Auburn in the NFL: Week 1 rundown

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The 2020-21 NFL season kicked off Sunday, and it was a banner day for former Auburn players. Cam Newton, Darius Slayton and Peyton Barber all scored two touchdowns apiece, and three different players recorded a sack for their respective teams. All that and more in this week's Auburn in the NFL rundown. 

BEST OF WEEK 1

Peyton Barber, RB, Washington Football Team
Making his debut with his new team, Barber picked up where he left off a year ago with two touchdowns to help the Washington Football Team come back from a 17-0 deficit and beat the Philadelphia Eagles, 27-17, on Sunday. Barber, who scored a career-high seven touchdowns last year, totaled 29 yards on the ground in Week 1. 

Angelo Blackson, DE, Arizona Cardinals
Blackson enjoyed a great start to the season for his new team. The sixth-year NFL player recorded two tackles, a sack and two quarterback hits as the Cardinals knocked off the San Francisco 49ers, 24-20. Blackson now has 4.5 sacks in his NFL career. 

Josh Bynes, LB, Cincinnati Bengals
Going into his 10th season in the NFL but his first with the Bengals, Bynes earned the start in the opener and finished with eight tackles and a sack in Sunday's 16-13 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers. It was the fifth sack in the last four seasons for Bynes, who the Bengals are counting on to help improve the position and provide some leadership for the 2020 season. 

Daniel Carlson, K, Las Vegas Raiders
Carlson, now in his third season in the NFL, made both of his field-goal attempts Sunday, including a career-long 54-yard field goal, and was a perfect 4 of 4 on extra points to help the Raiders secure a 34-30 victory against the Carolina Panthers in the first game. Carlson is now 37 of 45 on field goals since joining the Raiders in 2018. 

Carlton Davis, CB, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Davis drew the task of shadowing elite wide receiver Michael Thomas on Sunday and proved to be more than up to the challenge, holding Thomas to three catches for 17 yards. It was the second-lowest yardage total of his career. Davis finished with four tackles, including a tackle for loss, in what was his 27th NFL start. 

Carl Lawson, DE, Cincinnati Bengals
Lawson is healthy and back in the rotation for his fourth season with Cincinnati. The former fourth-round pick finished with five tackles and a sack in Sunday's loss to the Los Angeles Chargers. Now in the final year of his rookie contract, Lawson is expected to be one of the major factors for the Bengals' defense this season. 

Cam Newton, QB, New England Patriots
In his New England debut, Newton rushed for two touchdowns and completed 15 of his 19 passes for 155 yards with no interceptions to lead the Patriots to a 21-11 victory over the Miami Dolphins. He rushed for 75 yards, and his 15 carries in Week 1 were the most he's had in his NFL career without playing into overtime. Newton and the Patriots are 1-0 together and aiming to win their 12th straight division title this season. 

Darius Slayton, WR, New York Giants
Playing on Monday Night Football, Slayton put on a show with six catches on nine targets for 102 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Though the Giants lost to the Pittsburgh Steelers, Slayton proved to be one of the NFL's better wide receivers in Week 1. All six of his catches went for first downs, and he now has 10 touchdowns in 15 career NFL games dating back to last season. 

OTHER TIGERS IN THE NFL 
Montravius Adams, DL, Green Bay Packers
Derrick Brown, DT, Carolina Panthers
Byron Cowart, DL, New England Patriots*
Chandler Cox, FB, Miami Dolphins
Marlon Davidson, DT, Atlanta Falcons
Jamel Dean, CB, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Jack Driscoll, OT, Philadelphia Eagles
Dee Ford, DL, San Francisco 49ers
Rudy Ford, DB, Philadelphia Eagles
Josh Harris, LS, Atlanta Falcons
Noah Igbinoghene, CB, Miami Dolphins
Kerryon Johnson, RB, Detroit Lions
Jonathan Jones, DB, New England Patriots
Chad Slade, OG, New York Giants
Braden Smith, OL, Indianapolis Colts
Jarrett Stidham, QB, New England Patriots
Daniel Thomas, DB, Jacksonville Jaguars
Neiko Thorpe, CB, Seattle Seahawks
C.J. Uzomah, TE, Cincinnati Bengals 

DNP (Reserve/Injured)
Shon Coleman, OT, San Francisco 49ers 
John Franklin III, WR, Tampa Bay Buccaneers*
Brandon King, LB, New England Patriots 
Dontavius Russell, DL, Jacksonville Jaguars 

Practice Squad
Daren Bates, LB, Tennessee Titans
Nick Coe, DE, Miami Dolphins
Javaris Davis, CB, Miami Dolphins 
Mike Horton, OG, Carolina Panthers
Cody Parkey, K, Cleveland Browns
Arryn Siposs, P, Detroit Lions
Prince Tega Wanogho, OT, Philadelphia Eagles
Duke Williams, WR, Buffalo Bills

*AU lettermen