Andrew Sendejo kept climbing up the career chart for games played by an Owl in the NFL, but he saw Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens stun the Browns with a wild 47-42 win on Monday night to close out the latest week of action for Rice Owls in the NFL.
This week's trivia question: Tommy Kramer, Tobin Rote and Frank Ryan each threw more than 145 touchdown passes in their careers, but can you name the first Owl to throw a TD pass in the NFL? For a bonus question, can you name the most recent Owl to throw one?
Before you find the answer, here's a rundown on the rest of the Owls in Week 14:
Calvin Anderson— Anderson made his second career start against Carolina as the Broncos took at 32-27 decision. Anderson made his starting debut for Denver on the road at Las Vegas in Week 10 and played all 71 offensive snaps. The Broncos host the Bills on Saturday at 3:30. (NFL Network)
Chris Boswell—Boswell returned to action against the Bills, but was only asked to kick one extra point as the Bills handed the Steelers their second consecutive defeat. The Steelers travel to Cincinnati to face the Bengals on Monday Night Football at 7:15. (ESPN)
Bryce Callahan- Callahan was placed on IR on December 2. THIS WEEK IN NFL BIRTHDAYS
Jarett Dillard (12/21).Christian Covington—Covington was credited with a pair of solo tackles in his 11th start of the year 19-7, a 30-7 loss to Dallas at home. He'll see a pair of familiar faces on the opposing sideline this Monday when the Steelers come calling for Monday Night Football as 7:15. (ESPN)
Jack Fox—Fox dropped out of the lead in punting and net punting, currently standing second in both categories. He and his Lions teammates will travel to Nashville to take on the Titans at noon on Sunday at noon. (CBS)
Phillip Gaines— Gaines was inactive in the Texans loss at Chicago which officially eliminated the Texans from playoff contention. They travel to Indianapolis to take on the Colts for a noon kickoff on Sunday. (CBS)
Vance McDonald— McDonald was targeted twice in the Steelers 26-15 loss to Buffalo. He remains two yards shy of reaching 2,000 receiving yards in his career (1,998). The Steelers travel to Cincinnati to face the Bengals on Monday Night Football at 7:15. (ESPN)
Andrew Sendejo— Sendejo tied King Hill for ninth on the Rice career NFL games list with his 123rd appearance, a wild 47-42 loss to Baltimore. He was credited with a pair of tackles. Should he appear in the final three regular season games, he will move into a tie with Hill's former quarterback partner at Rice, Frank Ryan, for eighth with 126 games. Cleveland travels to New York to take on the Giants on Sunday Night Football at 7:20 (ESPN).
Austin Walter— Walter was inactive for the second consecutive game as the 49ers lost to the Football Team in Washington. They travel to Dallas on Sunday for a noon kickoff. (CBS)
Luke Willson— Willson missed the wild Ravens win at Cleveland with an injury. Baltimore hosts Jacksonville at noon on Sunday. (CBS).
With Walter's 2020 debut, Rice has had 10 players see action in 2020, the most Owls to play in an NFL season in school history. Nine Owls saw action in 2015 to set a school record, but only eight were active for the opening weekend. Rice also had nine former players active in professional football between the NFL and AFL in 1961 and nine between the NFL and the All American Football Conference in 1948.
Answer—Charley Eikenberg, who went by Virgil when playing at Rice in the 1940's, was one of the Owls who began their careers on South Main and then helped Louisiana-Lafayette earn its first national ranking while playing there in 1943 as they completed Naval officer training. After fighting in the Pacific through the end of World War II, they returned to Rice and made their final college season memorable, capping it off with a shutout of Tennessee in the 1947 Orange Bowl. Eikenberg joined the Chicago Cardinals in1948 and he threw three touchdowns in backup duty. The first of them came on October 10, 1948 in Yankee Stadium against the New York Giants, a 20-yard connection to Mal Kutner. Eikenberg and fellow Owl Ham Nichols played for the Cardinals in in the infamous 1948 NFL Championship game against the Philadelphia Eagles in a blinding snow storm on December 19, losing 7-0. Bonus Answer: Chris Boswell threw a two-yard pass to offensive tackle Alejandro Villanueva on the last play of the first half against Denver to tie the game 10-10 on November 25, 2018.
