Wide receiver Jalen Tolbert caught a 4-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Dak Prescott on fourth down with 20 seconds to play to lift the Dallas Cowboys to a 20-17 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday night.
The touchdown capped a career day for the former McGill-Toolen Catholic High School and South Alabama standout.
Dallas played without starting wide receiver Brandin Cooks, who was placed on injured reserve last week. Tolbert responded with eight receptions for 87 yards and one touchdown against the Steelers.
Tolbert reached career highs by surpassing the six receptions for 82 yards that he totaled in the Cowboys’ 44-19 loss to the New Orleans Saints on Sept. 15.
Tolbert almost wasn’t in the game for the final play. On the previous snap, he had tried to make a sliding catch of a pass that Prescott skipped into the end zone. The football drilled Tolbert in the groin, and he left the field. But because Pittsburgh called a timeout, he was able to re-enter the contest without missing a snap.
Tolbert was among the 36 players from Alabama high schools and colleges (excluding Alabama and Auburn) who got on the field on the fifth Sunday of the NFL’s 105th season.
Six other former state players were involved in the Dallas-Pittsburgh game:
· Steelers outside linebacker Jeremiah Moon (Hoover) made one tackle in his season debut. Moon spent the first four weeks of the NFL season on injured reserve.
· Steelers running back La’Mical Perine (Theodore) is on the practice squad and not eligible to play.
· George Pickens (Hoover) started at wide receiver for the Steelers. Pickens had three receptions for 26 yards.
· Steelers punter Corliss Waitman (South Alabama) averaged 44.4 yards on five punts, with a 40.4-yard net. Waitman had a 48-yard punt downed at the Dallas 24-yard line, a 46-yarder for a fair catch at the Dallas 34, a 34-yarder for a fair catch at the Dallas 15, a 47-yarder for a touchback and a 47-yarder out of bounds at the Dallas 14.
· Steelers wide receiver Quez Watkins (Athens) is on the practice squad and not eligible to play.
· Cowboys defensive end Sam Williams (Lee-Montgomery) is on injured reserve and not eligible to play.
In the other Sunday games:
Minnesota Vikings 23, New York Jets 17
· Vikings defensive back Bobby McCain (Oxford) did not record any stats. Minnesota elevated McCain from the practice squad to make him eligible to play.
· Vikings quarterback Nick Mullens (Spain Park) completed his first pass of the season for a 24-yard gain. Starting QB Sam Darnold left the game after scrambling for 10 yards on Minnesota’s second possession. Mullens took the field and connected with running back Aaron Jones on a third-and-4 snap at the Vikings 40-yard line. Darnold returned on the next play and lost a fumble on the snap.
· Quincy Williams (Wenonah) started at linebacker for the Jets. Williams made six tackles and recovered one fumble. Williams picked up an aborted snap and returned the football 15 yards to the Minnesota 42-yard line in the first quarter.
Chicago Bears 36, Carolina Panthers 10
· Bears defensive tackle Travis Bell (Jeff Davis) is on the practice squad and not eligible to play.
· Bears fullback Khari Blasingame (Buckhorn) was designated as a game-day inactive.
· Bears tight end Gerald Everett (UAB/South Alabama) had two receptions for 22 yards.
· Michael Jackson (Spain Park) started at cornerback for the Panthers. Jackson made three tackles.
· Bears wide receiver Velus Jones Jr. (Saraland) was designated as a game-day inactive.
· Panthers tight end Jordan Matthews (Madison Academy) is on the practice squad and not eligible to play.
· Bears cornerback Reddy Steward (Austin, Troy) is on the practice squad and not eligible to play.
Baltimore Ravens 41, Cincinnati Bengals 38 (OT)
· Ravens wide receiver Malik Cunningham (Park Crossing) is on the practice squad and not eligible to play.
· Bengals defensive end Cedric Johnson (Davidson) was designated as a game-day inactive.
· Bengals kicker Evan McPherson (Fort Payne) made his four extra-point kicks, but he missed on his only field-goal attempt, with the football going wide left on a 53-yard try that would have ended the game with 4:26 left in overtime.
· Ravens defensive tackle Michael Pierce (Daphne, Samford) made two tackles.
· Cam Taylor-Britt (Park Crossing) started at cornerback for the Ravens. Taylor-Britt made six tackles and broke up two passes.
Houston Texans 23, Buffalo Bills 20
· Nico Collins (Clay-Chalkville) started at wide receiver for the Texans. Collins had two receptions for 78 yards before leaving the game with a hamstring injury. Collins caught a 67-yard touchdown pass from quarterback C.J. Stroud as Houston took a 14-3 lead with 1:34 left in the first quarter.
· Tank Dell (Alabama A&M) started at wide receiver for the Texans. Dell had four receptions for 38 yards and a rushing attempt that lost 5 yards.
· Bills defensive tackle Tylan Grable (Jacksonville State) is on injured reserve and not eligible to play.
· Texans offensive tackle Tytus Howard (Monroe County, Alabama State) was designated as a game-day inactive. A hamstring injury kept Howard out of the lineup.
· Kamari Lassiter (American Christian) started at cornerback for the Texans. Lassiter made three tackles, recorded one tackle for loss and broke up one pass.
· Bills linebacker Nicholas Morrow (Huntsville) did not record any stats.
· Bills defensive end Javon Solomon (Troy) made one tackle and registered one quarterback hit.
