Huskers in the NFL: Week 1

Lincoln -- With a total of 31 former Huskers are on National Football League rosters (28 active, two on injured reserve and one on the practice squad), it would be no surprise that several of them played important roles during the NFL's opening weekend. The biggest impact was on special teams, where Houston Texans' place-kicker Kris Brown connected on five field goals, including the game-winner with 25 seconds left, to lift the Texans to a 21-20 victory.  

"It's exciting when you can go out and change the outcome of the game. You just have to savor the moment," Brown said after his seventh  game-winning kick of his NFL career.

Brown was one of three former Huskers on the Texans' roster, as Jay Foreman had seven tackles and offensive guard Zach Wiegert helped the Texans rush for 127 yards. Wiegert, who signed with Houston in the offseason, also helped the Texans not allow a sack after the line set an NFL record with 76 sacks allowed last season.

In Jacksonville, Carolina Panther strong safety Mike Minter had six tackles and blocked Seth Marler's 55-yard field goal as time expired, giving the Panthers a 24-23 victory. Behind the play of Minter and defensive end Mike Rucker, who tied a franchise record with three sacks, the Panthers overcame a 17-point second-half deficit.

Continuing with the special teams theme, rookie place-kicker Josh Brown hit on field goals of 35 and 25 yards in Seattle's 27-10 win over New Orleans. A complete rundown of how the former Huskers in the NFL fared is listed below, while Correll Buckhalter makes his return to the Philadephia Eagles lineup tonight against Tampa Bay on Monday Night Football.

Offense

  Rushing ReceivingPlayer, Team Opp. ATT YDS AVG LNG TD Rec Yards AVG LNG TDBuckhalter, Correll Philadelphia T.B. (Mon.) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0Schlesinger, Cory, Detroit Ariz. 1 -1 -1.0 0 0 2 30 15.0 20 1Green, Ahman, Green Bay N.Y. Jets 15 53 3.5 16 2 7 62 8,9 17 0                       Linemen                      Dishman, Chris, Arizona DetroitRaiola, Dominic, Detroit Arizona - StartWiegert, Zach, Houston Miami - StartShields, Will, Kansas City San Diego - StartTreu, Adam, Oakland TennesseeHochstein, Russ, New England (PS) Practice Squad - Did not playFonoti, Toniu, San Diego (IR) Injured Reserve - Did not play                       

Defense

  Defensive Stats Special TeamsPlayer, Team Opp. TKL AST CMB SK YDS IN YDS PD FF FR TKL AST CMB FF Bl FRWilliams, Tyrone, Atlanta Dal. 2 0 2 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0Kelsay, Chris, Buffalo N.E. 3 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0Minter, Mike, Carolina Jax. 6 0 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0Rucker, Mike, Carolina Jax. 4 3 7 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0Brown, Mike  Chicago S.F. 3 2 5 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0Swiney, Erwin, Green Bay Minn. 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 1Foreman, Jay, Houston Miami 5 2 7 1 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0Warfield, Eric, Kansas City S.D. 2 0 2 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0Finley, Clint, Kansas City S.D. 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0Brown, Ralph, NY Giants St. Louis 7 2 9 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0Craver, Keyuo, New Orleans Sea. 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0Johnson, Eric, Oakland Tenn. 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0Parrella, John, Oakland Tenn. 3 2 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0Polk, Carlos, San Diego K.C. 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0Groce, DeJuan, St. Louis N.Y. Ginats 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0Shanle, Scott , St. Louis N.Y. Ginats 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0Grant Wistrom, St. Louis N.Y. Ginats 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0Vanden Bosch, Kyle, Ariz. Injured Reserve - Did not play

Special Teams

. Returns Field Goals Ex. Pts PuntsPlayer, Team Opp. KR YDS PR YDS TD ATT Made YDS ATT Made No. YDS AVG TB i20 LNGBrown, Kris, Houston Mia. - - - - - 5 7 36, (43), 50, (54), 23, 24, 35 0 0 - - - - - -LaFleur, Bill, San Francisco Chi. - - - - - - - - - - 3 132 44.0 0 2 52Brown, Josh, Seattle N.O. - - - - - 2 2 37, 25 3 3 - - - - - -

() missed field goal DNP - Did Not Play; INJ - Injured, did not play; IR - Injured Reserve