It was a combo so nice, they did it twice. Just one week removed from Maxwell Hairston's first-ever NFL interception and Chris Rodriguez Jr.'s sixth career touchdown, the former Kentucky teammates ran it back for their new respective professional football teams.
Mad Max picked off Patrick Mahomes in Week 9 and did the same to Miami's Tua Tagovailoa in Week 10. Similar to his game-sealing pick against Kansas City, Hairston came up with the turnover in the 4th quarter to give Buffalo a fighting chance, but the non-Kentucky version of Josh Allen and his Bills fell victim to the biggest upset of the weekend, losing to Miami. Their head coach, Mike McDaniel, is doing his best Mark Stoops impersonation, winning big games on the brink of being fired.
Hairston's current Wildcat teammate on the defense, Deone Walker, finished the day with three QB pressures and batted one ball down. Ray Davis was quiet in his three touches.
Hairston will go for back-to-back-to-back picks next week against the Buccaneers.
The human wrecking ball known as Chris Rodriguez Jr. keeps knocking over defensive lines near the endzone. C-Rod scored his third touchdown of the season and second in as many games in Week 10. The score came from one yard out and was the Washington Commanders' first touchdown of the game in a lopsided loss to the Lions.
Rodriguez was so excited to find paydirt that he nearly decapitated a camerawoman. He checked a 100-mile-per-hour fastball about two feet from the noggin of a knelt-down crew member, nearly costing her a broken face and himself several thousand dollars in fines. The ball caromed off the padding and bounced back at her, but it could have been bad. How can you blame him, though? The dude has been on the fringe of the roster for three straight years and yet every time he is giving a chance, he produces.
It was a fairly even split in carries between the Commanders' three running backs. Rodriguez finished with six rushes for 16 yards in addition to his touchdown.
The ageless former Kentucky defensman, Bud Dupree, has still go it. Dupree, who is 32 years old and the 10th-oldest linebaker in the league, picked up his first sack of the year on Sunday Night Football of Week 10. His sack came against a player nearly 10 years older than him, Aaron Rodgers. It might as well have been a backyard game on Thanksgiving between two uncles who used to be good in High School.
The sack might just be his first of his season, but it is the 60th of Dupree's 11-year career. For comparison, Josh Hines-Allen remains tied for the Jacksonville Jaguars' franchise record with 55. Sure, Hines-Allen is four years younger and has played four fewer years than Dupree, but still, that is a heck of a career.
The official Los Angeles Chargers X account said it best: "hell yeah, bud."