· Jimmie Ward (Davidson) started at safety for the Texans. Ward made two tackles and recorded one tackle for loss. Ward left the game with a groin injury.
Jacksonville Jaguars 37, Indianapolis Colts 34
· Jaguars defensive end DJ Coleman (Jacksonville State) is on the practice squad and not eligible to play.
· Josh Hines-Allen (Abbeville) started at defensive end for the Jaguars. Hines-Allen made three tackles, recorded one sack and recovered one fumble. Hines-Allen recovered a fumble at the Indianapolis 12-yard line with six seconds left in the first half, and Jacksonville’s Cam Little kicked a field goal to give the Jaguars a 13-10 halftime lead.
Miami Dolphins 15, New England Patriots 10
· Patriots center Jake Andrews (Stanhope Elmore, Troy) is on injured reserve and not eligible to play.
· Dolphins wide receiver Grant DuBose (Park Crossing, Miles) is on injured reserve and not eligible to play.
· Dolphins defensive tackle Neil Farrell Jr. (Murphy) is on the practice squad and not eligible to play.
· Tyreek Hill (West Alabama) started at wide receiver for the Dolphins. Hill had six receptions for 69 yards.
· Patriots cornerback Marcus Jones (Enterprise, Troy) made four tackles and returned a punt 15 yards.
· Dolphins cornerback Siran Neal (Eufaula, Jacksonville State) did not record any stats.
· Dell Pettus (Sparkman, Troy) started at safety for the Patriots. The undrafted rookie made eight tackles on defense and recorded another tackle on special teams in his first NFL start.
Washington Commanders 34, Cleveland Browns 13
· Browns linebacker Mohamoud Diabate (Auburn High) is on injured reserve and not eligible to play.
· Browns safety Chris Edmonds (Samford) is on the practice squad and not eligible to play.
· Commanders safety Jeremy Reaves (South Alabama) made one tackle on special teams.
· Commanders offensive tackle Trent Scott (Lee-Huntsville) did not record any stats.
· Za’Darius Smith (Greenville) started at defensive end for the Browns. Smith made three tackles and recorded one sack.
· Browns wide receiver Kadarius Toney (Blount) is on the practice squad and not eligible to play.
· Browns linebacker Nathaniel Watson (Maplesville) made the first two tackles of his NFL career.
· Browns quarterback Jameis Winston (Hueytown) completed his only pass for 16 yards and had a rushing attempt that lost 3 yards. Winston played the final possession of the game for Cleveland.
· Browns defensive end Alex Wright (Elba, UAB) is on injured reserve and not eligible to play.
Denver Broncos 34, Las Vegas Raiders 18
· Raiders running back Ameer Abdullah (Homewood) ran for 42 yards and one touchdown on five carries, caught three passes for 9 yards and returned a kickoff 23 yards. Abdullah scored on a 3-yard run with 4:01 to play for his first rushing touchdown since a 7-yard carry in the Detroit Lions’ 35-11 victory over the Green Bay Packers on Dec. 31, 2017. Abdullah had a 40-yard run in the second quarter that was the longest in his 10 NFL seasons.
· Broncos cornerback Kris Abrams-Draine (Spanish Fort) was designated as a game-day inactive.
· Broncos linebacker Kwon Alexander (Oxford) is on the practice squad and not eligible to play.
· Jakorian Bennett (McGill-Toolen) started at cornerback for the Raiders. Bennett made two tackles and broke up one pass.
· Raiders quarterback Carter Bradley (South Alabama) is on the practice squad and not eligible to play.
· Broncos linebacker Zach Cunningham (Pinson Valley) is on the practice squad and not eligible to play.
· Broncos cornerback Tremon Smith (Saks) returned two kickoffs for 61 yards.
Arizona Cardinals 24, San Francisco 49ers 23
· Forty-Niners offensive tackle Chris Hubbard (UAB) is on the practice squad and not eligible to play.
· Forty-Niners cornerback Darrell Luter Jr. (South Alabama) was designated as a game-day inactive.
· Cardinals wide receiver Tejhaun Palmer (UAB) is on the practice squad and not eligible to play.
· Starling Thomas V (Ramsay, UAB) started at cornerback for the 49ers. Thomas made one tackle.
Green Bay Packers 24, Los Angeles Rams 19
· Packers offensive tackle Kadeem Telfort (UAB) did not record any stats.
· Rams cornerback Darious Williams (UAB) made one tackle and broke up one pass in his season debut. Williams spent the first four weeks of the season on injured reserve.
New York Giants 29, Seattle Seahawks 20
· Cor’Dale Flott (Saraland) started at cornerback for the Giants. Flott made four tackles and broke up a pass.
· Rakeem Nunez-Roches (Central-Phenix City) started at defensive tackle for the Giants. Nunez-Roches made three tackles, shared a sack and broke up a pass.
· Seahawks outside linebacker Jamie Sheriff (South Alabama) is on the practice squad and not eligible to play.
Week 5 started on Thursday night, when the Atlanta Falcons defeated the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 36-30 in overtime.
Week 5 concludes on Monday, when the New Orleans Saints and Kansas City Chiefs square off at 7:15 p.m. CDT at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri. ESPN will televise the game.
FOR MORE OF AL.COM’S COVERAGE OF THE NFL, GO TO OUR NFL PAGE
Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.
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