UNIVERSITY OF HAWAII
>> Jonah Laulu, Raiders defensive lineman: Helped stuff the run with five tackles in the loss to the Buccaneers, with each of his four solo stops coming within three yards of the line of scrimmage. The seventh-round pick came off the bench for the first time in four contests but still had a career high in tackles.
>> Rigoberto Sanchez, Colts punter: The Colts had a bye this week and will play Denver on Sunday. He is No. 18 in NFL history with 46.2 yards per punt, right behind his predecessor with Indianapolis, Pat McAfee. The Colts have had only five punters since 1999, and Matt Haack only played for one year when Sanchez was injured.
>> Jahlani Tavai, Patriots linebacker: New England had a bye this week and will face Arizona on Sunday when Tavai is expected to make his 26th straight start. Tavai needs 12 more tackles to go over 100 for the second stright season.
KAMEHAMEHA
>> Kamu Grugier-Hill, Vikings linebacker: Came off the bench and made two solo tackles in the fourth quarter of the win over the Falcons and had another stop waived off because of a defensive offsides call. He has made at least 10 solo stops in each of the last eight seasons for seven different teams.
MILILANI
>> Darius Muasau, Giants linebacker: Started in the loss to the Saints and was second on the team with eight tackles, seven of them solo. His previous high in tackles was six in his NFL debut in Week 1. Of the 16 linebackers taken ahead of him in the NFL Draft, only five have more tackles than him.
PUNAHOU
>> DeForest Buckner, Colts defensive line: The Colts had a bye this week, so Buckner spent Saturday at Lucas Oil Stadium rooting on Oregon in its win over Penn State.
“A couple of the guys (Colts teammates) were saying that Oregon wasn’t ready for the Big Ten Conference,” Buckner told Wishtv.com. “And obviously our first year, being able to clinch a spot (in the conference title game), says a lot.”
The Colts play Denver on Sunday, four of Buckner’s 66.5 career sacks have come the week after a bye.
>> Ka‘imi Fairbairn, Texans kicker: Houston had a bye this week and will play Miami on Sunday. He leads the NFL with 37 field goal attempts but has missed six after missing three in the previous two years. He is No. 7 in NFL history in field goal percentage at 86.6%, five of the kickers ahead of him are stll active. He is 11-for-15 on field goals following a bye week and made 15 of 16 extra point tries.
>> Andrei Iosivas, Bengals receiver: Cincinnati takes on Dallas today on Monday Night Football, his fourth time playing on a Monday. He is expected to come off the bench for the third straight game but he still gets nearly 70% of the offensive snaps. Joe Burrow has a passer rating of 118 and hasn’t thrown an interception when targeting Iosivas this season.
>> Marist Liufau, Cowboys linebacker: Will make his second appearance on Monday Night Football against Cincinnati, hoping for a victory this time. Liufau has come off the bench the last two games, dropping from playing 36% of the defensive snaps as a started against the Texans to 13% last week against the Giants.
SAINT LOUIS
>> Nick Herbig, Steelers linebacker: Was shuffled back to the bench with all of the linebackers healthy again and did not have a tackle in the win over the Browns. Alex Highsmith, Herbig’s veteran replacement, sacked Jameis Winston once and had two hurries in his second game since October. Herbig had started five straight games and had sacks in back-to-back contests before Highsmith’s return.
>> Marcus Mariota, Commanders quarterback: Washington had a bye this week and will meet the Saints on Sunday while serving as the backup.
>> Tua Tagovailoa, Dolphins quarterback: Threw for 331 yards and two touchdowns, including the game-winner in the win over the Jets, running the ball once for three yards and not being sacked or hit. It was the first time he went through a game without being sacked since last season’s final game. He threw his 98th career touchdown pass and is two away from being the 148th player in NFL history to reach the century mark.
WAIANAE
>> Kana‘i Mauga, Raiders linebacker: Made a tackle on the opening kickoff of the loss to the Buccaneers, his only stop of the contest. It started Tampa Bay at the 15-yard line when combined with a holding penalty. Mauga plays almost exclusively on special teams and has made a stop in successive games for the first time in his career.
