Ford has big day, three former Tigers score touchdowns in NFL Sunday |
CLEMSON - Former Clemson players Jacoby Ford, Michael Palmer and Chansi Stuckey all scored touchdowns in NFL games on Sunday. It was the first career scores for Ford and Palmer, teammates on Clemson’s 2009 Atlantic Division Championship team. Ford scored on a 94-yard kickoff return for the Oakland Raiders against the Kansas City Chiefs. It was the opening kickoff of the second half and gave the Raiders a lead. Ford finished with four kickoff returns for 158 yards and also had a career high six receptions for 148 yards. His 29-yard reception with seven seconds left set up a 41-yard field goal by Sebastian Janikowski that sent the game into overtime. His 47-yard reception in overtime set up Janikowski’s game winning 33-yard field goal in overtime. Ford’s receptions set up the winning kicks for Janikowski, a former Florida State kicker. Clemson and Florida State renew their rivalry on the gridiron this coming Saturday. Ford led the Raiders in receiving with 148 yards and he finished the day with 306 all-purpose yards. Ford is the second former Tiger to return a kickoff for a touchdown this year. In September, C.J. Spiller took a kickoff 95 yards for a score in a game at New England. Palmer scored on a five-yard reception from quarterback Matt Ryan for the Atlanta Falcons in their 27-21 victory over the Tampa Bay Bucs. He finished the game with two receptions for 11 yards. There was a bit of irony in Palmer taking the pass from Ryan. Ryan was the quarterback for Boston College, and ACC rival, when Palmer was a freshman and sophomore. Stuckey scored on an 11-yard run on a “Panther Play” for the Cleveland Browns against the New England Patriots in the Browns 34-14 upset victory. It was just the second loss of the season for the Patriots. Stuckey finished with that 11-yard run and had two catches for six yards. Charlie Whitehurst started at quarterback for the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday against the New York Giants. It was Whitehurst’s first career start and he completed 12-23 passes for 113 yards and a touchdown. With Whitehurst’s touchdown pass, it means a former Clemson player accounted for a touchdown, rushing (Stuckey), receiving (Palmer), passing (Whitehurst) and on a kickoff return (Ford). Defensively, former Tiger Chris Clemons had eight tackles, including two tackles for loss in the Miami Dolphins 26-10 loss to the Baltimore Ravens.
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