Alabama NFL roundup: Levi Wallace saves Steelers

The Pittsburgh Steelers entered Sunday’s game against the New Orleans Saints with a 2-6 record and without three members of their secondary. Cornerbacks William Jackson III and Ahkello Witherspoon were hurt, with Jackson landing on injured reserve, and all-star safety Minkah Fitzpatrick had been sidelined by an attack of appendicitis on Saturday.

But Pittsburgh came away with a 20-10 victory, with cornerback Levi Wallace stepping up in a big way down the stretch in the Steelers’ secondary.

With Pittsburgh leading 13-10, Wallace broke up a pass to wide receiver Jarvis Landry, with safety Damontae Kazee intercepting the pass.

“It was good concentration by him, catching it off the tip,” Wallace said, noting that Kazee was “one-for-one” with an interception in his first game with the Steelers.

The turnover gave Pittsburgh possession at the New Orleans 44-yard line with 12:16 to play, and the Steelers scored a touchdown to take a 10-point lead with 8:38 remaining.

After the Steelers’ defense stopped the Saints on downs, New Orleans’ final possession ended when Wallace picked off quarterback Andy Dalton 35 yards down the field on a throw to wide receiver Kevin White.

Wallace came down with his second interception of the season and eighth of his career at the Pittsburgh 26-yard line with 4:23 to play, and the Steelers managed to run out the remaining time on a victory at Acrisure Stadium.

“That one felt good,” Wallace said. “Two on the year now. That’s probably my favorite one thus far.

“I’ve practiced getting my head back around and locating the ball. I took a risk pressing it. It was late in the game. Kind of knew that they were going to try to throw the deep ball. But I don’t shy away from those opportunities. And so I wanted it, and I took it from him.”

Wallace also had five tackles in the game.

Wallace was among the 32 former Alabama players who got on the field on the 10th Sunday of the NFL’s 103rd season.

Five other former Alabama players were involved in the New Orleans-Pittsburgh game:

· Saints running back Derrick Gore is on the practice squad and not eligible to play.

· Steelers safety Minkah Fitzpatrick was designated as a game-day inactive. Appendicitis kept Fitzpatrick off the field.

· Najee Harris started at running back for the Steelers. Harris reached season highs with 99 yards on 20 rushing attempts.

· Steelers center J.C. Hassenauer played but did not record any stats.

· Saints running back Mark Ingram was designated as a game-day inactive. A knee injury kept Ingram off the field for the second game in a row.

In the other Sunday games:

Tampa Bay Buccaneers 21, Seattle Seahawks 16

· Buccaneers wide receiver Julio Jones (Foley) had three receptions for 53 yards and one touchdown. Jones sprinted to the end zone after catching a pass from quarterback Tom Brady to score the game’s first points from 31 yards out. With Tampa Bay and Seattle squaring off in Munich, Jones scored the NFL’s first touchdown in Germany.

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· Seahawks long snapper Carson Tinker handled the snaps for five punts, one field goal and one extra point.

Minnesota Vikings 33, Buffalo Bills 30 (OT)

· Vikings tight end Irv Smith Jr. is on injured reserve and is not eligible to play.

· Vikings defensive tackle Dalvin Tomlinson was designated as a game-day inactive. A calf injury kept Tomlinson off the field for a second straight game.

Detroit Lions 31, Chicago Bears 30

· Isaiah Buggs started at defensive tackle for the Lions. Buggs made four tackles and registered a quarterback hit.

· Eddie Jackson started at safety for the Bears. Jackson made five tackles.

· Bears offensive tackle Alex Leatherwood dressed for the game but did not play.

· Lions center Ross Pierschbacher is on the practice squad and not eligible to play.

· Lions cornerback Saivion Smith is on the practice squad injured reserve and not eligible to play.

· Lions wide receiver Jameson Williams is on reserve/non-football injury and not eligible to play.

Kansas City Chiefs 27, Jacksonville Jaguars 17

· Jaguars wide receiver Calvin Ridley is suspended by the commissioner and not eligible to play.

· Cam Robinson started at left offensive tackle for the Jaguars.

· Jaguars safety Deionte Thompson is on the practice squad and not eligible to play.

Miami Dolphins 39, Cleveland Browns 17

· Amari Cooper started at wide receiver for the Browns. Cooper caught three passes for 32 yards.

· Raekwon Davis started at nose tackle for the Dolphins.

· Browns running back Jerome Ford returned three kickoffs for 95 yards. In his first action since Oct. 2, Ford returned the opening kickoff 48 yards. An ankle injury caused the rookie to miss four games.

