Texas Longhorns in the NFL: Jamaal Charles shines in Week 1

The NFL regular season is back. Out of the 47 former Longhorns who started the preseason with an NFL franchise, 27 made it onto final rosters, two players were placed on Injured Reserve, and seven signed with practice squads, leaving 12 of them in the Free Agency.

We are just one week into the season and some of them have already shined. Jamaal Charles scored a touchdown and had over 100 yards of total offense, Aaron Williams had a game-sealing interception, Alex Okafor had two sacks, and the forced fumbles by Henry Melton and Earl Thomas make them eligible in the weekly poll to be named MVP of the week.

QB

Name	Team	Depth	Passes	Yards	TDs	INTs
#16 Colt McCoy	Washington Redskins	#2QB

Colt didn't play at all as Kirk Cousins completed the game against the Miami Dolphins. The Redskins started the game leading 10-0 early in the second quarter, but they didn't score any more points, and the Dolphins came from behind to win the game 17-10. The ‘Skins struggled offensively and Cousins threw two interceptions. The first was ugly, but the second one was an amazing play by Dolphins' DB Brice McCain.

To add more salt to wound with the Robert Griffin III situation, reports said that the former Heisman winner practiced last week as the scout team safety. Anyway, he was inactive for Sunday's game and it seems like Colt will continue as the backup QB for Jay Gruden for at least one more week.

RB

Name	Team	Status	Touches		Yards		TD
#25 Jamaal Charles	Kansas City Chiefs	#1 RB	16 carries	5 recs	57	46	0	1
#43 Fozzy Whittaker	Carolina Panthers	#2 RB	2 carries	2 recs	2	3	0	0
#39 Malcolm Brown	St Louis Rams	Practice Squad

Jamaal Charles' medical tests were negative, so he got back to work last Sunday. He returned to the state of Texas to take on the Houston Texans. He started the game slow, but finished surpassing 100 yards of total offense and adding a score on a 7-yard catch (video). After becoming the all-time leading rusher in the franchise last year, he continues breaking records. On Sunday he became the second player in Chiefs' history with 100 yards from scrimmage and a touchdown in three season openers. The first one to do so? Fellow Longhorn Priest Holmes.

Fozzy Whittaker served as Jonathan Stewart's backup during the Panthers' win over the Jaguars. The running back had four total touches for 5 yards. He didn't return any kickoffs despite being the backup kick returner behind Ted Ginn Jr. Rookie Malcolm Brown was signed to the St Louis Rams' practice squad after being cut by the same team last week. The Rams' running backs combined for 48 yards on 18 carries during their overtime victory versus the Seahawks.

WR/TE

Name	Team	Status	Receptions	Yards	TDs
#88 Marquise Goodwin	Buffalo Bills	Inactive (ribs)
#87 Geoff Swaim	Dallas Cowbys	Inactive (coach decision)
#16 Jaxon Shilpey	Arizona Cardinals	Practice Squad
John Chiles	Cut by CHI	Free Agent
John Harris	Cut by ATL	Free Agent
Mike Davis	Cut by OAK ('14)	Free Agent

No stats for the ‘catchers' this week. Lone active wide receiver Marquise Goodwin was inactive on Sunday due to a rib injury which occurred during the preseason. Geoff Swaim also didn't dress last Sunday, as he was one of the Dallas Cowboys' inactive players. Jaxon Shipley is on the Arizona Cardinals' practice squad after a strong preseason.

John Chiles might be back to the CFL, where he played the last two seasons, after a failed try to make the Chicago Bears' roster. John Harris remains a free agent after a workout with the Raiders last week.

OL

Name	Team	Status	GP	GS
#63 Lyle Sendlein	Arizona Cardinals	#1 OC	1	1
#69 Michael Huey	San Diego Chargers	Practice Squad
#66 Trey Hopkins	Cincinnati Bengals	Practice Squad
#61 Donald Hawkins	Miami Dolphins	Practice Squad
Tony Hills	Cut by CAR	Free Agent

Despite being listed in the preseason as a backup, Lyle Sendlein played as the Arizona Cardinals' starting center. A few days before the season opener, Cardinals' head coach Bruce Arians admitted that Sendlein won the starting spot over AQ Shipley thanks to his ability on pass protection.

Donald Hawkins joined the Miami Dolphins' practice squad following in the footsteps of Michael Huey and Trey Hopkins. Meanwhile, Tony Hills, who remains the last offensive lineman to be drafted out of Texas since 2008 and has played in 13 games in seven years, hasn't found a new home yet after being released by the Panthers last week.

