for at least a few weeks, this was Trevor’s team for the foreseeable future. That was until Browns DE Myles Garrett came in on a late hit and Siemian’s ankle bent in an unnatural way under his body as he fell to the ground. Impressively, the former Wildcat got up and walked off.

He’s scheduled to go for an MRI on the ankle today, but it did not look promising last night. Our thoughts are with him on a speedy recovery.

UPDATE: Siemian has been ruled out for the season with damage to his ankle ligaments that will require surgery.

Practice Squad Members: Nate Hall, LB, Buffalo Bills; Clayton Thorson, QB, Dallas Cowboys; Blake Hance, OT, Jacksonville Jaguars; Montre Hartage, S, Miami Dolphins (who knows, at the rate players are leaving Miami, Hartage could end up being called up at some point this season)