By William Qualkinbush.

The National Football League is full of former Clemson players. Several of them had monster days in Week 4. Here is a recap of a busy football weekend for Clemson alumni…

NY Giants 45, Washington 14 (Thursday)

 WAS:  Bashaud Breeland 3 solo tackles

             Jarvis Jenkins 1 assisted tackle

Jenkins left this slaughter early with a rib injury, but he isn’t expected to miss any time. The Giants torched Washington’s pass defense, but most of it was with tight ends and backs. Breeland actually played a decent game, picking up three tackles along the way.

Indianapolis 41, Tennessee 17

IND:  Dwayne Allen 3 rec, 28 yds, TD

TEN:  Charlie Whitehurst 12-23, 177 yds, TD, INT; 5 car, 40 yds

            Coty Sensabaugh 5 solo tackles, PBU

Filling in for the injured Jake Locker, Whitehurst played well, finishing with a respectable passer rating of 74.0. He was no match for Andrew Luck, however, who was dialed in the whole game. Allen caught all three of his targets, including a 7-yard score late in the first quarter. The potent Colts offense gave Sensabaugh plenty of action in the secondary, and the former Tiger handled the onslaught fairly well.

Tampa Bay 27, Pittsburgh 24

TB: Da’Quan Bowers 5 tackles (2 solo), sack

Bowers has been buried on the depth chart for the Bucs early in the season, but he made the most of his opportunities on Sunday. He supplied one of five sacks on Ben Roethlisberger in the game. His was a big one because it forced Shaun Suisham to kick a 50-yard field goal before halftime that he missed. This could be the breakout game Bowers needed to have with Lovie Smith’s tenure starting off slowly.

Houston 23, Buffalo 17

HOU:  DeAndre Hopkins 5 rec, 64 yds, TD

BUF:  C.J. Spiller 15 car, 60 yds; 3 rec, 24 yds, 3 KOR, 82 yds

            Sammy Watkins 4 rec, 30 yds, TD

This was the matchup many Clemson fans were most looking forward to seeing in Week 4. The trio of well-known former Tigers did not disappoint. Hopkins’ 35-yard touchdown grab kicked off the scoring for Houston right before halftime. He was targeted six times during the game. Spiller became the workhorse for the Bills in this one, although Fred Jackson saw much of the action in the backfield late. Watkins still didn’t capitalize on a large share of his targets—four catches on nine passes thrown his way—but that’s more of an E.J. Manuel problem than a receiving one. He actually scored before Hopkins, from five yards out in the second quarter.

Minnesota 41, Atlanta 28

ATL: Malliciah Goodman 1 assisted tackle

It was a quiet game for Goodman in a pretty awful game for the Falcons’ defense. He should continue to get some reps as a reserve, but don’t expect anything earth-shattering from Goodman.

San Diego 33, Jacksonville 14

SD:  Marcus Gilchrist 6 solo tackles

         Kavell Conner 4 tackles (3 solo)

JAC:  Andre Branch PBU

Gilchrist and Conner continue to impress in starting roles this season. Gilchrist has become a mainstay in the Chargers’ secondary, but Conner is new to a starting role in San Diego. He played well against a morphing Jaguars offense. Branch was quiet, but he did bat a pass down at the line of scrimmage during the game.