DL

Name	Team	Status	Tackles	TFL	Sacks	Turnovers
#90 Malcom Brown	New England Patriots	#1 DT	0.5	1	1
#97 Roy Miller	Jacksonville Jaguars	#1 DT	2
#96 Brian Robison	Minnesota Vikings	#1 LDE	2
#90 Henry Melton	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	#2 LDT	1.5			1 FF
#90 Cory Redding	Arizona Cardinals	#2 LDE	1.5
#56 Cedric Reed	Buffalo Bills	Practice Squad
#64 Chris Whaley	Dallas Cowboys	IR (Achilles)

On Thursday, first rounder Malcom Brown started in his first NFL game against the Steelers. He played 26 snaps out of a total of 73, which was the second highest of the Patriots' defensive tackles behind Geneo Grissom. He had a sack on Antonio Brown on a Steelers trick play (video) and a tackle for loss. Meanwhile, Henry Melton forced a fumble in his debut with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

OLB

Name	Team	Status	Tackles	TFL	Sacks	Turnovers
#98 Brian Orakpo	Tennessee Titans	#1 ROLB	1
#53 Jackson Jeffcoat	Washington Redskins	Inactive (tigh)
#99 Lamarr Houston	Chicago Bears	#2 ROLB
#57 Alex Okafor	Arizona Cardinals	#1 WLB	3.5	1	2
#49 Sam Acho	Chicago Bears	#3 LOLB

Standout Alex Okafor recorded two sacks against the New Orleans Saints. After leading the Cardinals last year with eight, Okafor is poised for a great season in the desert. Brian Orakpo didn't shine in his first game as a Titan, as he recorded just one tackle and one quarterback hit.

Jackson Jeffcoat was inactive with the Redskins due to a thigh injury. Lamarr Houston didn't have a good start with the Bears, as he played just four snaps in the loss against the Packers. Teammate Sam Acho was cut before the game, but he was re-signed on Monday, first reported by Adam Caplan.

ILB

Name	Team	Status	Tackles		Sacks	PBU	Turnovers
#56 Derrick Johnson	Kansas City Chiefs	#1 RILB	5	2 TFL	1	1
#58 Jordan Hicks	Philadelphia Eagles	#4 LILB
#52 Keenan Robinson	Washington Redskins	#1 LILB	4			1
Emmanuel Acho	Cut by PHI	Free Agent
Steve Edmond	Cut by NO	Free Agent

Derrick Johnson returned to action after last season's injury and he did so in good form with seven tackles, two of which were for a loss, and also had a broken pass. Keenan Robinson started for the Redskins with four tackles and a broken-up pass that he could have intercepted and returned for a touchdown.

In his first game as a pro, Jordan Hicks didn't record any stats on defense as he mainly played on special teams, where he filled the spot left by former Austin teammate, Emmanuel Acho, who was cut during preseason due to a thumb injury.

DB

Name	Team	Status	Tackles	TFL	PBU	Turnovers
#9 Tarell Brown	New England Patriots	#1 RCB	2	1
#23 Aaron Williams	Buffalo Bills	#1 SS	3		2	1 INT
#33 Michael Griffin	Tennessee Titans	#1 FS	4.5
#28 Quandre Diggs	Detroit Lions	#2 Nickel	1
#32 Kenny Vaccaro	New Orleans Saints	#1 SS	1		1
#29 Earl Thomas	Seattle Seahawks	#1 FS	7.5			1 FF
#31 Adrian Phillips	San Diego Chargers	Practice Squad
#33 Mykkele Thompson	New York Giants	IR (Achilles)
Carrington Byndom	Cut by CAR	Free Agent
Chykie Brown	Cut by NYG	Free Agent
Curtis Brown	Cut by NYJ	Free Agent
Aaron Ross	Cut by CLE	Free Agent

Bills' Safety Aaron Williams had a good performance with an interception in the fourth quarter that sealed the team's victory over the Indianapolis Colts (video). He also added 4.5 tackles and two broken-up passes. Earl Thomas recovered in time to start in the Seahawks' season opener, where he forced a fumble (video) and recorded 7.5 tackles.

Veteran Tarell Brown started his first game with the Patriots and played pretty well guarding the Steelers' receivers. Quandre Diggs didn't start in his debut as a Lion, but he played and recorded two assisted tackles. After being cut last week, Adrian Phillips is on the Chargers' practice squad. The same happened to Carrington Byndom, but he was released from the Panthers' PS to make room for center Shane McDermott.

ST

Name	Team	Status	FG	LG	XPs
#9 Justin Tucker	Baltimore Ravens	#1 K	2/2	52	1/1
#9 Phil Dawson	San Francisco 49ers	#1 K	2/3	30	1/1
Cullen Loeffler	Cut by MIN	Free Agent
Nate Boyer	Cut by SEA	Free Agent

Justin Tucker made both field goal attempts from 44 and 52 yards during the Ravens' loss against the Broncos. Phil Dawson got the first of his three field goal attempts blocked in the first quarter, and the Vikes returned it for 44 yards to the SF 26-yard line (video). However, he made his other two attempts from 30 and 25 yards and helped the 49ers beat the Vikings 20-3.