Staff report
Javon Hargrave (North Rowan, SC State) had a huge game as Minnesota beat Detroit 27-24 at Ford Field on Sunday.
Hargrave had been quiet for quite a while. Before Sunday’s game, he hadn’t posted a sack since Sept. 8 when he had two against Chicago.
His playing time had dropped recently, and he had played only 40 percent of the defensive snaps for the Vikings the previous two weeks.
He got a heavier workload on Sunday — 39 snaps — and responded with eight tackles, He had two tackles for loss. His biggest play was a third-quarter sack of Lions QB Jared Goff.
Hargrave has 48.5 career sacks.
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Atlanta Falcons rookie edge rusher Jalon Walker also had been quiet lately due to an injury.
He missed two games with a groin issue but returned for the game at New England on Sunday.
Walker had two sacks in Sunday’s 24-23 loss, including a strip-sack of Drake Maye, as Walker burst up the middle on a stunt and knocked the ball out of Maye’s hand as he tackled him. Another Falcon rookie, James Pearce Jr., scooped up the loose pigskin and nearly scored a touchdown.
It’s a small world. Maye’s grandfather, Jerry, played baseball for Catawba College, the school where Jalon Walker’s father, Curtis, played and coached football.
Walker had five tackles on Sunday.
He has 19 tackles for the season and three sacks. He had a very strong game against Buffalo, racking up pressures on Josh Allen in the last game he played before the groin injury.