· Browns tight end Miller Forristall played but did not record any stats. Cleveland elevated Forristall from its practice squad to make him eligible to play.

· Ronnie Harrison started at safety for the Browns. Harrison made two tackles.

· Tua Tagovailoa started at quarterback for the Dolphins. Tagovailoa completed 25-of-32 passes for 285 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions. Tagovailoa threw a 13-yard touchdown pass to fullback Alex Ingold as Miami tied the game at 7-7 with 6:13 left in the first quarter, a 14-yard TD pass to wide receiver Trent Sherfield as the Dolphins moved ahead 17-7 with 32 seconds left in the first half and a 2-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Tyreek Hill to push the lead to 30-10 with 37 seconds remaining in the third quarter. Tagovailoa recorded his third consecutive game with three TD passes and no interceptions.

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· Jaylen Waddle started at wide receiver for the Dolphins. Waddle caught four passes for 66 yards.

· Jedrick Wills Jr. started at left offensive tackle for the Browns.

New York Giants 24, Houston Texans 16

· Giants safety Landon Collins is on the practice squad and not eligible to play.

· Giants wide receiver Robert Foster is on the practice squad and not eligible to play.

· Christian Harris started at linebacker for the Texans. Harris made nine tackles and broke up a pass.

· O.J. Howard (Autauga Academy) started at tight end for the Texans. Howard was targeted once but did not have a reception.

· Giants safety Xavier McKinney is on reserve/non-football injury and not eligible to play.

· Texans wide receiver John Metchie III is on reserve/illness and not eligible to play.

· Giants offensive tackle Evan Neal was designated as a game-day inactive. A knee injury kept Neal out of the lineup for the second game in a row.

· Giants cornerback Aaron Robinson is on injured reserve and not eligible to play.

Tennessee Titans 17, Denver Broncos 10

· Broncos linebacker Christopher Allen is on injured reserve and not eligible to play.

· Titans defensive back Shyheim Carter is on the practice squad and not eligible to play.

· Titans defensive end Da’Shawn Hand is on injured reserve and not eligible to play.

· Derrick Henry started at running back for the Titans. Entering the game with a streak of five 100-yard rushing games, Henry ran for 53 yards on 19 carries and caught two passes for 14 yards.

· Kareem Jackson started at strong safety for the Broncos. Jackson made five tackles and broke up a pass.

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· Jerry Jeudy started at wide receiver for the Broncos. Jeudy sustained an ankle injury on Denver’s first offensive snap and did not return.

· Patrick Surtain II started at left cornerback for the Broncos. Surtain made three tackles and broke up a pass.

Indianapolis Colts 25, Las Vegas Raiders 20

· Anthony Averett started at free safety for the Raiders.

· Colts cornerback Tony Brown made a tackle on special teams.

· Raiders guard Lester Cotton (Central-Tuscaloosa) played but did not record any stats.

· Josh Jacobs started at running back for the Raiders. Jacobs ran for 78 yards and one touchdown on 21 carries and caught six passes for 28 yards. Jacobs scored on a 1-yard run as Las Vegas cut Indianapolis’ lead to 14-13 with 1:31 left in the third quarter.

· Ryan Kelly started at center for the Colts.

· Raiders linebacker Reggie Ragland (Bob Jones, Alabama) is on the practice squad and not eligible to play.

Green Bay Packers 31, Dallas Cowboys 28 (OT)

· Trevon Diggs started at cornerback for the Cowboys. Diggs made five tackles.

· Jarran Reed started at defensive end for the Packers. Reed made two tackles and registered three quarterback hits.

Arizona Cardinals 27, Los Angeles Rams 17

· Terrell Lewis started at outside linebacker for the Rams. Lewis registered a quarterback hit in his first start of the season.

· A’Shawn Robinson started at defensive end for the Rams. Robinson made two tackles and registered two quarterback hits.

San Francisco 49ers 22, Los Angeles Chargers 16

· Chargers punter JK Scott averaged 40.0 yards on five punts, with a 36.0-yard net. Scott had a 32-yard punt for a fair catch at the San Francisco 17-yard line, a 42-yarder downed at the San Francisco 24, a 44-yarder for a touchback, a 40-yarder for a fair catch at the San Francisco 23 and a 42-yarder for a fair catch at the San Francisco 30.

Week 10 started on Thursday night, when the Carolina Panthers defeated the Atlanta Falcons 25-15. Falcons linebacker Rashaan Evans (Auburn High) made 10 tackles, including two behind the line of scrimmage.

Week 10 concludes on Monday, when the Washington Commanders and Philadelphia Eagles square off at 7:15 p.m. CDT at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia. ESPN and ESPN Deportes will televise the game.

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Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.