Francis Okupa, Special to ESPN 6y

NFL Africa Zone: 'In Yannick of Time' Edition

Jacksonville Jaguars

With week 12 kicking off in a few days, African NFL fans will be thankful for more than just the usual lone Thursday Night game held during Thanksgiving week in North America.

A full slate of 16 games will be on tap, including the regular Thanksgiving games involving the Detroit Lions (at home against the Minnesota Vikings), as well as the Dallas Cowboys hosting the San Diego Chargers.

But before looking ahead to the feast of week 12 games, let's recap the NFL Africa performances in week 11, which was littered with close finishes and quite a few injuries.

Player of the week

Yannick Ngakoue (Jacksonville Jaguars #91) - Defensive End

In what has become routine this season, Cameroonian-Martiniquan defensive end Yannick Ngakoue recorded a multi sack game.

In the Jacksonville Jaguars' 19-7 victory over the Cleveland Browns, Ngakoue registered 2.5 sacks and two forced fumbles as he pressured Browns quarterback DeShone Kizer all game.

This was the fourth multi sack game for the second year sackmaster, as he took his total up to 9 sacks and 5 forced fumbles on the season with six games to spare.

The Jaguars defensive ends, including Ngakoue, have been destroying opposing QB's all season (in combination with the Jags secondary), but with the addition of defensive tackle Marcell Dareus after a trade with the Buffalo Bills in week 8, the Jaguars have become even stouter defensively.

Notable Performances

Patrick Onwuasor (Baltimore Ravens #48) - Inside Linebacker

"Peanut" was a player to watch in week 11 and he did not disappoint. The Ravens second year linebacker racked up 10 tackles and had a fumble recovery in the 23-0 victory over the Green Bay Packers.

On the field for the third most snaps on the defensive unit, Onwuasor notched his 50th tackle of the season in helping the Ravens hold Green Bay to under 100 yards rushing. In all fairness, it was a Green Bay team missing its top two running backs...but no time for pity as it's always next man up in the NFL.

Onwuasor and his Ravens are now sitting in a wild card spot and in the AFC with several inconsistent teams fighting for the wild card spots, the Ravens and their 6th-ranked defense are sitting pretty for now.

Alvin Kamara (New Orleans Saints #41) - Running back

A new week means Alvin Kamara returns to his season ticket seat in the NFL Africa Zone. It's pretty much routine to expect thrills from Kamara each gameday and on Sunday versus Washington he did not disappoint.

The Sierra-Leonean rookie only ran for 42 yards on eight carries but he broke off a 24-yard run embarrassing the Washington defense in the process.

But wait...there was more. Kamara then caught six passes for 74 yards and most importantly, the game tying touchdown (as he juggled the ball) before also running in the two point conversion to help the Saints overcome a 15-point deficit. From there the Saints took the game into overtime and finalized a 34-31 victory.

As his competitors either falter or find their season over due to injury, Kamara (who leads the NFL in yards per carry) keeps going from strength to strength and as ESPN Saints writer Mike Triplett notes, is on pace to finish the season with 700 yards rushing and 700 yards receiving.

Secondary Considerations

Mo Sanu (Atlanta Falcons) - For this ridiculous one-handed catch in the endzone against the Seattle Seahawks on Monday night.

Alex Okafor (New Orleans Saints) - An excellent season by Okafor is now over as the defensive end tore his Achilles on Sunday and is out for the season.

Emmanuel Ogbah (Cleveland Browns) - A broken foot on Sunday means the end of Ogbah's season in which the 2nd year defensive end was one of the few bright spots for the winless Browns.

Jay Ajayi (Philadelphia Eagles) - In his return to Dallas, the city where he learned to play the game, and the stadium in which he played his final high school game, Ajayi had a rumbling 71 yard run and finished the Eagles win over the Cowboys with 7 carries for 91 yards.

Cedric Ogbuehi (Cincinnati Bengals) - The oft-maligned Bengals tackle actually had himself a solid game on Sunday. Ogbuehi allowed no quarterback pressure in all his snaps. This was Ogbuehi's best performance since week four.

Players to watch in Week 11

Obi Melifonwu (Oakland Raiders #20) - Safety (not cornerback)

The positional note above is specifically for Raiders coach Jack Del Rio, who seemingly forgot that the player they drafted in the second round is a safety, not a cornerback.

In his return last week from the injury that kept him out since the start of the season, Melifonwu saw some snaps at cornerback and Del Rio decided (as opposed to promoting an actual cornerback from the practice squad) to play his rookie SAFETY at cornerback versus the New England Patriots... in the high altitude of Estadio Azteca in Mexico City.

As one would expect from a player working his way back into game fitness, Melifonwu struggled to keep up with Patriots receivers on long routes downfield and gave up a 64-yard touchdown.

If Del Rio actually calls up (or signs) an actual cornerback this week and plays Melifonwu at safety for the majority of his snaps on Sunday, the rookie will get a chance to show his closing speed and athletic ability against the Broncos... in the high altitude of Denver's Mile High Stadium.

Prince Amukamara (Chicago Bears # 20 ) - Cornerback

Coming off a tough loss to the Detroit Lions, the Bears will play the NFC East leading Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday. The Eagles will have receivers Alshon Jeffery, Torrey Smith, and Nelson Agholor on the field and Amukamara will be called upon to disrupt their timing and, along with his teammates in the secondary, help bring about coverage sacks on Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz.

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